Fóshuō shíbābì tuóluóní jīng 佛說十八臂陀羅尼經
Dhāraṇī Sūtra of the Eighteen-Armed One (Aṣṭādaśa-bhuja-dhāraṇī-sūtra) by 法賢 (Fǎxián, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Northern Sòng dhāraṇī-sūtra on an Eighteen-Armed Avalokiteśvara form (十八臂 Shíbābì, aṣṭādaśa-bhuja) translated by Fǎxián (法賢). The deity is one of the multi-armed kriyā-tantra / yoga-tantra emanations of Avalokiteśvara, with each of her eighteen arms holding a distinctive ritual implement (cintāmaṇi, lotus, vajra, sword, trīśūla trident, aṅkuśa hook, pāśa noose, dhanus bow, bāṇa arrow, etc.). 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 opening situates the discourse with the Buddha addressing Ānanda (阿難 Ānán): “Sentient beings of the world are blinded to the wisdom of reality. They turn through the three realms not knowing the root of suffering. They give free rein to body, speech, and mind in the commission of the four heinous sins. Such persons are deeply pitiable. I have an Eighteen-Limbed Great Dhāraṇī. Should sentient beings come to receive this dhāraṇī and recite it constantly, the root [of their karmic obstructions] shall be…” The text proceeds to expound the Aṣṭādaśa-bhuja-mūla-mantra, the iconographic specification of the eighteen-armed deity (each arm with its ritual implement and mudrā), the vidyā-formulae for each of the eighteen siddhi applications, the maṇḍala-construction, the abhiṣeka sequence, and the closing dedication.
The “eighteen arms” is one of the conventional iconographic forms of Avalokiteśvara in the developed Tantric tradition, intermediate between the simpler Sahasra-bhuja (thousand-armed) and the more compact six- or eight-armed variants. The text is one of the principal Sòng-period witnesses to this iconographic form.
Translations and research
- Lokesh Chandra. The Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara. Delhi: Abhinav, 1988 — comparative iconography of Avalokiteśvara forms.
- Reis-Habito, Maria. Die Dhāraṇī des Großen Erbarmens. Nettetal: Steyler, 1993.
Links
- CBETA T20n1118
- 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.