Fó shuō mìmì bāmíng tuóluóní jīng 佛說祕密八名陀羅尼經
Sūtra of the Esoteric Dhāraṇī of the Eight Names by 法賢 (Fǎxián, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Northern-Sòng dhāraṇī-translation by 法賢 Fǎxián (= Tiānxīzāi) at the Sòng Institute (譯經院). The colophon carries the full set of his honorific titles. The Taishō editors mark “[No. 1365]” — i.e. paired with KR6j0595 by 玄奘 Xuánzàng. The dating bracket fixes the translation between his elevation as 明教大師 in 982 and his death in 1000.
Abstract
The frame is recognisably the Sòng-Institute idiom: the Buddha at Śrāvastī’s Jeta-grove with 1,250 bhikṣus and an immeasurable host of bodhisattvas, headed by Vajrapāṇi (Jīngāngshǒu). The Buddha addresses Vajrapāṇi as “Great Esoteric-Sovereign” (dà mìmì zhǔ 大祕密主) and gently rebukes him: the supreme esoteric law of the Vajra-section (jīngāngbù 金剛部) is hard for beings to receive, yet Vajrapāṇi has been preaching difficult-to-believe teachings without due regard for the listeners — for which reason the Buddha now declares him to be “not in accord with the Dharma, not a sage, undisciplined”. To make amends, the Buddha proposes to teach Vajrapāṇi’s own eight esoteric names and the dhāraṇī attached to them.
The eight names in Fǎxián’s translation are: (1) Xiàng’ěr 象耳, (2) Miàozhuāngyán 妙莊嚴, (3) Gōngdé bǎohǎi 功德寶海, (4) Wúdòng 無動, (5) Zhēnshíyún 真實雲, (6) Kě’ài sèxiāng 可愛色相, (7) Yànguāng 焰光, (8) Miàosè 妙色 — a slightly different list from Xuánzàng’s KR6j0595 (e.g. Wúdòng “Unmoved” and Kě’ài sèxiāng “Loveable-Form” replace Shàn yǒngměng and Shèngdìyún), reflecting either a different Indic exemplar or revised Sòng-Institute glossing. Nanjio N0886.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.