Fóshuō Guānzìzài púsà mǔ tuóluóní jīng 佛說觀自在菩薩母陀羅尼經
Dhāraṇī Sūtra of the Mother of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (Avalokiteśvara-mātṛ-dhāraṇī-sūtra) by 法賢 (Fǎxián, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Northern Sòng dhāraṇī-sūtra on the Mother of Avalokiteśvara (觀自在菩薩母 Guānzìzài púsà mǔ) translated by Fǎxián (法賢). In the Indian Tantric tradition, the Mātṛ of Avalokiteśvara is variously identified — most commonly with Tārā, born from Avalokiteśvara’s tear, who functions as the saviouress-mother — though here the text appears to refer to a more elemental prajñāpāramitā-mother principle. The colophon: 西天譯經三藏朝散大夫試光祿卿明教大師臣法賢奉詔譯.
Abstract
The discourse is set at Vipula-pura (廣嚴城 Guǎngyánchéng, Vaiśālī) with the great audience of five hundred bhikṣus including Śāriputra (舍利子) and the principal bodhisattvas headed by Maitreya (慈氏 Císhì). Within the assembly a particular bodhisattva (named in the text as the Avalokiteśvara-Mātṛ figure) rises and announces her mūla-dhāraṇī. The text expounds the vidyā-formulae, the iconographic specifications of the deity, the mudrā-repertoire, the abhiṣeka sequence, and the siddhi-applications.
The text complements the Sòng-period Tārā cycle (KR6j0313–KR6j0316) and the Avalokiteśvara dhāraṇī cycle, providing a specifically mātṛ-form witness to the Avalokiteśvara devotional tradition.
Translations and research
- Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2003.
- Beyer, Stephan. The Cult of Tārā. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973.
Links
- CBETA T20n1117
- Kanseki DB
- 法賢 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (1001) — 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.