Bájì kǔnàn tuóluóní jīng 拔濟苦難陀羅尼經
Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī for Rescuing from Suffering and Distress
by 玄奘 (譯)
About the work
A short single-juan dhāraṇī-sūtra translated by 玄奘 Xuánzàng (602–664) at one of his Chang’an or Yùhuā-gōng translation centres after his return from India in 645. CANWWW preserves the alternate titles 拔濟苦難經 and 勝福往生淨七經. The dating window 645–664 covers Xuánzàng’s full Chinese translation career.
Abstract
The Buddha is at Śrāvastī (室羅筏 Śrāvastī), Jeta Grove, with countless śrāvakas and bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, devas, asuras, etc. A bodhisattva named Bù-kě-shuō gōngdé zhuāngyán 不可說功德莊嚴 (“Inexpressibly-Adorned-with-Merit”) rises, prostrates, and addresses the Buddha. The Buddha pronounces a dhāraṇī of universal release from suffering and rebirth in the pure land. The text is a typical Xuánzàng-period spell-extract — short, doctrinally framed, and expressly soteriological in function. Recorded in Xuánzàng’s biography (the Dà cí’ēn-sì sānzàng fǎshī zhuàn 大慈恩寺三藏法師傳); Nanjio N0490.
Translations and research
For Xuánzàng’s translation activity broadly:
- Lusthaus, Dan. Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogācāra Buddhism and the Ch’eng wei-shih lun. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002. — sets the doctrinal context.
- Liu Shu-fen 劉淑芬. “Xuánzàng yǔ Tángdài Mìjiào” 玄奘與唐代密教, in various Tang Buddhist studies volumes — for Xuánzàng’s contribution to Chinese dhāraṇī literature.