Fóshuō Císhì púsà tuóluóní 佛說慈氏菩薩陀羅尼
Maitreya Bodhisattva Dhāraṇī Spoken by the Buddha by 法賢 (Fǎxián, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Sòng dhāraṇī text translated by Făxián (法賢, d. 1001). 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. The work consists almost entirely of the dhāraṇī formula itself, transliterated in Chinese characters with subscripted reading-glosses and èrhé (二合) consonant-cluster markers — typical of the Northern Sòng Chuánfǎyuàn (傳法院) translation idiom. Closely related to KR6j0360 (T1143, Făxián’s longer Maitreya-vow dhāraṇī).
Abstract
The text is a stand-alone dhāraṇī formula attributed to Maitreya (慈氏菩薩, Maitreya-bodhisattva), with no narrative frame. It opens tadyathā (怛[寧*也]他) and closes with the standard svāhā (娑嚩賀). The dhāraṇī invokes siri siri sara sara suru suru dhara dhara cara cara mahā-cara bhara bhara mahā-bhara… — a dhāraṇī of vrata and tejas class, characteristic of Maitreya devotion. As a stand-alone dhāraṇī-text without narrative or ritual instructions, it follows the Northern Sòng pattern of producing dhāraṇī-as-talisman texts for amulet and recitation use. Făxián’s translation activity at the Imperial Translation Bureau in Kāifēng spanned 989 to his death in 1001.
Translations and research
- Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2003.
- No dedicated study of T1142 located.
Links
- CBETA T20n1142
- 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.