Rìguāng púsà yuèguāng púsà tuóluóní 日光菩薩月光菩薩陀羅尼
Dhāraṇī of the Bodhisattvas Sūryaprabha and Candraprabha by anonymous (extracted from the Mahākaruṇā-dhāraṇī-sūtra)
About the work
A short one-fascicle anonymous text excerpted from the Mahākaruṇā-dhāraṇī-sūtra (i.e. the Qiānshǒu Qiānyǎn Guānshìyīn púsà guǎngdà yuánmǎn wúài dàbēixīn tuóluóní jīng T1060). The text-internal annotation explicitly states 此呪出觀世音菩薩大悲心陀羅尼經 (“this vidyā is extracted from the Avalokiteśvara Mahākaruṇā-dhāraṇī-sūtra”). No translator-colophon and no narrative frame; the text consists of two short vidyā formulae attributed to Sūryaprabha (日光菩薩) and Candraprabha (月光菩薩) — the standard paritra (attendant) bodhisattvas of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara cult.
Abstract
The text reproduces, as a stand-alone unit, the two short bodyguard-dhāraṇī passages from the Mahākaruṇā-dhāraṇī-sūtra (T1060) in which Sūryaprabha and Candraprabha — the paritra bodhisattvas flanking Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara — speak protective vidyā-formulae for those who uphold the Thousand-Armed Mahākaruṇā dhāraṇī. The Sūryaprabha formula opens namo Buddhaguṇāya-mai namo dharma-mahāte namo saṃghatāyāne tariṣṭha-bhū sav-ṛtaṃ-namaḥ svāhā (transliterated 南無勃陀瞿那迷 南無達摩莫訶低 南無僧伽多夜泥 底哩部畢 薩咄擔納摩 娑婆訶), and is presented as having power to remove all sins, repel demons, and avert celestial calamities. The text functions as a Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara liturgical extract distributable as a separate amulet/recitation unit, paralleling the fragmentation of dhāraṇīs from larger Mahāyāna sūtras into stand-alone talismanic texts that is characteristic of Tang Esoteric devotional culture. Compare also the Hóujiāluómíngkūmi-dhāraṇī (T1162-related) and other similar excerpts from large Avalokiteśvara compilations.
The dating bracket is broad: post-Mahākaruṇā-dhāraṇī-sūtra (T1060 translated by Bhagavadhdharma c. 650) through late-Tang transmission.
Translations and research
- Reis-Habito, Maria. “The Repentance Ritual of the Thousand-Armed Guanyin.” Studies in Central and East Asian Religions 4 (1991): 42–51.
- Yü Chün-fang. Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteśvara. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.