The Dhāraṇī “Essence of Immeasurable Longevity and Wisdom”

Translation of འཕགས་པ་ཚ་དང་ཡ་ཤས་དཔག་ཏ་མད་པའ་སྙང་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་གཟངས (འཕགས་པ་ཚེ་དང་ཡེ་ཤེས་དཔག་ཏུ་མེད་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་གཟུངས)

Language: English
Translators: Adam Krug, Dr. Andreas Doctor
Extent: 33 passages, 2,940 words
Text: complete digital text
Source: 84000 · Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committeeunder the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating… · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha). Shown whole and unaltered, with its notes, on a…

intro 84000's introduction — 10 parts
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notes Notes — 18 parts

Text

84000's introduction

intro.1

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.

intro.2

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 his teaching with a short set of verses on the Buddha Aparimitāyus and the realm of Sukhāvatī in which that buddha dwells, telling the gathering that anyone who recites Aparimitāyus’ name will be reborn there.

intro.3

He then begins a summary of the circumstances of Aparimitāyus’ lifetime as an awakened one. We learn that, like Śākyamuni, Aparimitāyus was born into a kṣatriya family. The Buddha then enumerates the names of Aparimitāyus’ father (a universal ruler), mother, queen, son, and attendant, and then those of his two foremost disciples in terms of insight and miraculous powers—the equivalent of Śākyamuni’s disciples Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana—and the extent of his saṅgha of hearers. This account, in following the classic paradigm that the life stories and deeds of all buddhas conform to the same template of analogous events and participants, goes further than even the best-known work of the genre, the Bhadrakalpika (Toh 94),¹ by adding the names of figures in Aparamitāyus’ realm who are the equivalents of Māra and Devadatta in Śākyamuni’s realm.

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The beautiful and wondrous qualities of Sukhāvatī, well known from texts such as the Sukhāvatīvyūha (Toh 115)² and Amitābhavyūha (Toh 49), are described in very little detail in this text, but are subsumed in the statements that all the beings there are miraculously born from a jeweled lotus and that there is no female gender,³ and in the descriptions later in the text of Aparimitāyus’ lotus seat and Bodhi tree.

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The Buddha then provides a set of instructions for visualizing Aparimitāyus that include performing prostrations three times a day and three times a night for ten days while reciting the dhāraṇī of Dundubhisvararāja. The successful performance of this practice will result, he says, in visions of Aparimitāyus and of all the buddhas of the ten directions. After the Buddha has recited the dhāraṇī, he provides instructions for a further practice that consists of visualizing Aparimitāyus on his lotus seat under his particular Bodhi tree, accompanied by the bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. In addition to bringing visions of Aparimitāyus, these practices will result in practitioners being reborn in Sukhāvatī in their next life.

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The Tibetan translation that survives to this day in the Kangyur dates to the eleventh century ce, but the text must have been in circulation in India considerably earlier, since a Chinese translation (Taishō 370) had been completed by an unknown translator during the Liang dynasty in the early half of the sixth century.⁴ The Tibetan translation was made by the Indian preceptor Puṇyasambhava and the Tibetan Lotsāwa Patsap Nyima Drak (b. 1055). Almost nothing is known of Puṇyasambhava, while Patsap Lotsāwa was responsible not only for bringing to Tibet the philosophical works for which he is best known, but also for introducing new lineages of a few tantric practices from Kashmir, where he studied for twenty-three years.

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In most Kangyurs the text translated here is included in the section of works classified as tantras belonging to the Action (kriyā) class, and is grouped with eight texts (Toh 673A–680) corresponding to the principal buddha (rigs kyi gtso bo) of the padma (lotus) family. This group, in addition to the present dhāraṇī (Toh 676), and the four works on Amitābha that follow it (Toh 677–80),⁵ also contains the very widely used (Toh 674) and (Toh 675)—the two versions of the text commonly known as the “Sūtra of Long Life” or, in Tibetan, Tsédo (tshe mdo)—and a dhāraṇī related to it, (Toh 673A).⁶ The names of the buddha or buddhas on which this group of texts focus are variable: Amitābha, Amitāyus, Aparimitāyurjñāna, and—both in the present text—Aparimitāyus and Dundubhisvararāja. The finer distinctions between these figures have not always been entirely clear. In India, the names Amitāyus and Amitābha appear to have been almost synonymous, but distinctions of role and perhaps even identity seem to have arisen later in both China and Tibet. Alternatively, some of the figures in these texts may derive from originally independent textual traditions that later came to be grouped together. In discussing these distinctions, Tibetan scholars used such terms as “the Amitāyus of Sukhāvatī” (bde ba can gyi tshe dpag med), “the Amitāyus of the Zenith” (steng gi tshe dpag med), “the Amitāyus of Akaniṣṭha” (’og min gyi tshe dpag med), and “the Amitāyus of the Immortal Sound of the Drum” (’chi med rnga sgra’i tshe dpag med). The need for such terms suggests that in Tibetan the rendering Tsépamé (tshe dpag med) as a short form of both Aparimitāyurjñāna and Aparimitāyus, as well as of Amitāyus, may have contributed to some blurring of differences between them.

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These terms also demonstrate that the clearest basis on which distinctions may be made is the buddha field in which these buddhas dwell. In the present text, the explicit focus is on the buddha who presides over the pure realm of the western direction known as Sukhāvatī (bde ba can). He is referred to in the Tibetan text as Tsépamé (tshe dpag med), and although this could be back translated as Amitāyus, and must surely here be identified with Amitābha, we have chosen to render it instead as Aparimitāyus. This is in deference to the title, which is a little problematic in that it appears to identify the text instead with Aparimitāyurjñāna, the buddha of the pure realm in the zenith who is the focus of the Aparimitāyurjñānasūtra texts (or Tsédo, Toh 674 and 675) mentioned above.⁷

intro.9

Perhaps as one result of potential ambiguity regarding the exact reference of its title, the text translated here, The Dhāraṇī “Essence of Immeasurable Longevity and Wisdom,” is also referred to in some Tibetan works as The Sūtra [or Dhāraṇī] of the King of the Sound of the Drum (rnga sgra’i rgyal po’i mdo/gzungs), which in Sanskrit would be *Dundubhisvararājasūtra. Indeed, the name of the dhāraṇī that this work contains is explicitly stated in the text to be Dundubhisvararāja, or Amṛtadundubhisvararāja, and tradition has taken this to be yet another moniker of Amitābha or Amitāyus of Sukhāvatī. As a name, Dundubhisvara is not uncommon in Indian literature, and other Mahāyāna works list Dundubhisvararāja (or the alternatives Dundubhisvara and Dundubhisvaranirgoṣa) as names of a former buddha, a series of former buddhas, and the buddha who dwells in the northern quarter,⁸ but in this context, no doubt on the basis of the mentions in this text, Tibetan Buddhist tradition equates the names Dundubhisvararāja (rnga sgra’i rgyal po) and Amṛtadundubhisvararāja (’chi med rnga sgra’i rgyal po) most frequently with Amitābha or Amitāyus of Sukhāvatī.

intro.10

This translation was completed based on the Tibetan translation of the text found in the “Tantra Collection” (rgyud ’bum) and “Compendium of Dhāraṇī” (gzungs ’dus) sections of the Degé Kangyur⁹ in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.

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Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was seated on the banks of the Gaggarā lotus pond¹⁰ with a great monastic saṅgha of five hundred monks and a great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. The Blessed One addressed the monks, the monks gave the Blessed One their full attention, and the Blessed One

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said to them:

“A perfect buddha,
The Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus,
Lives to the west of here
In the realm of Sukhāvatī.

“Those who recite his name
Will be reborn there.
At the moment of death they will see
The teacher with his monastic saṅgha.

“There are no women there,
And no gestation in a womb.
Beings with great magical power
Are born there from lotuses made of jewels.

“As soon as one thinks about
Food, clothing, medicines,
Robes, bedding, and alms bowls
They instantly appear.

“The buddhas dwelling in all ten directions
Sing the praises of Sukhāvatī.
Since the Buddha is inconceivable,
The Buddha’s Dharma is inconceivable,

“And the Noble Saṅgha is inconceivable too.
When one has generated faith in the inconceivable,
The ripened result is inconceivable—
One is reborn in a pure realm.¹¹

“Monks, the Thus-Gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Aparimitāyus’ palace, called Having a Retinue, is ten thousand leagues wide. He was born into a kṣatriya family. Monks, the Thus-Gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Aparimitāyus’ father was a universal ruler named Most Gracious, and his mother was named Splendorous. His kṣatriya queen was named Gracious Protector. Monks, the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus’ son was named Moonlight, and his attendant’s name was Stainless Renown. Monks, the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus’ disciple foremost in insight was called Pinnacle of Grace, and his disciple foremost in miraculous powers and foremost in great endeavor was named Great Array.

“Monks, the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus’ Māra was called King of Offerings, and the name of his Devadatta was Gracious Gift.

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Monks, the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus’ great gathering of hearers contains sixty thousand great hearers.

“Monks, all the beings who think well of him should bear in mind the name of the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus, practice for ten days with an undistracted mind that recollects the Buddha, and continually think of the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus who dwells in the realm of Sukhāvatī.

“They should also continually recite the dhāraṇī of Śrī Amṛtadundubhisvararāja.¹² If all beings, three times a day and three times a night, prostrate with the five points of the body to the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus while thinking of him, after ten days they will have a vision of the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus and a vision of all the blessed buddhas dwelling in the ten directions. If they dedicate all their roots of virtue to rebirth in the realm of Sukhāvatī, when they die the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus will be present before them, and they will be reborn in the buddha field of the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus.

“Monks, this is the dhāraṇī called Amṛtadundubhisvararāja:

tadyathā śavale avale sañjale nirdeśe nirjāte nirukte nirmukhe jvalaparicchedani sukhavatinirdeśe amṛte āyurgarbha¹³nirhāni amṛte ayuḥprasādhane nirbuddhi ākāśanirdeśe ākāśanirjāte¹⁴ ākāśanirkuśale ākāśanirdarśane ākāśādhiṣṭhāne sukhavati ādhiṣṭhāne rūpanirdeśe catvāridharmaprasādhane catvāri āryasatyaprasādhane catvārimārgabhavanaprasādhane¹⁵ bala¹⁶vīryaprasādhane dharmācchedane kuśale kuśalanirdeśe kuśalapratiṣṭhāne buddhākuśale viśuddhaprabhā¹⁷sa dharmakaraṇe nirjati nirbuddhe vimale viraje rājase rasāgre rasāgrabale rasāgrādhiṣṭhite kule pratikule vikule dānte sudānta¹⁸citte supraśāntacitte supratiṣṭhite sule sumukhīdharme ca dharme bale ca bale anuśābale buddhākāśaguṇe buddhākāśanirguṇe amṛtadundubhiḥsvare svāhā

“Monks, faithful

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sons or daughters of good family who recite this Amṛtadundubhisvararāja dhāraṇī as it has been taught should dress in clean clothes and, in a place that is pure and unspoiled, make offerings of flowers and perfumes to the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus. They should imagine the lotus seat at the seat of awakening and the perfect Bodhi tree. They should arouse longing to be there, and if they have such longing and faith they will be reborn in the buddha field of the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus.

“Monks, the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus’ king of trees is the tree called Radiating Jeweled Lotus, and it is covered in flowers and fruit. The lotus seat, which is pure, bright, and fine, is called Brilliant Light Ray. The Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus is seated there surrounded by many precious jewels. The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara is to his right, the bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta is to his left, and they are all surrounded by an incalculable gathering of bodhisattvas. Faithful sons or daughters of good family who have great devotion, faith, and reverence will be reborn there. They will take miraculous birth on great lotuses made of the seven precious jewels situated on the great golden ground.

“Monks, any monk, nun, male lay practitioner, or female lay practitioner who bears in mind the name of the Thus-Gone Aparimitāyus will never have to face any dangers from fire, dangers from water, dangers from poison, dangers from weapons, dangers from yakṣas, and dangers from rākṣasas, except for those that arise due to the ripening of previous actions.”

When the Blessed One had spoken these words, the monks, the entire retinue, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.

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Colophon

Translated by the Indian preceptor Puṇyasambhava and the translator Patsap Nyima Drak.

Notes

notes.1

1. See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, The Good Eon (2022).

notes.2

2. See Sakya Pandita Translation Group, The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī (2011).

notes.3

3. Disregarding, it seems, the Buddha’s own mention, noted above, of Aparimitāyus’ mother and queen.

notes.4

4. Emituo gu yinsheng wang tuoluoni jing (阿彌陀鼓音聲王陀羅尼經), see Lancaster (2019).

notes.5

5. For a translation of Toh 679, see Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Dhāraṇī Praising the Qualities of the Immeasurable One , 2020.

notes.6

6. Of the two versions of the sūtra, Aparimitāyurjñānasūtra (1) (Toh 674) was probably translated by the same translators as the present text, Puṇyasambhava and Patsap Nyima Drak. This is the version most widely used today. The other, Aparimitāyurjñānasūtra (2) (Toh 675) represents—but is not identical to—a translation made during the early translation period, as attested in numerous Dunhuang manuscripts and the mention in the early-ninth-century Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) and Phangthangma (phang thang ma) inventories of, respectively, a tshe dpag tu med pa’i gzungs, with 110 ślokas, and a tshe dpag tu med pa, with 120 ślokas. For more details on the complex issue see the introductions to Toh 674 and 675, i.9 and i.21 in Toh 674, Roberts and Bower 2021 (1), and i.15 in Toh 675, Roberts and Bower 2021 (2).

notes.7

7. There is another problem around the correct rendering of the title of the present text. The Sanskrit title indicates that this is the essence (hṛdaya) that is the wisdom (jñāna) of Aparimitāyus (aparimitāyur). The Tibetan translation of the title, however, reads the compound in the Sanskrit title as the essence (snying po) of immeasurable (dpag tu med pa) longevity and wisdom (tshe dang ye shes). It is thus possible that the Tibetan rendering of the title of this work is somewhat misleading, and that the Sanskrit title Aparimitāyurjñānahṛdayadhāraṇī might be more accurately translated into English as The Dhāraṇī of the Essence of the Wisdom of Aparimitāyus, or even The Dhāraṇī of the Essence of Knowing Aparimitāyus. Because this translation is based on the Tibetan version of the text, however, it follows the title as rendered in the Tibetan translation.

notes.8

8. Edgerton (1953), p. 266.1.

notes.9

9. Note that there is a discrepancy among various databases for cataloging the Toh 850 version of this text within vol. 100 or 101 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 850 note 9 for details. This text, Toh 850, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus, e), are listed as being located in volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room—list this work as being located in volume 101. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text—which forms a whole, very large volume—the Vimalaprabhānāmakālacakratantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.

notes.10

10. Both versions of the Degé read gang gA tas bskor ba’i rdzing bu’i ’gram na; the Stok Palace Kangyur reads gang ga tas bskor ba’i rdzing bu’i ’gram na. We are indebted to Alexander O’Neil for providing us with the correct identity of this location. The Tibetan is likely a problematic Tibetan transliteration of the term gaggarāpokkharaṇī, or “the Gaggarā lotus pond.” As O’Neil informed the editorial team, the Chinese translation of this text transliterates this term as 伽伽靈池 or “gagara,” and thus offers a helpful correction to the Tibetan transliteration. For more on this location see the entries on Gaggarā and Campā in Malalasekara’s Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names.