འཕགས་པ་ད་བཞན་གཤགས་པ་བདན་གྱ་སྔན་གྱ་སྨན་ལམ་གྱ་ཁྱད་པར་རྒྱས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.14

intro.14

A number of gods in the assembly then begin to wonder how simply hearing the names of these buddhas, who, after all, live in buddhafields that are inconceivably far away from our own Sahā world, could really allow beings to develop such good qualities. In response to their skepticism, Śākyamuni enters into a state of absorption that summons the seven thus-gone ones before the assembly. Amazed, the gods make offerings to the seven thus-gone ones and set forth their aspiration that all beings might attain this absorption and be able to actually see them, just as they have. Mañjuśrī then asks the seven thus-gone ones to teach a dhāraṇī that can overcome illnesses and protect beings from those with ill intentions, planetary influences, lunar asterisms, death, enemies, and wild animals, and that can fulfill all beings’ wishes. The seven thus-gone ones recite their dhāraṇī and provide a description of the recitation ritual and the benefits of performing it. This is followed by a dhāraṇī given by Vajrapāṇi, Śakra, and the Four Great Kings, as well as another dhāraṇī pronounced by Vajrapāṇi alone.