The Dhāraṇī of the Essence of the Six Perfections
Acknowledgements
Toh 579
Degé Kangyur, vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folios 203.a–203.b
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Table of Contents
Summary
The text presents a simple dhāraṇī in the form of a mnemonic expression consisting of homages to the three bodies of a buddha, the six perfections, and their underlying philosophical understanding. The benefits of the dhāraṇī are also listed.
Acknowledgements
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Paul G. Hackett produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Rory Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
Introduction
This text consists of a series of homages—to Prajñāpāramitā and the Three Jewels—followed by the dhāraṇī itself and a list of its benefits. The dhāraṇī consists of homages to the three bodies of a buddha leading into the dhāraṇī proper, which is a mnemonic expression listing the six perfections and concluding with a statement about the emptiness of all phenomena. It is similar, in an abbreviated form, to a much longer and more inclusive mantra given by Kulika Puṇḍarīka in his Kālacakra commentary, the Explanatory Commentary on the Abridged Kālacakra, King of Tantras, That Conforms to the Root Tantra in Twelve Thousand Verses Called ‘Stainless Light’ (Vimalaprabhānāmamūlatantrānusāriṇīdvādaśasāhasrikālaghukālacakratantrarājaṭīkā; bsdus pa’i rgyud kyi rgyal po dus kyi ’khor lo’i ’grel bshad, rtsa ba’i rgyud kyi rjes su ’jug pa stong phrag bcu gnyis pa dri ma med pa’i ’od ces bya ba; Toh 1347, folios 143.b.1–3). If there is a connection between the two texts beyond mere similarity, it remains unstated. No Sanskrit title is provided for this text, and its title is given on the basis of the Tibetan alone.1
This translation of the text into English relied primarily on the Degé recension while referring to variant readings in other recensions as noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and validated in the source texts—notably Narthang—as well as the Stok Palace and Phukdrak recensions.2 No previous translation of this text into a language outside the Tibetan sphere of influence is known. Meisezahl (1957) provides a diplomatic edition of the dhāraṇī as found in the Linden Museum Tibetan collection.
Text Body
The Translation
Homage to the Noble Mother, Prajñāpāramitā. Homage to the Buddha. Homage to the Dharma. Homage to the Saṅgha.
namo dharmakāya saṃbhogakāya nirmāṇakāya | tadyathā | dānapāramitā śīlapāramitā kṣāntipāramitā vīryapāramitā dhyānapāramitā prajñāpāramitā sarvadharmaśunyatā svāhā |3
By taking this up, one will retain the six perfections, and emptiness will have been established in one’s mind. When one verbally recites this constantly, one will understand all the aphoristic and extensive teachings,4 one will purify the five deeds of immediate retribution, and one will also overcome all bad views.
Notes
Note that there is a discrepancy among various databases for cataloging the Toh 935 version of this text within vol. 100 or 101 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 935, n.2, for details.
Bibliography
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs. Toh 579, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folios 203.a–203.b.
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs. Toh 935, vol. 100 (gzungs ’dus, e), folio 281.a.
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 90, pp. 652–53.
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 104 (rgyud, pa), folios 194.b–195.a.
pha rol tu phyin pa drug gi snying po’i gzungs. Phukdrak Kangyur vol. 118 (rgyud, wa), folios 150.a–150.b.
Meisezahl, Richard O. “Die tibetischen Handschriften und Drucke des Linden-Museums in Stuttgart.” Tribus 7 (1957): 1–166, 103 (item 71 607, Nr. 1).
Pagel, Ulrich. Mapping the Path: Vajrapadas in Mahāyāna Literature. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2007.
Glossary
Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language
Attested in source text
This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.
Attested in other text
This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.
Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.
Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.
Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.
Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.
Source unspecified
This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.
five deeds of immediate retribution
- mtshams med pa lnga
- མཚམས་མེད་པ་ལྔ།
- *pañcānantarya AD
six perfections
- pha rol tu phyin pa drug
- ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་དྲུག
- ṣaṭ pāramitā AD