Bái jiùdù Fómǔ zàn 白救度佛母讚
Praise of the White Saviouress Buddha-Mother (Sitatārā-stotra) by 阿旺扎什 (Ngawang Tashi, Āwàng Zhāshí, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Qīng-period verse-praise of Sitatārā (白救度佛母 Bái Jiùdù Fómǔ, “White Tārā” — the longevity-and-healing emanation of Tārā in the Tibetan-Vajrayāna pantheon) translated by Ngawang Tashi (阿旺扎什), the Tibetan-Chinese translator-monk of the Qīng imperial Tibetan-Buddhist translation establishment. As a bǔyì (補譯, “supplementary translation”) supplied by Qīng-period imperial sponsorship, the text fills a specific gap in the Chinese canonical witness to the Tibetan-Vajrayāna Tārā cycle: alongside the Yuán-period Tārā translations of Ān Zàng (KR6j0317) and the anonymous parallel (KR6j0318), this Qīng-period White-Tārā praise completes the Chinese-canonical Tibetan Tārā devotional repertoire.
Abstract
White Tārā (Sitatārā) is the principal longevity-deity in the Tibetan-Vajrayāna pantheon, distinguished from the more popular Green Tārā (Śyāma-Tārā) by her white complexion and her seven eyes (the seventh in the centre of her forehead, plus eyes in each palm and the soles of each foot, totalling seven beyond the standard two). Her cult is centrally concerned with longevity-prolongation practice (tshe-sgrub) and the dispelling of premature death. The Sitatārā-stotra praises her wisdom-compassion functions and her protective power against the three causes of premature death: external violence, internal disease, and karmic obstruction.
Ngawang Tashi’s Qīng-period rendering is the principal Chinese-canonical witness to the Sitatārā devotional cycle, paralleling his other Tibetan-Vajrayāna translation work (notably the Yàoshī yíguǐ bùtán fǎ 修藥師儀軌布壇法 KR6j0100, T19n0928, on Bhaiṣajyaguru ritual). His translation programme reflects the Qīng-imperial integration of Tibetan Buddhism — patronised especially by the Yongzheng and Qiánlóng emperors — into the Chinese Buddhist canonical tradition.
Translations and research
- Beyer, Stephan. The Cult of Tārā: Magic and Ritual in Tibet. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973 — Sitatārā’s role in the Tārā cult, including her longevity-prolongation function.
- Willson, Martin. In Praise of Tārā: Songs to the Saviouress. London: Wisdom, 1986.
- Wang Xiangyun. “The Qing Court’s Tibet Connection: Lcang skya Rol pa’i rdo rje and the Qianlong Emperor.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 60 (2000): 125–163.
Links
- CBETA T20n1109
- Kanseki DB
- 阿旺扎什 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (1750) — T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014.