Dà jíyì shénzhòu jīng 大吉義神呪經
Sūtra of the Divine Spell of Great Auspiciousness by 曇曜 (Tányào, 譯)
About the work
A four-fascicle dhāraṇī-anthology translated by the Yúngāng abbot 曇曜 Tányào (fl. 460s), best known as the principal Northern-Wèi state-Buddhist administrator under Wéndì 文成帝 and as the figure traditionally credited with sponsoring the so-called “Tányào Five Caves” 曇曜五窟 at Yúngāng. The colophon to the work reads “元魏昭玄統沙門釋曇曜譯” — translated by him in his capacity as 昭玄統 (the Northern-Wèi office of supreme Buddhist supervisor), placing the translation in his Píngchéng years (c. 462–466).
Abstract
The text is a collection of vidyā-spells (read here as jíyì shénzhòu 吉義神呪, “auspiciously-meaningful divine spells”) delivered by the Buddha for the protection of the saṅgha, the cure of disease, the suppression of all manner of demons (piśāca, yakṣa, rākṣasa, kumbhāṇḍa), and the dispelling of gǔ 蠱 (sorcery-poison) and “evil spells” (èzhòu 惡呪). The opening of fascicle one is a long refuge-formula running from the Seven Buddhas of the Past (Vipaśyin, Śikhin, Viśvabhū, Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kāśyapa, Śākyamuni) through the Tuṣita Maitreya, the trikāla-Buddhas of past, future and present, the Dharma and Saṅgha, the Akaniṣṭha heavens, and on through the major deva-kings (Mahêśvara, Brahmā, Paranirmita-vaśavartin, Tuṣita, Yāma, Indra, the Four Heavenly Kings) — a structure characteristic of mid-fifth-century vidyādhara-text liturgy.
The work is a key witness to the state-Buddhist dhāraṇī culture of the Northern Wèi: Tányào’s editorial agenda is clear in the choice of an apotropaic compendium over a doctrinal treatise. The text became important in the early Sānjiējiào 三階教 dhāraṇī recitation curriculum and is cited in the Fǎyuàn zhūlín 法苑珠林 (T2122). Nanjio N0473.
Translations and research
- Tsukamoto Zenryū 塚本善隆. Hokuchō Bukkyō-shi kenkyū 北朝佛教史研究. Tokyo: Daitō shuppansha, 1974. — fundamental study of the Northern-dynasties Buddhist environment, including Tányào’s translation activity.
- Mochizuki Shinkō 望月信亨. Bukkyō dai-jiten 佛教大辭典, s.v. 大吉義神呪經.