Fó shuō dàshèng guānxiǎng màntúluó jìng zhū èqù jīng 佛說大乘觀想曼拏羅淨諸惡趣經

Sūtra of the Buddha’s Speaking of the Mahāyāna Mandala-Visualisation for Purifying All Evil Destinies (Skt. Sarva-durgati-pariśodhana-tantra) by 法賢 Fǎxián (Dharmabhadra, 譯)

About the work

A two-fascicle Sòng-period Esoteric translation by Fǎxián (法賢) of the Sarva-durgati-pariśodhana-tantra (Sarva-durgati-pariśodhana — “Purifying-of-All-Evil-Destinies”) — one of the principal late-Indian yoga-tantra scriptures and the foundational tantra of the funerary-ritual tradition in Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism.

Abstract

The Sarva-durgati-pariśodhana-tantra is one of the major Indian Buddhist yoga-tantras, focused on the purification of evil rebirths (durgati: hell, hungry-ghost, animal — the three evil destinies of saṃsāra) through mandala-visualisation practice. The text became central to the Tibetan Esoteric funerary-ritual tradition (the bardo and phowa practices); its Chinese translation by Fǎxián provides an East Asian textual witness to the Indian source.

The translation dates from Fǎxián’s career at the Sòng Yìjīngyuàn (987–1001).

Translations and research

  • Skorupski, Tadeusz. The Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Tantra: Elimination of All Evil Destinies. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983. — The standard scholarly edition and translation of the Sanskrit/Tibetan tantra.