Toh 813 intro.10

intro.10

The reason for the inclusion of the second set of verses is less obvious. After the episode of the quelling of the epidemic and the vanquishing or conversion of the spirits responsible for it, the text of Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm continues with a variety of explanations, ritual instructions, and exchanges with the Four Guardian Kings focused on different physical and spiritual ailments and the importance of the dhāraṇī in treating them. The passage that constitutes the second set of verses extracted here is part of a ritual instruction for the removal of poisons, and its invocation for that purpose of the qualities of the Buddha’s principal disciples is just one of several similar passages invoking other forces. From the source text context, its mention of poison seems to refer to physical poisons, but perhaps intended here for the purposes of this extracted text is a metaphorical interpretation in the overall theme of well-being. Alternatively, it may have been included to round off the invocation of the qualities of the Saṅgha by mentioning some of the qualities of its individual members.