འཕགས་པ་རག་སྔགས་ཀྱ་རྒྱལ་པ་སྒྲན་མ་མཆག་ག་གཟངས intro.4

intro.4

Śākyamuni gives his most detailed account of the benefits of dhāraṇī recitation following the second of the dhāraṇīs that he himself recites. In this passage, the Buddha lists the types of supernatural beings who will no longer influence the reciter, the classes of animals that will not be a threat, the types of diseases the dhāraṇī will alleviate, and specific life-threatening circumstances it will protect against. The Buddha completes this description by declaring that it is not possible for anyone under the protection of these dhāraṇīs to be reborn among the gods, humans, asuras, or māras. The Buddha offers a similarly detailed description of the benefits of dhāraṇī recitation, this time in verse, following the presentation of the dhāraṇī by the Four Great Kings. In this passage the Buddha places more emphasis on spiritual benefits, noting that one who recites the dhāraṇī will be free of the obstacles created by Māra, purify billions of eons of karmic deeds, and amass an incredible amount of merit in an exceedingly short time. Following these verses, the text comes to a close as the entire assembly, including the bodhisattvas and Four Great Kings, rejoice and praise Śākyamuni’s discourse.