Yīqiè rúlái báisǎngài dàfódǐng tuóluóní 一切如來白傘蓋大佛頂陀羅尼
Dhāraṇī of the All-Tathāgata White-Parasol Great-Buddha-Crown by 慈賢 (Cíxián, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Liáo-period (cataloged in Kanripo as 宋 / Sòng) recension of the Sitātapatra-dhāraṇī by Cíxián (慈賢), the Magadha-trained translator at the Liáo imperial court. Together with Cíxián’s parallel Uṣṇīṣa-vijaya-dhāraṇī (KR6j0153), the text forms a paired Buddha-Crown corpus distinct from the Tang Tángmì recensions. Preserved in the Fángshān stone canon (vol. 27, no. 1063) rather than in the Sòng-edited compilations.
Abstract
Cíxián’s Sitātapatra-dhāraṇī shares the same canonical-recension family as Amoghavajra’s earlier T1048 (KR6j0161) but transmits a slightly different Indic source-text, with phonetic conventions reflecting the early-Sòng / Liáo northern transliteration apparatus. The Liáo court’s adoption of the Sitātapatra cult — alongside the Uṣṇīṣa-vijaya cult — followed the Khitan emperors’ programme of state Buddhism that drew on the Tang Esoteric heritage while sourcing fresh Indic recensions through the Northern Silk-Road monastic network. The catalog meta places Cíxián’s dynasty as 宋 reflecting the Sòng-Liáo synchrony in conventional cataloging, but his patronage and translation activity was at the Khitan-Liáo court (Shèngzōng to Dàozōng reigns).
Translations and research
- Lin Guangming 林光明 (ed.), Xīnbiān Dàzàng quánzhòu 新編大藏全咒. Taipei: 嘉豐出版社, 2001.
- Liu Shufen 劉淑芬. Mièzuì yǔ dùwáng — Fódǐng zūnshèng tuóluóní jīngchuáng zhī yánjiū. Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 2008.