《古书隐楼藏书》Vol. 18

A messenger returned from Mount Jizu (a renowned Buddhist mountain in Yunnan) and reported that the master had passed away on the day of the full moon. Not until deep autumn in the ninth month did an official from Sichuan say that on the mid-autumn night of the full moon he had met the master at Deer Cave on Mount Emei. His daily routine, meals, and conversation were just as in ordinary times. The master looked about fifty; his eyes were usually lowered, but when he opened them briefly, their light flashed like lightning and could penetrate a person’s inner organs, leaving one speechless. He often ate only once in more than a month, consuming about a peck of acorns, yet never spoke of being full. His voice was like a bell, or like thunder rolling—so when he recited dharanis (Buddhist incantations), the sound rang like metal and iron; the cadence seemed to rise from the sea, vast and boundless, without arising or ceasing, like the tide coming in. Others tried many times to imitate him and could not. This came from the master’s own cultivation and inner refinement—how could it be gained by blind imitation? As for the fullness of his inner life and the depth of his attainment, it is a pity that I did not attend him long and could not fathom them fully. Yet I was already beyond joy: the special transmission outside the scriptures (jiao wai bie chuan) had been received and practiced, and could be widely proclaimed. This was my good fortune as a disciple, and a great blessing for devotees throughout Zhendan (the ancient name for China). Respectfully written by the disciple Min Zhenxian.

The Zhengmai says: Exoteric teaching is like openly explaining a medical prescription; secret mantras are like applying medicine in secret for treatment. Their meaning can be understood through three kinds of power. First is the power of principle and Dharma: a single word can contain boundless subtle meaning, like “Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen”—few words, profound import. Second is the power of majesty and virtue. Third is the virtuous power inherent in the sacred names of the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha). Their efficacy is as great as that between a sovereign and his ministers: by vocal recitation one upholds the Three Jewels, and through the linguistic force and vows of true mantra speech one transcends the ordinary and enters the sacred—like an imperial edict that can secure succession to the throne and reach the utmost.

Changshui says: Mantras have not been translated since antiquity, and this is roughly for five layers of intent. First, they are the secret speech of the Buddhas, which even other sages can scarcely fathom. Second, they are the secret seals of the Buddhas, like a king’s seal. Third, they are the dharani gate (brief formulas that gather vast doctrinal meaning), containing the six senses of bhagavat (an honorific for the World-Honored One). Fourth, they are the names of demon-kings; one call and they receive the command to guard and protect. Fifth, they possess inconceivable power, able to pardon sins and confer one’s station and role.

Gushan says: Secret mantras in the various sutras are by rule not translated. Ancient masters have explained them differently; the Tiantai school harmonizes these views, and in general they do not go beyond the four siddhanta (four modes of teaching and their benefits). The first explanation: a mantra is the name of a demon-king; when his name is called, his followers revere their lord and dare not do wrong—this is the benefit of delighting those in the world. The second: a mantra is like a secret signal in the army; when parties match it, no one rebukes or blocks them; when they do not match, they are seized and punished—this is the benefit of leading people toward goodness. The third: a mantra can secretly stop evil so others cannot detect it. It is like a lowly person who flees to another country, falsely claims to be a prince, is given a princess in marriage, yet is violent and hard to live with; someone comes and exposes him with only a verse, and he falls silent and stops—this is the benefit of countering and breaking evil. The fourth: a mantra is the secret speech of the Buddhas, known only to sages. It is like a king who asks for “xiantuopo”—one term that can mean salt, water, a vessel, or a horse; the ministers do not understand, only a wise minister knows what is meant. Though a mantra is but one phrase, it fully possesses every kind of power: it can heal illness, extinguish sin, give rise to goodness, and accord with the Way and enter the substance of principle—this belongs to the ultimate meaning. That mantras truly have these four benefits is likewise so.

Fangxi says: The opening first invokes the names of ghost kings, such as Pisacha (spirits that feed on vital essence), Kumbhanda (pot-shaped demons), Jara, and the like; there are also forms such as “Bhagavati” (a transliteration of “World-Honored One”), most of which are names of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, so that those who hear them feel gratitude for their grace. There are also titles such as Vajra (a transliteration of “vajra”) and Gokaracipā and the rest—all designations of the vajra secret-trace guardians (protectors who wield the vajra staff)—so that those who hear them stand in awe of their majesty. Both kinds can gladden people and bring them benefit. These secret syllables are sometimes like coded signals and passwords in an army, sometimes like silently checking wrongdoing in secret, or again the secret speech of the buddhas; the point is simply that those who hear, uphold, and recite them become joyful, give rise to good intentions, extinguish evil karma, and accord with the correct principle. Thus explicit exposition and secret exposition clarify the same meaning and confer the same benefits.

Changshui also says: The lines before “Tedatta” (meaning in the mantra “I speak as follows”) are all acts of taking refuge in the various bodhisattvas and holy sages and statements in the mantra praying for their empowerment, so that one is kept far from disasters such as hungry ghosts and disease; only from the syllable “Om” downward is the heart of the mantra spoken. This section belongs to the secret Shurangama (the dharma-gate of the ultimately firm great samādhi) and from antiquity has not been translated into Chinese. The Buyi says: How could ordinary people fully penetrate the secret speech of the sacred realm? Even if it were rendered in Chinese, the meaning would still be hard to grasp. It is like calling things by special terms—the things themselves do not change, yet later people cannot recognize what is meant. Just as in ancient ritual “Great Dance” and “Soft Hair” referred to ox and sheep, and “Pure Wash” and “Pure Pouring” referred to water and wine, ordinary people would not know what those phrases denoted. The same holds for teachings in the explicit tradition and the esoteric tradition.

The various explanations recorded above hold that secret mantras should not be translated. Explanations within our own tradition say: when one examines the great masters of antiquity, some also rendered the sounds in translation. In Dharmarakṣa’s Jin-era translation of the Zhengfa Huajing (Scripture of the Dharma Lotus), the dhāraṇī spells were rendered both in words and in transliterated sound. In the Sutra of Questions by the Brahma Who Holds the Mind, the clauses, characters, and sounds of the mantras were all translated together.

There is also the doctrine of the “five [terms] not translated”: Bhagavān was rendered as “Holy Honored One,” Jambū as “superior,” vajra and anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi as “supreme awakening,” and prajñā as “wisdom”; in former times secret mantras were left untranslated. How do we know today that the various secret spells may be translated and explained? The Indian master Vajrabodhi translated mantras in his Lüechu Niansong (Abridged Recitation Manual); the Indian master Amoghavajra wrote the Renwang Bore Liyu Shi (Commentary on the Essence of the Humane Kings Prajñā); the Song tripiṭaka master Qiunà translated forty-eight divine spells—the prajñā mantras explained by National Preceptor Xianshou (Huayan patriarch Fazang); in the West, Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna explained the Cundī dhāraṇī in the transmitted Xiao Mingzang (Small Bright Canon); and the guardian recitations of various secret phrases likewise translate the spells. Amoghavajra’s Renwang Bore Liyu Shi, the forty-eight divine spells translated by Song tripiṭaka master Qiunà, the prajñā mantras explained by National Preceptor Xianshou, the Cundī dhāraṇī explained in Nāgārjuna’s Xiao Mingzang, the various secret phrases, the Shouhu Guozhu Tuoluoni Jing (Sutra of Dhāraṇī for Protecting the Lord of the Nation), and scriptures such as the Great Compassion, Empty Wisdom, and One-Syllable sutras—all have Buddhas and bodhisattvas personally praising and explaining seed-syllable mantras; the Nirvāṇa and prajñā class of sūtras do the same. In the Huayan Jing (Avataṃsaka Sūtra), the Buddha together with Kāśyapa, Subhūti, and the good friend skilled in many arts explain the meaning of the forty-two letters. From this one knows that the secret true words (mantras) of each division may also be translated and explained according to the esoteric canon.

The Sanskrit namo is here rendered as “taking refuge” (entrusting body and life in reliance). Buddha means “awakened one,” comprising three senses: self-awakening, awakening others, and perfect awakening in conduct. Dharma means what can serve as a model and be upheld—namely the Tripiṭaka and the twelve divisions of scripture. Saṃgha is rendered “harmonious assembly,” with two senses: harmony in principle, meaning jointly realizing selective cessation nirvāṇa (the unconditioned nirvāṇa attained by wisdom cutting afflictions); and harmony in practice, meaning shared observance of precepts, shared understanding of views, shared distribution of benefits, shared dwelling, speech without dispute, and shared joy in intention. The Sanskrit kalpa is here called “a span of time.” The above is excerpted from the Leiyeng Shu Cuan (Abridged Commentary on the Śūraṅgama), recorded for reference.

Tuduo said: In mantras, nanmo (homage to / refuge in) was first translated by meaning as gui ming (“take refuge”—entrusting body and mind), later by sound as nang mo; Song-dynasty sanzang (masters versed in sutra, vinaya, and treatises) also rendered it xing kong (“emptiness of nature”), which was the earliest sense-based translation. After that it shifted to transliteration, choosing sounds that harmonize with the meaning and express shared joy in birth. The Sanskrit kalpa is called shifen here—a stretch of time. The above is taken from the Lengyan Shuzuan (compiled commentaries on the Surangama Sutra), recorded for reference.

Tuduo also said: Nanmo was first translated as gui ming, then as nang mo; Song sanzang additionally translated it as xing kong—that was still sense-translation at first; only afterward did phonetic translation prevail, though in the Song period sense-translation still held. Yet when one examines nanmo, one may simply read it through form and sound: checked against the characters, it conveys that both xing (nature) and xin (mind) are empty and without fixed substance. The ancients said that penetrating Sanskrit ultimately comes down to mind. Because speech is the voice of the mind, one need only look at the written forms and notice whether the kou (mouth) radical appears, inferring meaning from that.

He also said: This passage in the Lengyan Shuzuan can serve as a gloss on the two characters nanmo.

The Lengyan Shuzuan says: Sanskrit asamkhyeya means “innumerable.” The phrase “passing through three asamkhyeya [kalpas]” means undergoing cultivation and planting causes for the Way over exceedingly long aeons—it shows that accomplishment is not easy and that practice values steady, sincere effort. The Surangama verse “xiao wo yi jie diandao xiang, bu li sengqi hu fa shen” (dispel my billion-kalpas of inverted thinking; without passing asamkhyeya, [attain] the body that protects the Dharma) means that one who sees nature understands at a glance; understanding is thorough clarity, so one need not again traverse three asamkhyeya kalpas—achievement can come in a single instant. This section is excerpted from explanations selected by the root teacher, hence recorded for reference.

“Xiao wo yi jie diandao xiang, bu li sengqi hu fa shen” says that the one who sees nature understands immediately upon seeing; understanding is complete clarity, therefore one need not go through three asamkhyeya kalpas and can accomplish in an instant. This passage too is recorded from the root teacher’s selected explanation, kept for reference.

The Lengyan Suzuan (Commentary Digest on the Shurangama) states that only after “Om” (the Sanskrit seed syllable) does the Shurangama Mantra proper begin as the xin zhou—the heart mantra, the core of the entire spell. This view follows the translation and commentary of Master Huaixiu of Xunzhou in the Tang, preserved in the Daizang under the “Shen” fascicle. The preceding passage marks that text as the ancient original translation; what follows renders it again in plainer language, thereby showing its many benefits—roughly twenty-four in all.

First, knowing the Buddha’s names and epithets enables one to see the Buddha’s form constantly. Second, knowing that one originally relies on the Three Treasures of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha brings empowerment of majesty and virtue. Third, knowing that vajra warrior deities are present causes evil demons to submit. Fourth, knowing the kings of ghosts and spirits and their retinues turns them into protectors who ward off calamity. Fifth, knowing this as a Buddha-mantra places it first and foremost among the Five Buddha Families—most honored and supreme. Sixth, knowing it as a crown mantra means that when it is chanted, all Buddhas bestow abhisheka upon the practitioner. Seventh, this divine mantra is efficacious and penetrating; its responsive power is beyond measure. Eighth, this luminous mantra gives rise to the great light of wisdom. Ninth, knowing it as the king of mantras makes it the sovereign over all spells. Tenth, knowing it as the mantra-heart means that a single recitation can reveal the mind and see one’s nature. Eleventh, taking the mantra mudrā as one’s pledge, wealth and honor are attained without fail. Twelfth, the mantra’s keys effect transformation that nothing in the world can fathom. Thirteenth, the mantra’s vows accord with cause and effect, so every wish is fully fulfilled. Fourteenth, the curses and pledges within the mantra bring retribution for weal and woe without error. Fifteenth, offering prayer through the mantra, Buddha and the heavens respond like an echo. Sixteenth, once the mantra teaching is unfolded, unobstructed eloquence is obtained. Seventeenth, knowing that it rests upon the Four Piṭakas, it is the root of all written Dharma. Eighteenth, knowing the letters of exoteric and esoteric teaching, sages and worthies arise from them. Nineteenth, the meanings of the characters embrace boundless doctrinal purport. Twentieth, the seed syllables are originally the wisdom-seeds of all Buddhas. Twenty-first, the wisdom-function in Sanskrit sounds was first transmitted by all Buddhas and the heavens. Twenty-second, knowing that it zongchi (dhāraṇī—totally retains and upholds) everything, all dharmas are summarized within it. Twenty-third, knowing that the zhenyan (true words/mantra) speak as things truly are, what is spoken never deceives. Twenty-fourth, knowing that the secret language is like a military order or imperial edict—it must not be divulged.

Among these twenty-four points, the first four belong to the five assemblies of the Shurangama Mantra; the remaining twenty all apply to the heart mantra and form a general overview of the whole spell from beginning to end. If one further translates and explains the innermost heart mantra at the end, six kinds of benefit are gained: each character holds multiple dharmic meanings; Chinese and Sanskrit sounds and graphs interpenetrate; the Tripiṭaka and the “thirty minds” (the ten abodes, ten practices, and ten dedications of the bodhisattva path) are displayed; it encompasses the three stages of worthies, the ten bhūmis, and equal and sublime enlightenment; it gathers the thirty-seven factors of awakening; and like warp and woof it threads through all letters, including the zhenyan Sanskrit syllables of the esoteric division.

Why does it have such inconceivable, marvelous power? The explanation is: because it is the very mind-essence of all Buddhas; because suchness of Dharma-nature is originally thus; because a single character carries many meanings; because of the bodhisattva’s practice and vows; and because of empowerment by inconceivable divine power. It is through such translation and explanation that people receive these many benefits. The text below again urgently admonishes practitioners not to discuss it recklessly or idly.

Dharani Gate (the Mantra Method)

Zhubu Yaomu (Essentials of the Various Sections) also states that the yoga method divides practice into five sections. The first is the Buddha Section, with Vairocana Buddha as chief; the second is the Vajra Section, with Akshobhya Buddha as chief; the third is the Jewel Section, with Ratnasambhava Buddha as chief; the fourth is the Lotus Section, with Amitabha Buddha as chief; and the fifth is the Karma Section, with Amoghasiddhi Buddha as chief.

Wumi Mi Xiuxing Nian Song Yi (Meaning of the Five Secret Practices and Recitation) says that these five sections are the five esoteric yoga methods: pacifying calamities, increasing benefits, subjugating, summoning, and love and respect. What is discussed here belongs to the increasing method within the Buddha Section—a method for seeking transcendent accomplishment.

The Susiddhi Sutra says: Santika is the pacifying method, Paustika is the increasing method, and Abhicaraka is the subjugating method. Each of these three sections has three grades of mantra (dharani). The first grade is spoken by sages, including buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and shravakas, and is called the sage mantra; the second grade is spoken by the celestial hosts, from the Pure Abode Heaven down through the thirty-two heavens, and is called the celestial mantra; the third grade is spoken by the earth-dwelling heavens, namely the eight classes of divine kings, and is called the earth-dwelling mantra. What corresponds here is the increasing section spoken by the buddha-sages.

Huiyi (Collected Meanings) says: Esoteric teaching is divided into three sections—the Buddha Section, the Bodhisattva Section, and the Ghost-and-Spirit Section. Each section is further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades: accomplishment and increase are upper-grade methods; averting calamity and summoning are middle-grade methods; subjugation is a lower-grade method. Upper-grade methods are further divided into three kinds: ritual conduct, contemplative method, and strict prohibitions. All these practices take the arousal of unsurpassed bodhicitta as their foundation. Practicing without a lineage transmission is called stealing the dharma; violating ritual conduct invites adverse retribution; breaking strict prohibitions—such as casually telling others of the efficacy—invites extraordinary misfortune. All of the above proceeds from the Buddha’s inconceivable four Siddhanta benefits (the four kinds of benefit in teaching according to beings’ capacities).

The Subahu-pariprccha (the scripture in which the bodhisattva Subahu asks about the Dharma) states: If a practitioner wishes to recite mantras in order to obtain siddhi (spiritual accomplishment) and its benefits, not a single detail of the ritual procedures and rules may be omitted or violated, lest maras find an opening to enter. One should therefore recite with single-minded concentration, without interruption over a long time, until visualization and the seed syllables of the mantras are each thoroughly mastered and everything corresponds—only then can one accomplish the subtle practice of yoga in which mind and deity are united and no contrived effort is needed. While reciting, the mind must not grasp at other realms, and one must not engage in idle talk with others; if recitation is interrupted even once, siddhi cannot be achieved. If one does not follow the ritual, or does not keep the precepts, or body and mind are not pure, not only will the practice fail, but harm will also be invited. The chief deities and vidyarajas (wrathful protective deities) of each mandala are originally buddhas and bodhisattvas and will never respond with anger and injury; but their attendants, as well as devas, nāgas, and fierce poisonous spirits and ghosts, when they see faults in the practitioner, will inflict harm.

The Vajraśekhara Yoga Chanting Sutra states: Those who practice yoga teachings must possess wisdom, clearly understand samadhi and mantra, abide in the bodhisattva precepts, and arouse bodhicitta (the aspiration for supreme awakening for oneself and the benefit of all beings). With such merit, one is permitted to enter mantra recitation.

The Bodhisattva Sila Sutra states: There are five things one must not do when upholding divine mantras: first, not eating meat; second, not drinking alcohol; third, not eating the five pungent plants (onion, garlic, and the other five acrid vegetables); fourth, not engaging in sexual misconduct; fifth, not eating or drinking in the homes of the impure. By guarding these five precepts, one can greatly benefit sentient beings and can also treat poisonous illnesses inflicted by evil spirits.

According to Fayuan, when monastics or lay practitioners find no efficacy in reciting sutras and mantras, it is often because they themselves lack sufficient sincerity yet blame the texts for being ineffective. Other causes include miscopied characters, irregular pronunciation, drinking alcohol or eating meat, mixing in pungent foods such as scallions and garlic, touching impurity with the hands, idle talk about worldly matters, unclean clothing, or an undignified place of practice. When these eight transgressions occur, spirits and demons may seize the opening to cause harm, and the reciter may suffer in turn. If one wishes to practice recitation, each session should include bathing and purifying the body, holding incense in the mouth (or keeping the mouth pure), a sincere and solemn mind, and universal dedication of merit for all beings in the six realms, without slackening. With such wholehearted effort, efficacy is assured.

Xianmi Yuantong states that sutras such as the Vajraśekhara, Susiddhikāra, and Cundī explain that after diligent recitation, practitioners may dream of buddhas, bodhisattvas, holy monks, or heavenly generals; dream of soaring through the air, riding a horse across a river; or encounter various fragrances, lights, and other extraordinary signs. When such responses appear, one should admonish the three karmas of body, speech, and mind and redouble recitation—not broadcast the visionary content of the mantra to others for display. Only toward fellow practitioners, when not motivated by fame or gain and when the listener can receive it with respect and praise, may one speak of these experiences.

The Dabei Jing (Great Compassion Sutra) says that when a person is earnestly reciting and holding the mantra, if various demonic obstructions arise—sudden fear, unease in body and mind, frequent drowsiness and heavy sleep, the tongue unable to keep up with chanting, visions of strange forms, doubt toward the mantra, many discriminating thoughts, or clinging to ignorance—then for counteracting these one should visualize the Sanskrit seed syllable “Lan” (often written in Chinese sources as the character for that bija), or visualize the seed syllable “Ya.” Both are seed syllables used in esoteric practice for such contemplation. The accompanying states and thoughts will then naturally subside. One should understand that all dharmas arisen from conditioned causes are empty by nature.

Although the Wuhui Zhenyan (Five-Assembly True Words) was translated and explained by ancient masters, those who later propagated the method, when facing the mantra in practice, need only recite it silently in the mind and follow their own capacity; they need not be rigidly bound to fixed forms. As for whether one should teach others, Confucius said: failing to speak when one should is to miss the person; speaking when one should not is to waste words. The wise neither miss the person nor waste words. Thus Mencius described five ways of teaching and five situations in which he would not answer; the Surangama Sutra also speaks of four modes of teaching. The esoteric portions are left untranslated in order to subdue various demonic obstructions—that is the outward purpose. The explication of the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism) given earlier touches the vital points of the path; these are specially marked at the opening of the mantra. Tuo Duo said: the crux lies solely in emptiness and stillness, settled concentration, and constant reverence; if one follows this without lapse, nothing fails to respond, and one will certainly not incur fault.

The Wuhui Zhenyan Zhu (Commentary on the Five-Assembly True Words) says: these points should be marked in advance. Tuo Duo said: rest only in emptiness and stillness, settled concentration, and constant reverence; follow this without failing, and there is no lack of efficacy, and one will never incur guilt.

The Wuhui Zhenyan Zhu also says: the reason it is called “five assemblies” is that the Xianmi Yuantong (Integration of Exoteric and Esoteric) states that the divine mantras in the canon fall into no more than five divisions: first, the Buddha division, namely mantras of the Buddhas; second, the Lotus division, namely mantras of the bodhisattvas; third, the Vajra division, namely mantras of the vajra kings; fourth, the Jewel division, namely mantras of the devas; fifth, the Karma division, namely mantras of spirits and ghosts. The five Buddhas in the altar hall represent the lords of these five divisions. The text further corresponds them as follows: the Buddha division is Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara); the Lotus is the bodhisattva division; Vajragarbha is the division of the vajra wisdom kings; Shakra (Indra), Brahma, and Ratnasambhava correspond to the deva division; Vinayaka (the obstacle deity in esoteric tradition) corresponds to the karma division of spirits and ghosts. These five assemblies comprehensively retain (zongchi: total holding) the mantras of all five divisions. In addition, incense, flowers, bowls, and mirrors are each used in sets of sixteen, which is what the Jingang Ding Yujia Jing (Vajra Pinnacle Yoga Sutra) calls the sixteen great offerings.

The Yihui Zhenyan Zhu (Commentary on the True Words of One Assembly) states that in yoga—the esoteric practice in which body, speech, and mind are united—there are four modes of recitation. The first is vocal recitation, chanting aloud; the second is vajra recitation, silent recitation with the mouth closed; the third is samādhi recitation, silent recitation in the mind; the fourth is recitation according to the true meaning, cultivating in accord with the real significance of each mantra syllable. Some traditions divide them into five: breath recitation, visualizing the mantra syllables so their meaning moves with the breath—in on inhalation the syllables enter, on exhalation they exit, each character clear and unbroken like a string of pearls; yoga recitation, visualizing the moon disc in the heart, inside and outside distinct, with mantra syllables in order turning from the front to the right around the rim of the disc, cycling without end; vajra recitation, faint silent recitation in the mouth; soft-voice recitation, each syllable distinct, audible only to oneself; and loud recitation, audible to others, to destroy evil and generate good. See the Vajraśekhara Sūtra, the Five-Syllable True Words, the Cundī Sūtra, and related texts for detail.

In the Ruyi Baozhong Jing, Bodhisattva Miaozhu asked: “One who holds the phrases of this dharani—why does one not see the Buddhas of the three times?” The Buddha replied: “Because past karma is not yet exhausted, doubt is not yet cut off, one is stuck in a mind of conditioned activity, and one lacks the mind of skillful means. Only when the mind is free of doubt, firm and single-pointed, is one a true holder of the recitation.”

Bodhisattva Miaobi asked again: “When holding and reciting true words does not bring accomplishment, is it insufficient spiritual power, wrong timing, unsuitable spiritual capacity, ineffective mantras, lax practice, or incomplete offerings?” Bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi answered: “Those who seek accomplishment should stay far from afflictions, believe deeply and give rise to bodhicitta, revere the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṃgha (the Saṃgha being the monastic community), avoid the ten evils, leave wrong views, practice the ten virtues, enter the great maṇḍala, rely on an ācārya (transmission master), practice with vigor and diligence, confess past obstructions, cultivate together with companions, and make offerings that are sincere and pure, with mantras recited without error. If one does not practice according to the teaching today, how can it be efficacious?” The text goes on to say that even if one has drunk wine, eaten pungent foods, been in various kinds of impurity, or had torn clothes with no altar set up, the Buddha and devas do not treat this as an offense. This is the Tathāgata teaching according to capacity, so people may gain the benefit of the four skillful teachings. One must not doubt and cling obstinately and thereby invite fault upon oneself. This is called the True Dharma Assembly of Vairocana (Mahāvairocana)—meaning that, like the twelve gates of Dharma, the secret words all flow from the one true mind and dharmakāya of Vairocana (marked by Master Huai as the “Great Vairocana Dharma Assembly”).

Upon careful study of this scripture, Buddhists call it “Chishi” (upholding the world)—much like what our own lineage calls “healing the world”: cultivate the person, and the world grows quiet. This teaching comes from Bhagavat (the honored title of the Buddha). He proclaimed to the world the Chishi Dharani; Shakyamuni Buddha received the method; the lay elder Miaoyue together with the fourfold assembly (monastics and lay followers in their four classes) honored it, preached it widely, and it entered Zhendan (the old name for China), beginning in the Zhenguan reign of the Tang.

The practice of recitation is extremely simple and easy; people of little merit rarely even hear of it. Yet whether one is sharp or dull, if one gives rise to faith and upholds it as the dharma prescribes, the results are striking. Why? Taiyi (the Supreme One) said: the mind is heaven, the body is earth, and intention (nian) is the human being. Understood this way, the three powers—heaven, earth, and humanity—are present in a single body. In this one person, what lies above the mind is heaven; what lies below the mind is the human realm and the ten thousand things; what lies below the belly is earth and the “sea.” The mind can embrace the body, and the body can hold intention; thus the body may also be called the “world” (shi). World and body are neither utterly two nor completely one. What governs the world is the human being; what governs the body is intention. Intention rests on the mind, the mind rests on heaven, the body rests on earth. Heaven and earth have no private bias: they entrust the mind to the human being, so people can become masters of creation and transformation—only that people take their own mind-and-body too small.

My master Yedaposhe said: Your patriarch Niwan Li Weng (Niwan refers to the upper cinnabar field in the head) also said that long ago Bhagavat, pitying people drowning in desire, proclaimed the Chishi dharani, whose gist was nothing beyond settling the body, settling the mind, and settling intention. For body is world and world is body; if students know how to settle intention, the mind naturally clears, the body naturally is put in order—how could the world fail to be governed?

The master also said: Did not the Dao patriarch Chunyang Weng (Lü Dongbin) say that an ordinary woman, wronged, could bring three years without rain? Clearly repeated calamities are not because the creator favors one side over another, but because responses follow things as they are.

If body and intention can align, if the mind aligns as well, and if one receives the teaching in faith like Miaoyue and spreads it widely, the world is naturally transformed: all sentient beings gain benefit and ease, humans and non-humans rejoice, destructive excess does not arise, nothing goes against one’s wish—and this in an instant. For this dharani (the Buddhist mantra of total retention) flows from Bhagavat’s heart; its sound is subtle, and where there is resonance there is response. Such was my master’s exposition.

On the winter solstice of the jiawu year of the Daoguang reign, disciple Min Zhenxian of the succession lineage respectfully wrote this postscript at the Chrysanthemum Hermitage by Shun Lake.

Commentary on the Buddha’s Discourse on the Dhāraṇī for Upholding the World. The scripture was translated by the Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang; the monk Jilian added the commentary. The work opens with the signature “Hermit Hu Ju.”

The Great Awakening explains: when the Buddha teaches in response to circumstances, that is called “discourse” (shuo); when he protects beings according to their situations, that is called “upholding” (chi). In the broad sense, this upholds the three realms (desire, form, and formlessness); in the narrow sense, it upholds a single human body. The sutras gather all of this under the word “world” (shi)—the meaning runs very deep. “Dhāraṇī” is a Sanskrit term for incantations that can “fully uphold” (zongchi) the Buddha-dharma.

My late teacher Yedeposhe was a man of Yuezhi in the Western Regions. He once told Jilian: this is the Tathāgata’s vast, unobstructed, perfectly complete supreme mind-dharma. Three characters unpack it: perfect fusion, purity, and freedom from obstruction—that is tuo; embracing everything, nothing hidden—that is luo; authority, virtue, and wisdom without limit—that is ni. Take these three characters as a key to the Sūtra on Upholding the World, and you can already infer its subtlety; eight or nine tenths of its efficacy is disclosed in them. You must understand: the Way is embodied through the body; practice is proclaimed through the mind. When inner and outer respond to each other, only then can one follow in the footsteps of the elder Miaoyue (the accomplished practitioner in the sutra)—yet even the austerities of old still fall short of his. Sutras belong to the exoteric teaching and must be realized in the body; mantras belong to the esoteric teaching and depend entirely on mind-intent. There is no separate secret locked away inside. That is what my late teacher said.

In the Yuan dynasty my late teacher came from Yuezhi into China and lived on Mount Jizu (a famous mountain in Yunnan). In the thirteenth year of Shunzhi he received Daoist precepts from National Preceptor Kunyang Wang (Wang Changyue). He passed away in the renchen year of the Qianlong reign. His remarks were all words of one who had seen the Way.

Note: the sutra is the path that sages and ordinary people walk together. Without sincere heart, there is no need to recite. Sincerity is not the outward form of fasting and bathing; if one can live as Elder Miaoyue did day to day, not deliberately keeping precepts yet already keeping them—that is true observance. Yet there has never been anyone who followed the Buddha’s teaching while the body refused to keep the precepts. What matters is holding a heart of universal equality, gathering one’s vow in a single direction, and setting efficacy and miraculous response aside—then one is close.

Quietly ponder my late teacher’s instruction: embody the Way with the body, proclaim practice with the mind. These words are extremely abstruse and at the same time extremely apt. The three realms and our body alike arise from one “True One” (the single real unified substance), and each also preserves its own True One. Speaking in terms of the three powers (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity), Heaven and Earth’s True One is entirely entrusted to the human being; speaking in terms of the body, it is entrusted to the mind. Therefore if one directly proclaims from the mind, responsive communion does not go beyond this mind. Chanting with the mouth and holding in memory with the mind—response arrives swiftly of itself.

The Three Realms—the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm—are nothing more than one vast field of mind; what can thread them through is yi (intention); and is not yi precisely the voice the heart sends forth? The exoteric teaching trains people in recitation (chanting scriptures and dhāraṇī); this is the deepest secret of the esoteric teaching—only that people themselves take heart and body too small. When the elder Miaoyue received the transmission, he joined palms in reverence and circumambulated the World-Honored One (a respectful title for the Buddha) many hundreds of times in a clockwise direction—a rite of respect—then bowed his head to the Buddha’s feet and departed in joy. The Buddha told Ānanda (a close disciple of the Buddha): this elder’s storehouses everywhere are now full because he can make great vows, broadly expound for others, and bring beings benefit and ease, and because he knows to seek the Buddha’s protective remembrance. Seen in how he acts, he has already accomplished the matter in this one body. Jilian had a private understanding of his own. His late master, Master Taixu, said: in the Western teaching (Buddhism transmitted from the Western Regions), in the Susiddhikara-sūtra (Dharani for Sustaining the World), Bhagavan (an honorific for the Buddha), in accord with season, place, and people’s capacities, appeared in the Western Regions. This account is recorded for today’s Urus (note: Wusiguo is present-day Er’uosi), which is ancient Gandhāra (Jiāoxiǎngmí). Long ago there was a layman named Miaoyue; moved by Bhagavan’s personal descent to protect and uphold him, the place was renamed as it is now, to commemorate that fortunate event. When it reached Central China, it began in the Tang Zhenguan era, at the height of the Li Tang. After Master Xuanzang heard of it he translated it, yet it was kept only in the inner palace and never widely promoted—falling short of the Tathāgata’s compassionate intent, because people treated it merely as a method to fill storehouses. Prosperity was high then, so it was not regarded as urgent and was not broadly proclaimed. His late master once lamented this. Jilian recalled this, annotated it, had it carved and printed, and made it public to fellow practitioners of sincere cultivation.

“Thus have I heard”—“I heard it in this way”—is the stock phrase in Buddhist scriptures marking that one personally heard the Buddha speak.

From this sentence onward until the passage where the speaker addresses the Buddha in confession, everything is recounted from memory by the Venerable Ananda, the Buddha’s disciple famous for preserving the Buddha’s words. The opening formula ru shi (“thus”) is the sutra’s general prologue and also points to events of the distant past. Ananda fused what he had seen and heard and then spoke; that is why it is called “thus.” “I” is Ananda speaking of himself; when he says “heard,” that includes what he saw as well. Buddhist canonical texts regularly begin in this way.

“At one time, Bhagavan”: “At one time” does not mean any moment when one might see or hear, but that specific interval from past worlds down to the present when sight and hearing finally became possible—more than a hundred and twenty thousand years, holding inexhaustible merit and reason for gratitude, hence “at one time.” Bo means surpassing; jia refers to the three realms (desire, form, and formless); fan is qi (vital breath-energy). The phrase indicates that the virtue and attainment of Shakyamuni Tathagata already exceed the Brahma-qi of the three realms, and that he seized this season to begin teaching.

“In the country of Kaushambi”: “In” marks the place reached at that time. Jiao suggests vain luxury and elaborate display; xiang means provisions and daily expense; mi means unrestrained indulgence. In Indic pronunciation mi links with fei (waste)—squandering provisions. The Buddha had come to a land whose customs were vain and extravagant, with spending that seemed almost without limit. The Tathagata pitied them, descended to that country, and wished to set them right.

“He built the Jia grove retreat”: Jia here denotes fragrant timber such as camphor and cinnamon—twisting, spreading branches, foliage that does not drop in winter. The syllable transcribed zhe in the place name is explained as stone cleaved along grain into faced blocks, stacked to make retaining walls and hold water. The Tathagata erected a place of rest in that grove, which the people of the land had abandoned.

“Together with a great assembly of five hundred bhikshus”: five hundred great bhikshus (ordained monks) were with him.

“Bhikkhu” (bishou) is Sanskrit; the Chinese gloss is “possessing virtue.” A bhikkhu who can rest content with coarse robes and simple forest fare, and who is on the verge of realizing bodhisattva fruition, is called a great bhikkhu (da bishou). Three persons count as a “sangha”; the phrase “five hundred in the assembly” here means one thousand five hundred bhikkhus, each destined to become a great kalyana-mitra—a teacher of deep practice who can lead others. The redactor wrote it in this form, which is why the text says “five hundred in the assembly.”

The point is that the Buddha, together with these great bhikkhus and the five hundred in the assembly, are all bodhisattva-mahasattvas. “Bodhisattva” and “mahasattva” are both Sanskrit; in Chinese they denote bodhisattvas of perfect, right enlightenment—so great as to be beyond comparison. “Good friend” (kalyana-mitra) is likewise mahasattva. Those who follow the Buddha in this gathering have, through merit and practice, risen to this level; it is an assembly of people whose resolve is exceptionally lofty.

“Guo” refers to past lives. The redactor records the Buddha’s following: that they can achieve realization in this life (“zao,” read in the departing tone) shows they must long have possessed strong roots of merit from former births—the wording is meant to push the inquiry further back in time.

Again “guo” means past lives. The redactor notes the following: accomplishment in this life (“zao,” departing tone) requires great past roots; the aim is to trace the causes of former lives—what the text goes on to describe.

“Ju” means “all of them.” They undertook great ascetic discipline (“xing,” departing tone), reckoning day by day in units of “zhi” (“zhi,” entering tone)—so their effort was not confined to a single lifetime or a single stretch of practice. Here “zhi” is tied to the feet: counting starts the moment the feet touch the ground (“shu,” departing tone), which shows how seriously they took this hardship; and what they shouldered was simply the work of benefiting sentient beings.

There were also the hosts of devas, the hosts of humans, asuras (asuo luo), and other immeasurable multitudes.

“Ji” means “yu” and “tong”—that is, “with” and “the same as.” “Tianren” (heavenly beings) refers to a class of people of high rank and prominence, including those of the highest station, princes, royal descendants, dukes and ministers, and the like. “Asuoluo” (Asura) denotes those who rose from poverty to great wealth, who in this world manage riches; after death they are classed among the Wulu Caishen (Five Road Wealth Deities). “Deng wuliang” means their merit of nobility and wealth is equal among them and without limit. Traced to its source, all these members of the Buddha’s assembly share such karmic conditions and have all gathered here, completing this grand and excellent daochang (sacred dharma assembly—a gathering for teaching and practice). The assembly was originally the Buddha’s congregation; their past causes and conditions were exactly thus.

“Qianhou weirao” (surrounding front and back) describes the scale when the assembly was first formed: the multitude’s bearing was dignified, their numbers great, and their etiquette worthy of imitation, enough to display the Buddha’s awesome virtue; hence the excellent causes and conditions in what follows, and the dharma thereby spread far and wide.

“Shi bi guo zhong you yi changzhe”: “Shi” is at this time; “bi guo” is the country of Jiaoxiangmi (Kapilavastu); “changzhe” is an honorific for a charitable lay devotee at home, not necessarily someone old in years. “You yi” precisely shows how rare such a person is.

“Ming wei Miaoyue”: this was a name he chose for himself, from which one can see the breadth of the elder’s mind.

“Rongfan wen hua”: his looks and bearing were warm and splendid, almost like a pusa (Bodhisattva—one who vows to save all beings).

“Zhiyuan xian yuan”: his aspiration was pure and far-reaching; he was truly a great shanzhishi (virtuous spiritual friend who guides others toward good practice).

“Nannu tongpu, qi shu zhongduo”: clearly the elder was a great householder of that country; one can imagine how large his household was. To remain rongfan wen hua and zhiyuan xian yuan in such circumstances—is that not rare? Precisely because he could be leisurely and far-reaching in aim, he had that warm splendor; his learning already surpassed the ordinary.

“Yu Fofa Seng, shen sheng jingxin”: he deeply gave rise to reverence and faith toward the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. This owed to the “xian yuan” spoken of above; by contrast, the views of ordinary people appear all the more cramped.

“Lai yi Fosuo”: “yi” is to go to; “suo” is the Jiajialin (Jeta Grove), the place where the Buddha was then staying.

“Prostrating at the Buddha’s feet”: lying face down with forehead, both hands, and both knees on the ground is called full prostration—the most solemn form of respect. “At the Buddha’s feet” means in the Buddha’s presence. In ancient Indian custom there was the ritual of holding and revering the feet of a venerable person to pay respects and seek instruction; juniors had to perform this when meeting elders. This elder used the same courtesy he would show a sovereign, a father, or a master when coming before the Buddha.

“Circumambulating a hundred thousand times”: after the bow, he walks around. Such circumambulation is not merely honoring the Buddha manifest before his eyes, but offering homage to the Tathagata—the one who has come thus, in awakened reality. The mind may circumambulate or the body may; in the annotator’s modest view, it is still bodily circumambulation, yet purely as a meeting in spirit—he himself does not quite know why it is so. Buddha and all Buddhas are utterly still and solemn, as if unaware; from that very unawareness awakening arises—that is the true assembly with the Buddha. It can only be grasped inwardly, not put into words. The recorder wrote down what he saw, so reading the sutra depends entirely on catching the spirit. The next line should be understood the same way: it is not a matter of staring fixedly and standing like a post, yet gazing intently does not get in the way either. If the student can take this in, inward reception is enough. That the elder “attained the Buddha” should not be sought in the dialogue that follows, but in this circumambulation and the next sentence.

“Then stopping on one side”: “Stopping” means ceasing the circumambulation; “going around” means encircling and thereby seeing. Having circumambulated the Buddha a hundred thousand times and then stopping is like Red Boy (suggesting repeated visits to see the Buddha) coming again and again to the Buddha.

“With palms joined in reverence”: stopping in this way does not mean that after a hundred thousand rounds one may relax and become casual.

“And addressed the Buddha”: only here does he truly see the Buddha. Before this, each time he stopped after the hundred thousand rounds, what he saw was only the Buddha’s bearing and majestic presence—not yet the rounded mark on the crown of the Buddha’s head; only now does he see it, and only then can he speak to the Buddha.

“World-Honored One”: this title does not issue from an ordinary mouth or an ordinary heart, but pours from the elder’s single truth of mind—pure and undivided. To ordinary hearers it is merely everyday sound; to the Tathagata it pierces straight to the Buddha-heart—this is what is meant by mutual resonance.

Note: The source text continues with further commentary after this passage; only the portion supplied was translated.

What is meant by “speaking” here is not words uttered from an ordinary person’s mouth, nor thoughts arising from an ordinary person’s mind, but what is expressed from the elder’s zhenyi—the innate, undivided true body, pure and without admixture. To ordinary listeners it sounds no different from everyday speech; yet when the Tathagata (the title for one who comes thus, unborn and undying) hears it, it penetrates straight to the Buddha-heart—this is what is meant by “responsiveness” (gan).

The “Tathagata” in “wishing to hear the Tathagata’s response in perfect, correct enlightenment, on a few doubtful points” refers to one who has already ascended in past ages—not Śākyamuni Buddha of the present world. Here the word “Buddha” names the sage of the Western present world; only one who has ascended is called Tathagata. The Tathagata is not two with the nature of empty spirit: no birth and death, no coming and going. The Diamond Sutra says: the Tathagata has nowhere from which he comes, and nowhere to which he goes—hence the name Tathagata. “Response” (ying) means responsive resonance; “perfect, correct enlightenment” (zheng deng jue) is samyak-saṃbodhi. When people have a stirring, the Tathagata responds as stirred—subtle and beyond measure. “A few doubtful points” means only a small number of doubts—a humble tone, as if not daring to ask much. That responsive communion is real, yet not something measurable by ordinary reason; the elder suspects there is further ineffable subtlety within it, and therefore asks in this way. What follows is fear that he may not be permitted to question, so he first declares his earnest wish to ask—showing faith and doubt intertwined in the elder. Hence he says: I only pray that great compassion will incline and grant me a hearing.

He does not say “great compassion” (da ci) but “great compassion” in the sense of mahā-karunā (da bei)—showing the elder knows what he ought to ask. What the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism) ultimately serve is none other than the dharma of mind: when mind is not two, that is compassion (ci); when mind is not yet at rest, that is compassion in the sense of da bei (great compassion). What the elder heard in the past was not empty; something in him is still unsettled, as if another method of practice were needed for mind to unite—therefore he pleads with “great compassion” for instruction.

At that time, the World-Honored One, out of compassion for the elder, spoke to him in a gentle and merciful voice.

These two sentences are the recorder’s words. The commentary holds that people in the world do not know how to protect themselves, and the World-Honored One has long pitied them. The elder had circled many hundreds of times until his mind was settled and calm before he came to ask; his feeling was very earnest. The World-Honored One’s heart was full of compassion and was moved by his sincerity, and so he gave this reply. This too is the Dharma of the mind naturally flowing forth, not something deliberately contrived. Older explanations thought the World-Honored One feared that speaking too directly would discourage the other party, and so intentionally used a soft, kind voice—treating the matter as a deliberate arrangement. That reading of the Tathagata is still too shallow. Look closely at what follows, and it becomes clear.

The words “elder” are what the Buddha used to address him. Pity had reached its fullness, and respect had reached its fullness; both flowed naturally from the heart.

“Ask as you wish. I will use skillful means to explain and distinguish for you, so that your mind may rejoice.”

This is mutual resonance through compassion and response through compassion; the power of compassion is indeed vast. When words are earnest and kind, even the gods honor one for it—exactly this can be seen here.

At that time the elder rejoiced and leaped for joy, bowed his head in homage, and with palms joined asked his question.

The commentary holds that the elder’s rejoicing and leaping were mostly for the sake of sentient beings in the world, not only for himself.

He asked: “World-Honored One, why is it that among good men and good women, the poor and lowly may obtain wealth and honor, the sick may be healed, those with karma may have their offenses extinguished, and those in danger and fear may gain peace?”

The commentary holds that these four matters are all spoken in reference to good men and good women; they seem to involve causes from past lives, yet the paths of reversal are not of only one kind. Speaking of wealth and honor, it is “may obtain”; speaking of illness, karmic offense, and danger and fear, it is that one “may cause” healing, extinction of offense, and peace. The Buddha does not speak falsely. Within this there are subtle reasons that can bring about change, or subtle principles that can move and harmonize with creation. These are hidden points that cannot go unasked, and so the elder inquired so earnestly.

At that time the World-Honored One, though he already knew, deliberately asked in return.

The phrase “knowing yet deliberately asking” means that the Buddha already fully possessed the six supernatural powers, so that—reading ying in the level tone—in principle there was nothing he did not know; this question must therefore conceal a deeper meaning. Jilian holds that this teaching is extremely profound and must be explained clearly before it can be transmitted; it is not something that can be secretly conferred through casual inspiration alone. One must reveal sincere intent and earnestly reach upward to Heaven, so that all three realms (the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm) hear it, and only then proclaim the doctrine. Within it lies the way of shifting stars and changing constellations, of reversing and remaking creation; Heaven, Earth, and spirits and ghosts merely carry out and assist this transformation. This authority can be wielded only by the “True One”; without the presiding of Vairocana Tathagata (Mahavairocana Buddha), it can never be accomplished. The World-Honored One considered that this great matter and its causal conditions are transmitted once in twelve thousand years and must not be treated lightly; once transmitted, the affair and its path should be entered into the Great Canon (the complete collection of Buddhist scriptures)—how could one rely only on tacit understanding in the heart without convening the dragon kings of the three realms, spirits and ghosts, humans, and non-human beings to witness and seal it together? If in the process there were no memorials submitted upward and no fulu (talismans and written mandates), the work likewise could not succeed. From that time on, the Jeta Grove was to serve as the altar, with dwellings for humans and spirits arranged to turn the wheel of creation—altogether not departing from the Buddha’s teaching. At that time the World-Honored One was expounding the Dharma for ten thousand generations; there is the principle that what is not made clear cannot be put into practice—hence this question. Jilian once reported this understanding to his late master; the master rose joyfully and rubbed his crown three times. The matter was in the autumn of the renzi year of the Qianlong reign; the late master recorded it in his own hand at the Longshu Hermitage on Jizu Mountain. More than thirty-seven years have passed swiftly since this record was written; in the autumn of the wuzi year, while annotating this sutra, I append it below this line, to note my own negligence and failure to act according to the teaching.

Elder—why speak such words?

Reflect carefully on the two characters “Elder” (changzhe). They come from the Buddha’s own lips and carry deep meaning: without the heart and conduct of an elder, one cannot raise such a great vow. The two characters “for what reason” (he yuan) carry an even sharper warning. The World-Honored One had received this teaching in a past life; the Bhagavan confirmed this elder through causes and conditions; the vow he now makes opens the causes and conditions for the expedient means he will later request. Jilian could not help feeling a sudden emptiness—as if something had slipped away—and suddenly understood that “for what reason” was precisely a blow to the head that brings sudden awakening. The high or low rank of one’s spiritual fruition is decided right here.

At that time, the elder again reported the causes and conditions of his vow, and the causes and conditions that would open the expedient means he would later request. Again Jilian felt that sudden emptiness and realized that “for what reason” was directly a blow to the head that brings sudden awakening; the high or low of spiritual fruition is fixed thereby.

Then the elder again addressed the Buddha.

Note: The elder no longer changed his expression in reverence; he merely stated his case again, which shows he had not yet grasped that the World-Honored One cherished a vast compassionate hope, neither understood nor reflected on the past. The recorder deeply regretted this, and so wrote it as it was. I infer the hidden point from the earlier phrase “knowing yet deliberately asking.” My late teacher said: Exactly so. Therefore, from this second beginning of his speech, he revealed the words “we.” The Buddha knew all along, yet insisted he say it himself, in order to remove from his mind the view of self-benefit.

“World-Honored One, we householders have large families, scarce goods, and find it hard to provide for everyone; we suffer many illnesses and are dragged down by karmic offenses; fear fills our hearts—so we ask the World-Honored One to reveal expedient means (skillful methods suited to each person’s situation).”

Private note: What the elder said was exactly his own experience. Having heard that there are expedient means that can bring relief, he had not yet heard the details below, and so he asked that they be revealed. My late teacher said: The elder’s heart was already compassionate, his vow already vast, his feeling already earnest—he could say “we”; if he could have gone further and spoken of the countless, truly pitiable beings in the three thousand great thousand worlds, and begged on behalf of beings as numerous as the sands of countless Ganges rivers through as many eons, that great vow would have stood level with the World-Honored One’s. It is a pity the elder’s vow had not reached that point.

The scripture says: One should enable those who are poor and lowly to obtain abundant wealth and status, assist relatives, give generously on a wide scale, benefit all sentient beings, and never exhaust one’s stores. One should enable the sick to have the four great elements (earth, water, fire, and wind—the constituents of the body) harmonized and restored to health, diligently cultivate wholesome deeds, and keep body and mind from weariness. One should enable those who have committed offenses to have their karmic faults quickly cleared, so that when this body perishes and life ends, they are reborn on a good path. One should enable those filled with fear and dread to find peace in body and mind, draw near to and make offerings to the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and swiftly realize supreme perfect enlightenment (the highest right awakening).

The commentary notes: Four successive uses of “enable” make it seem as if this power were in one’s own hands; there must be a dharma-method within. The elder had not yet heard it, so he asked for instruction.

At that time, the World-Honored One (an honorific for the Buddha) spoke to that elder. The scripture continues: Enable those filled with fear and dread to find peace in body and mind, draw near to and make offerings to the Three Jewels, and swiftly realize supreme perfect enlightenment. The commentary adds again: The four “enable” seem to place the authority in oneself, yet a dharma-method must lie within; the elder had not heard it, so he wished to request instruction. Then the World-Honored One spoke to that elder.

Further note: The World-Honored One intended to teach all good men universally, yet he especially began with this elder, so he spoke to the elder first.

The Buddha addressed him as “good man.” The commentary explains: This form of address is not only for the elder; it is meant to awaken the whole assembly. Any ordinary person (the character for “man” is read fu) whose mind is good and whose conduct is good may ask questions. Such intention and conduct is what everyone should cherish and practice; only a good man can truly cherish and practice it. Therefore he is not called “elder” but “good man,” precisely to show the initial vow to save all sentient beings universally. Not mentioning women separately is because men are named and women are already included—look to the great bodhisattvas and this is clear. A former master, the Jizu Daoist, once put it this way.

The scripture continues: In the distant past, countless kalpas ago, I encountered a World-Honored One, a Buddha named the Tathagata Who Upholds the Vajra Ocean Sound.

According to accounts in the Esoteric Buddhist tradition: in a very remote age there was an ancient Buddha Lord named Chijin gang haiyin rulai (Tathagata Holder of Vajra Ocean Sound), who first proclaimed the “Shishi dharani” (World-Holding dharani). The mantra’s sound pierced straight through the “sea of nature” (xinghai)—what is now called the Sea of Constellations (Xingxiuhai). When it was chanted, throat, tongue, lips, and teeth showed no visible movement, yet the voice shook heaven and earth; in an instant the great earth trembled. After eons of teaching, Shakyamuni Tathagata of central India, who at that time was the venerable Yong jingjin (Brave Vigorous One), truly received this transmission. Twelve more myriad years later, when Shakyamuni had attained the Way and begun to teach, he stayed in Qiaoshengmi country (the text says this is present-day Russia) in the Zhijia grove. Knowing the time had come, he passed it to a good man of that land (a lay male disciple) named the venerable Miaoyue (Wonderful Moon). Ananda recorded the event; it was first titled “Miaoyue the Elder Asks,” later entered the canon, and is now known as the “Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Shishi Dharani.” Kumarajiva once made a secret translation that had not yet entered the canon; only after Master Xuanzang retranslated it did it reach Zhendan (China), and thus our country received the transmission. This dharma gate truly begins with the elder Miaoyue—it was handed down from the World-Honored One’s own mouth.

Note carefully: the phrase about not seeing throat or lips yet the voice resounding—ancient worthies took it as “yoga holding” (holding the mantra through yogic method). My late master, the Jizu daozhe (Chicken-Foot Daoist), said: No—it is “samadhi holding,” holding the mantra within concentration. The meaning is that sound issues from one’s original nature and the mantra is proclaimed with the mind; inner and outer connect, heaven and human respond, and efficacy appears. What is obtained thereby is not empty; this is the secret essence truly not lightly transmitted outward. In the Western teaching, the key named in four characters is “gang haiyin” (vajra ocean sound). The master said: This sound penetrates from the heaven of self-nature; in our lineage it is called jade sound (yuyin)—that is, true unity (zhenyi). The three powers of heaven, earth, and human rely on it to be settled; in the upper, middle, and lower dantian (three energy centers), without this “one,” a person is merely a walking corpse. The power of sound is indeed vast. The wonder by which the Western teaching transforms people lies entirely in this gang haiyin. That past World-Honored One is the embodied form of Vairochana Tathagata.

It is also said: as for the old text of the scripture—I saw it in my youth at the Marici heavenly palace, built by a Tang princess. I remember that below this line the character for “ying” (response) ran directly into the clause “wei yu” (“desiring to…”), and above “wei yu” there were not those twenty-six characters “zheng dengjue” (perfect enlightenment). I suppose a Song-dynasty annotation was mistakenly copied into the sutra, harming the World-Honored One’s own narrative intent. Those twenty-six characters were originally a hymn of praise—would the World-Honored One praise himself? I feared half-informed people might use this to argue, so I corrected it once; yet simply deleting it outright would also be improper.

“Worthy of correct perfect enlightenment, perfect in conduct and knowledge, Well-Gone One, Understander of the World, Supreme Man, Tamer of Men, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, Bhagavan”—these are epithets that praise the Tathagata. These lines extol the fruit and virtue that the Tathagata realized in past lives countless aeons ago through sincere ascetic practice. These forty-two characters are what the World-Honored One used to praise the Tathagata; they may be kept and need not be removed.

For the benefit and ease of all sentient beings, he proclaimed a dharani (all-embracing mantra) called “Upholding the World.” When I heard it then, I rejoiced and leaped for joy, received it, recited it, and also taught it widely to others, so that immeasurable sentient beings gained benefit and ease.

This means: the Tathagata did not for a single thought involve himself, yet showed this Dharma to the elder (a virtuous lay patron); his mind-moment after mind-moment was only in upholding the world, with no heart that sought only his own relief or his own advantage. The World-Honored One knew the elder had not yet been able to be like the Buddha, hence the question “for what reason, elder?” If one can in mind know only the world, restless yet never leaving it in thought, the response would also be immeasurable. Jilian therefore said: the same vow, the same undertaking—and yet the high or low of the realized rank can be judged from this.

Because of this causal condition, merit and wisdom increased, and he quickly realized anuttara-samyak-sbodhi (supreme perfect enlightenment), and for gods and humans proclaimed subtle Dharma. Now I speak this dharani to you; you gods, humans, and others should all listen carefully, receive and uphold it after hearing, and again teach it widely to others. The spiritual power of this mantra is inconceivable; it can enable all sentient beings to obtain benefit and ease.

The phrase “because of this” is the World-Honored One using the state he has already attained and realized to encourage others; he especially marks the two characters “causal condition,” showing that what is attained and realized all have their causes and conditions—hence he says one should listen carefully, uphold after hearing, and widely proclaim to others. The spiritual power of this mantra is inconceivable; it can enable all sentient beings to obtain benefit and ease.

Therefore, the World-Honored One—the Buddhist title for Shakyamuni—held up the state he had personally realized to encourage the assembly, and singled out the two words yinyuan (causes and conditions). In that realization, meaning appears as both relying on the mantra and not clinging to the mantra: not relying on the mantra, yet still manifesting through it. The depth of the pivotal word opens completely. The “he yuan?” (what cause?) asked earlier now meets in mind-to-mind accord, reaching up through the nine heavens and down through the nine springs. Those who vow and those who hear, at this point, cannot but turn inward and question themselves; those who should be exhorted are exhorted, those who should be urged are urged. The World-Honored One’s teaching is skillful in just this way.

The dharani says. (The gloss reads “jie jian shan,” meaning the explanation is given elsewhere at that reference.)

Su, lu, bi: “Su” means to rouse someone from stupor; it is the main pivot of the whole passage. “Lu” suggests dimness, dullness, and drying up. “Bi” is hardship and distress. When the age is in decline, the world is like this. “Su” expresses the Tathagata’s will to save all: the dim must become clear, the dull sharp, the withered moist, and those in hardship and distress must each enter peace and ease. That is the right awakening of bodhi. It comes from the original mind already present in people, stirred only by what they see and hear—what is called innate knowing and innate capacity (liangzhi liangneng). What follows shows how the word “su” works in practice. The subtle point is always to lead according to capacity; there is no fixed method.

Ba da luo fa di: The Han Classic of Poetry says that wading across without taking the side path is “ba”; the Jiyun also equates it with “heel,” meaning walking awry. The Yupian says “di” is stopping. “Luo” is going all around. A raft is what carries people and goods across water, woven from bamboo. At crossroads and fords, if rafts are not set everywhere, rescue is incomplete; only when they are set everywhere is aid truly universal and no one left out. Sentient beings are lost: they leave the right road and take risks; rafts must be set widely to ferry them over so they can reach rest. The scene stands for the mind; the raft stands for the teaching.

“Meng jie li yi” means: sentient beings are muddled and confused and do not follow the right path, so boats and rafts are set up in many places to help them cross over, so they can reach a place of peace and rest. This uses the scene before one’s eyes as a metaphor for the mind, and ready-made tools as a metaphor for the Dharma (teaching/method).

“Meng jie li”: Having eyes yet not seeing oneself is called “meng” (blindness/obscuration)—a figure for those dull, trapped ordinary people: the raft is right in front of them, yet they do not know to board it and cross. “Jie” is to lift away covering and obstruction; once obstruction is removed, the raft is seen, and people then know to climb aboard. “Li”: according to the Li hexagram in the Yijing (symbolizing clinging and brightness), li is li (beauty/attachment)—like sun and moon clinging to the sky, standing for brightness. Also per the Shiming, li is li (separation): one eye on heaven, one on earth; when the eyes are clear they can distinguish; though what each sees differs, nothing falls outside their reach.

“E zhe li”: “E” is a beast resembling a monkey; it laughs when it sees things and plays dead when it meets people, and so gets caught. By nature it is good at deceiving itself—a metaphor for the sluggish, arrogant habits in ordinary people. “Zhe” is tempering and refinement. This monkey-like pride, without tempering, will not become clear, nor will they know to correct it—hence “e zhe li.” The stress in this line is on “zhe.”

“E zhe bo li”: “Zhe” is folding layer upon layer—that is, repeated grinding and tempering. “Bo” is a metal vessel, hollow inside with a round mouth; Buddhist inner scriptures use it as a metaphor for human original nature. Ordinary people who carry this e-like habit have already lost that nature; unless they are tempered again and again, original nature cannot be restored; when original nature is restored, that counts as “li.” The stress here is on “zhe” and “bo”—deeper than the previous line: only through many rounds of refinement can the light of original nature appear again.

“Wo jia zhe ni”: “Wo” is the sound of wanting to vomit but bringing nothing up—a metaphor for pouring out faults and repenting. “Jia” refers to true earth and true intent (in Daoist terms, the sincere, unmixed mind). The sense of “zhe” is as above. “Ni”: in the Western Regions, the honorific for teachers of the Lord of Heaven and Sun (a divine title) is generally “ni.” The whole line means: having people reveal their true mind, repent before their teacher, and accept tempering. The stress is on “wo” and “jia.”

“Wo bi da ni”: “Wo” is still pouring out repentance; “da” is penetrating and reaching; “ni” still means the teacher.

“Bi” is the name of a drum; in the Western Regions (an ancient term for lands to the west) it was used as an instrument for confessing faults. “Da” means conveying words of repentance before the Lords of Heaven and Sun and the honored teachers (deities and masters venerated in the rite). This line stresses the two words “bi” and “da.” Only by performing the upei repentance prayer in this way—confession and supplication to the beat of the drum—can one truly seek the compassionate scrutiny of the Lords of Heaven and Sun and the teachers. From this line onward, everything is spoken from the side of those Lords and teachers; read the tone carefully and the meaning becomes clear on its own.

Sawashibutei (Sa-xie-fa-di)

“Sa” is genuine knowing awareness, not deluded knowing. “Xie” means to pour out and express. “Fa” is torment. “Di” means to stop, and also the utmost bottom, the end point. This says that those who stand above the people should take penetrating knowledge of conditions below as what is fitting; taste the tone and you see the intent is repentance. When the people pour out their hearts in words of repentance, the light of “sa” fully sees and pardons them, and torment can cease.

Tainafadi (Tuo-na-fa-di)

“Tuo” describes the way donkeys and horses bear a load. “Na” is what one calls a young girl—someone frail and without strength. One who is punished and worn down is like the weak bearing a heavy weight, a figure for exhausted common folk. The light of Heaven and Sun shines through; seeing how pitiable the people below are in their fatigue and distress, it scrutinizes their repentance, and punishment at once stops. Those who stand above the people are the same as Heaven and Sun: they should discern and judge beforehand and afterward convey feeling upward. This carries the Confucian idea of “enabling those who know first to awaken those who know later, and those who awaken first to awaken those who awaken later.” Taste the “da” word that follows and you will see.

Danafadi (Da-na-fa-di)

This line is still the same kind of repentance spell; the point is that torment stops here.

“Da” and “shen da” are addressed to those who stand above the common people. “Da” refers to Vairocana Tathagata, the Buddha whose light shines everywhere. “Na” (read with the falling tone) corresponds to “them”—the suffering masses who are trapped and under punishment. The sense is to lay their plight before the Tathagata in petition and supplication. There is a guiding, awakening intent here: the aim is profound and the working subtle; it is something to grasp in the heart rather than exhaust in words. This line hinges on the character da.

Shili modi: “Shi” means body, household, and the world; “li” is benefit; “mo” is moistening and nurturing. “Modi” is like moistening all the way to the bottom—grace that leaves nothing wanting. It speaks of asking the Tathagata for pardon and begging for compassionate forbearance. This line hinges on mo.

Bola po fadi: “Bo” is as explained above; “la” is to draw out; “po” is universal and vast. It denotes the vast multitude of suffering people under punishment. When the light of one’s original nature is restored, one naturally slips free of the “net of the law”—the bonds of karmic penalty— which is the meaning of “da na” above. To grant grace and moistening benefit is to pull drowning beings out of the depths; when the light of nature appears, punishment comes to rest. This is the principle of “first enrich the valley, then teach”—make people secure, then cultivate them. This line hinges on bo.

An mo li: “An” refers to those whose inner mind is dim and who do not know how to sustain themselves. Only after they are steeped in the Buddha-dharma can the light of wisdom open and they come to see clearly. This line stresses li, while the moistening sense of mo matters even more— as in the next line as well. Otherwise there is barely time to save people; how could there be spare strength to insist on ritual and propriety?

Pi mo li: “Pi” refers to those hemmed in by heavy outer obstacles on whom grace has not yet fallen— a class even more deserving of pity than the “an” type. Moistening and clarity must support each other so that the light bestowed is not used up. The concrete practice is still set out below.

Lu lu su lü: This is a transliterated phrase within the mantra.

The explanation of “Lu Su” has already been given above. “Lu” refers to the body and also to the household or family. “Lü” is silk thread, a metaphor for the subtle thread of vital force and the path of life. The general sense is: knowing how to hold to “Lu,” using it to be frugal and to cherish one’s body, mind, and household, the silk-fine thread of life may then have hope of reviving. This line focuses on the characters “Lu” and “Lu”; they carry admonitory meaning.

“Bo Pi Mo Li.” “Bo” is the wave of grace or beneficence; it follows directly on “Pi” above, which speaks of heavy outer obstacles—as the scripture says: many dependents, much illness, and also sin and fear. “Pi” is nothing but repeated entrapment in circumstances; by nature it is not like “E” (written below as “E,” already explained above). If one applies the wave of grace, and can also hold “Lu,” cherish “Lu,” and revive the silk-fine thread of life, one may receive a little moisture and just then open the light of one’s original nature, so as not to indulge in ease, forget good conduct, and obscure its “Li.” Those in high position must nurture them and should also go on to teach and transform them. So this line focuses on “Li”; the sense leans toward heaven, sun, sovereign, and teacher—the side that bestows grace and instruction.

“E Na Na Xi Di.” The explanation of “E” has already been given above. “Na Na” is like grinding or polishing again and again: the first “zhong” (heavy) is read in the rising tone, the second “zhong” in the level tone, meaning to temper heavily, time after time. People of the “E” type must go through this before they can understand and awaken. “Xi” is clarity and awakening; “Di” is original nature, root, and source. This phrase focuses on “Xi Di”; the work of making original nature clear lies in the two characters “Na Na,” which can enable such people to awaken to original nature and be delivered, so that the vow is fulfilled.

“Pi Dan Xi Di.” The explanation of “Pi” has already been given above; here it is a shout or cry to those trapped in circumstances, to wake them. “Pi” differs from “E”: one sharp call can rouse them, and their own original nature can naturally become clear.

“Pi Shi Fu Xi Shi.” Here “Pi” still refers to the type trapped in hard circumstances.

What is meant by “shi” (dampness) is being soaked and dragged down by rippling water, as if lost in mist: one’s nature turns dull and one sinks as though tied with ropes. It all begins with the froth on the waves. Most of those who suffer in the world belong to this “pi” type. For them one applies “mo” (foam) to open up “li”—a place for the mind to rest and belong—and teaches them to keep to “lu” so as to preserve that “li.” “E” must be pressed down again and again; “pi” need not all be pressed down—a single “da” (the kind of sound uttered in recitation) can bring awakening. Once they are opened with foam and awakened, there is still the fear that they will again be drowned in froth, bound by dampness, and once more lose “xidì” (the true, ultimate purport), so that what was meant as rescue becomes the start of a new entanglement. These lines run through the Buddha’s care for sentient beings; they are all spoken for those who govern the people. The Guoyu says that in rich soil the people are untalented yet dissolute. People in fertile lands often fail to become capable and drift into indulgence—that is precisely the sense of being “bound by dampness” (shibó).

“Quan yang ju li”: “Quan yang” is a creature resembling a fox; it forgets easily and sleeps greedily, and for that reason is hunted. It stands for people who only eat and enjoy and do not remember hardship. The teaching gate here singles out the word “ju” (the square, the rule), leading people onto the great roads that run in every direction; where travelers never cease, one will not fall into sleep. So this line stresses “ju,” and the next does the same.

“Mang ju li”: “Mang” is vast and directionless, unable to tell which path is which. The Tathāgata pities such people and again uses “ju” to guide them. The quan-yang sort do not know what to restrain; the vast-and-lost sort do not know what to uphold. “Ju” is ritual and law—bringing the people within measure and norm—to deliver them from the suffering of damp binding. When regulated by “ju,” one does not lose the way and can again have something to belong to.

“Pi pi mi, du du mi, da da li”: pi heaped on pi is one layer of riddle; du heaped on du is another layer of riddle; da heaped on da returns to “li.”

This passage follows directly from what precedes it. In the Stele Inscription of the Toutuo Temple, “closing the mouth and keeping silent” (du kou pi ya) is used as a metaphor. The practices labeled “pi pi” and “du du” are longstanding customs; the Tathagata (Buddha) held that they do not accord with the true Dharma and only lead people into delusion and wrong thoughts. The guiding, exhortatory sense contained in “da” (da) does not suffer from that fault. Yet blocking someone once is not enough to finish the work, which is why the text says “da da li” (da da li): to guide, and then guide again—what in Confucian terms is “taking someone by the ear and speaking face to face,” urging repeatedly in person.

Da luo da luo (da luo da luo). Luo is the name of a river, said to rise from Kunlun, issue from the lodges of the stars, pass through Longmen, flow through Luoyang, and enter the sea. It serves as a metaphor for the great Way of xing xue (the study of realizing one’s innate nature). By means of “da,” people are brought through the gate, and the vow can then be fulfilled. Luo also connects with “luo” (net/channel), evoking water flowing downward. The Chunqiu Shuo preface says: Luo means “shi” (explanation, unfolding). The teacher must not weary of speaking, but teach continuously without break; the student must all the more know how to turn things over in the mind again and again—hence “da luo da luo.”

Fa zhe li, fa zhe li (fa zhe li, fa zhe li). This is self-examination by someone who has already gained some insight from “da” and from searching and reflecting: each time one was rebuked in the past was precisely heaven’s grace; without setbacks one would not reflect—this is the perspective of great awakening. In this way, the Tathagata’s vow to teach through “da” can hope to reach completion. These are words of grateful submission, so they are said twice, and they also show the efficacy of the character “da”; ponder it closely, and understanding will come of itself.

Jie chi lai, jie chi lai, fa li sha ni (jie chi lai, jie chi lai, fa li sha ni).

“Jie chi” (literally “biting teeth”) is the sound made when chewing, used to discern flavor; to say it again and again is to taste flavor upon flavor and reflect on it repeatedly. “Li” is the original sense of the character li. “Sha” is read in the departing tone and means to lighten, reduce, or remove. “Ni” has already been explained above. “Fa li sha ni” means: only after one is punished does one know fear and caution, and the punishment can then be reduced or lifted. All of this is the enabling grace of the Lord and Teacher of Heaven and Sun (as the sutra calls the lord and teacher of heaven and sun)—exactly what someone awakened through receiving the dharani (the spell or true words called dharani in this sutra) would say. If you savor the point carefully, it is entirely language of gratitude toward the dharani and toward punishment. The Tathagata (a title for the Buddha) recorded it and placed it in the scripture, calling it a dhāranī (a spell that “holds” the full meaning of the teaching), with a compassionate intent to encourage and guide.

“Ni se bo da ni”: “Ni” means closeness and refers to one’s retinue or dependents. “Se” means sluggish and unmoistened—dry and obstructed—and refers to the hardship that retinue and dependents once shared together. “Bo” describes a greatly moistening, enriching quality. “Da” means to reach or penetrate: by means of that moistening one arrives at beauty and ease. This speaks on behalf of the retinue, looking up in gratitude for the grace of “ni,” hence the phrase “ni se bo da ni.”

“Fa zhe luo da luo”: Here “luo” is taken as a grammatical particle with little independent meaning. When the guilty are punished, setbacks come one after another, like water flowing downward; for those who penetrate through the dharani, grace swiftly spreads to cover them, likewise without pause—also like water flowing downward, widely irrigating and universally relieving. These are words of joy from those who were first trapped in hardship and later prosper.

“Suo jie luo”: “Suo” means “many” and refers to the retinue, carrying the idea that “when one child attains the Way, nine clans ascend to heaven.” “Jie” means to unveil or remove covering, indicating that the retinue can all shed obstructions and pass through without hindrance; “luo” also suggests delight beyond expectation. The grace of “jie” is indeed great. All of this belongs to language of looking back in remembrance; what follows is the same. “Ni ju shan, da ta jie dan, e nu sa mo luo” has the same intent.

The explanation of ni has already been given above. Ju is a mind of vigilance and caution; shan is shelter and protection; jie is disclosure and revelation; dan is ease and stability; enu (e-nu) belongs to the same class as e; sa is a sudden gust of wind; mo is the quality of moistening and enriching; luo is great thoroughness and unobstructed penetration. The meaning is: if punished kin inwardly know fear and caution, they are sheltered with shan, opened with da, then disclosed and awakened so that they become settled. In this way, enu can all quickly receive grace, as swiftly as a rushing wind.

Da ta jie duo, sa dian sa mo luo (a line held in phonetic recitation). Duo is stability; sa is as explained above; dian is to point out clearly and break through obstruction. This means that the meaning of da can benefit people in this way because it can awaken and point them to clarity.

Da mo sa dian sa mo luo. Here it is said: the multitude under punishment, if through tempering and refinement they reach li, depend entirely on someone performing sa dian for them—breaking through what blocks them. The text also says that the meaning of da benefits people in the same way, because it can awaken and point them to clarity.

Da mo sa dian sa mo luo. This means that the punished multitude can, through tempering, attain li, and what they rely on is precisely someone’s sa dian for them. That is why they so quickly receive moistening and great penetration.

Seng jia sa dian sa mo luo. Seng means the multitude—ordinary people who take refuge in the Buddha, who have gained some insight and entered the path yet have long suffered hardship. Jia refers to the monastery (qielan)—those who uphold the teaching and the celestial spirits. They turn to one another in mutual pointing and transformation, and so can fulfill their wishes so quickly. What the text says below is exactly this matter.

Da zha da zha. Zha is the dharma sound used when performing sa dian; saying it twice in succession indicates that those who have been pointed and awakened admonish one another—hence “da zha da zha.”

Pu luo pu luo. Pu is a kind of register, kept by celestial spirits, in which are entered the names of those whose virtue flourishes and those whose virtue declines; a person’s words and deeds throughout life are all recorded there. Luo is the unbroken succession of entries and actions.

Pu ci pu ci ye. This line repeats pu ci, closed with ye—still the same sort of syllables repeated in recitation; the meaning of pu is as above.

Ci (recording): This is what the spirits who keep accounts of merit and demerit control. On the first day of the year and on the year-end la day, they compile the records and report them to the Heavenly Office (tiancao)—the celestial bureau that oversees merit and demerit. On that basis entries are made in the pulu registers (ledgers of merit and demerit), which are then sent down to the gods of the sacred mountains and rivers (yue and du), city gods (chenghuang), and village tutelary spirits (lishe), so that they may apply reward and punishment according to the record. Thus the weight of each person’s fortune and misfortune at every day and hour is not thrown out of balance—this is how order in the world is maintained.

Ye is originally an interrogative particle. Here, however, “ye” is used as a flat assertion, meaning there is nothing to doubt. Because human virtue rises and falls, entries in the ci records increase and decrease accordingly; what might look doubtful is in fact not doubtful. This means the ci records do not mislead or err.

Another interpretation: according to the commentary on the “Autumn Office” section of the Rites of Zhou, ci means to examine and decide in judgment. If, in the pulu registers, a case is found that should be handled by analogy to precedent, it is entered separately in the baluo ledger and submitted for a ruling.

Baluo denotes precedents and patterns of reason established by Fan Tian (Brahma, as in Buddhist cosmology)—rules that may be invoked; on investigation, this is the comprehensive register of credit used for verification in the Western Regions. Ni refers to those entered in the baluo ledger: once they have been illumined by the Buddha’s light and their circumstances admit of applicable precedent, above they are governed by the baluo Heavenly Office and below held by the baluo mountain-and-river deities, while the final decision rests with “ni.” This ni means Piluzhena Rulai (Vairocana Tathagata), not the Lord and Teacher of the Sun in Heaven. This is what the former master, the Daoist of Jizu (Chicken Foot Mountain), said. That master was a man of Yuezhi (an ancient Western Region people); tuoluoni (dharani, the Buddhist mantra treasury) had been orally transmitted by holy monks from the Western Regions, so his words may stand as evidence. What follows likewise belongs to the jade voice of the Tathagata, personally received by the World-Honored One and handed down through moding (laying the hand on the crown as a sign of transmission).

Sumeng Jieli (Sumeng jieli): The former master said this line comes from the Tathagata’s jade voice; the wording is convoluted and hard to parse in detail. Read forward, it is as if to say sumeng is “jie’s li”; read backward, it is as if to say li jie meng—and this too was personally received and transmitted by moding.

The predecessor master said: This line comes from the precious words of the Tathagata (the honored title for the Buddha). The sense is winding, and it is hard to pin down every word. Read forward, the point is that waking the muddled and deluded depends on making things clear and giving them something to hold to; read backward, once there is that hold and clarity, the muddled person wakes by themselves. From the left, working backward, “li” (clarity and attachment) completes “su” (awakening)—that is the way muddledness is lifted; from the right, working backward, “su” completes “li”—muddledness is lifted and one knows one is awake. From the middle, turning left: lift muddledness, and without that hold there is no waking; from the middle, turning right: muddledness is lifted into waking, and only after waking is there that hold. These are the hidden meanings of sustaining the world and guiding deluded beings. When meaning is joined and fused, no delusion is beyond saving, and the vow to save the muddled can be fulfilled. Even those already entered on the Boluo register (a roster named in the scriptures) still receive the Buddha’s compassion: they must be awakened and given clarity.

Shan duo mo di

The predecessor master said: Shan means to scatter. Using a tool to spread something apart is shan, as when one fans to make wind and sends the wind abroad. In languages of the Western Regions, shan and san (scatter) sound alike and mean the same; here “scatter” should be understood as shan. The saying is addressed to those who govern the people, so one must take it from the sense of fanning; it carries the idea that “when wealth is scattered, the people gather,” and the thrust of the line is ding—settling the hearts of the people. Mo is the look of being moistened and nourished, like sweet dew, the state in which someone, after extreme hardship, is able to wake. Di is to stop. The distressed are as many as sands in a river; the ruler’s resources are limited. Even emptying granaries and treasuries cannot satisfy everyone; a little moistening is as far as it goes, hence “shan duo mo di.” The meaning is to let the people gain where they can gain, so they are clarified and have something to rely on; punishment then ceases of itself, and the people are settled. Viewing the dharani (Buddhist incantation) as a whole, da, fa, and zhe serve as its operative force—far-reaching in insight and subtle in intent.

Meng jie luo fa di

The predecessor master said: The Tathagata’s meaning is that when muddledness is lifted, punishment stops; and can lifting muddledness be delayed even slightly? This follows the previous line. Whether the muddled are punished or not touches heaven, sun, ruler, and teacher, yet in truth they bring it on themselves. The intent is deep and subtle.

Meng Jieluo Fadi (Delusion Removed, Punishment Ceased)

The master said: Tathāgata (a title of the Buddha) means that once delusion is lifted, punishment stops. Lifting delusion is not something to put off even for a moment—this follows from the line above. Whether the deluded suffer punishment is not something imposed by heaven, the sun, or teachers and lords; the deluded bring it on themselves. It is only because of delusion that punishment arises; when delusion is lifted, punishment ceases on its own. Luo means to include and gather under one heading: all the punishments in the great cosmos (in Buddhist terms, the vast universe) that fall on the deluded, once made clear, are entirely stilled. The Buddha’s point in this phrase is to urge the deluded to understand that they themselves must lift delusion.

Subhadaluo Fadi (Revival Through Upholding the World’s Heart Scripture)

Subhadaluo is the Chishi xindian (heart scripture for upholding the world): it means to warn those who have stumbled and fallen to repent and turn toward goodness, so that they may reach the luoce (the register spoken of in the scripture); then punishment stops and one can revive. The master said: The Tathāgata, knowing cause and effect in the world, gave this earnest teaching. The punishments that suffering beings endure all have causes in past lives. If one does not vow to reform and change, and does not reverently uphold the Chishi tuoluoni (dhāraṇī for upholding the world; tuoluoni means “dharani,” total retention), punishment has no end and the day of awakening has no date. In past lives they widely practiced seizure and harm, grasping only momentary pleasure, losing their true nature, inverting right and wrong, not knowing how to reflect and amend, harming others and plunging them into distress—all kinds of wrongdoing—hence such retribution. If one wishes to revive now, one must vow to abandon former conduct. What the text says below is exactly this principle.

Ajieche, Ajieche, Sanmo Yanyi

These are transliterated phrases from the mantra.

These three lines continue the meaning of “accumulation through hoarding” and address the common people. Punishments pile up because in the past people greedily hoarded and clung to possessions, giving rise to all-pervasive, manifold inverted acts and thoughts. A cart is a vessel for carrying goods. “Jie” (to lift or take) means to fetch something and put it in a storehouse. Here “a jie” is explained as follows: “a” means “none”—neither taking nor storing; saying it twice in overlap shows a resolute will. “San” (three) matches the sound and sense of the foreign word “sha,” meaning as numerous as grains of sand, beyond measure. “Yan” is Yanfu (Jambudvipa, the human world in Buddhist geography). “San mo yan” means: although one vows to give wealth in charity and relieve others, goods are few while the world is vast, and what can benefit people is only a tiny trace of foam-moisture; yet if everyone does this, Jambudvipa can turn foam into lasting moisture. So this vow of giving is extremely widespread—what the scripture calls “widely benefiting boundless sentient beings.” The Buddha can proclaim this still more broadly to others, and thereby attain the right fruition. When the Tathagata (one of the titles of the Buddha) expounds these three lines, his mind and his vow cannot be limited.

A nu sa mo luo sha he (a-nu-sa-mo-luo-sha-he). “A nu” means an ordinary person who has neither merit nor fault. Knowing how to vow and practice in accord with the three lines above, verification comes very quickly, like a sa wind (a rushing gale). Mo is a small moistening; luo is great penetration—both are what one prays for. Sha he (in the commentary written as sha ci) is Sanskrit and means “quickly”; in mantra recitation it often closes the whole phrase.

A fa ci nan, e nu sa mo luo sha he. Fa ci is the name of a register that records offenses. Nan refers to what has been stipulated; fulfillment likewise comes as fast as a sa wind. Mo is slight moistening; luo is great thoroughfare—the wished-for outcome. Sha he is Sanskrit and means “quickly.”

A fa ci nan, e nu sa mo luo sha he.

“Fa-ci” is the name of a register that records offenses. “Nan” refers to cases that have already been adjudicated. What is called “a-fa” means that the penalties recorded have not yet been carried out. What the register and the cases set out can all be known as punishable duties. If one can follow the three sentences above and make a sincere vow, then even if one has done things like an “e-nu” (a transliterated term in the text for someone who has wronged in the world), one can at once receive the “mo-luo” (the grace spoken of in the text), as swiftly as a sudden wind and cloud. The former masters said that this “fa-ci” is administered by the yue-du huang-she (the divine offices of mountains and rivers, city gods, and local earth lords).

The spell line is: “Bo-ci po-ji (with a distinctive pronunciation), e-nu sa mo-luo suo he.” “Suo he” is a transliterated closing for the mantra.

“Bo-ci” is the name of the register; “po-ji” is the signature. The former masters said that “bo-ci” is the original amnesty roster under the case files of Vairocana Tathagata (the Great Sun Buddha), kept by the Shuaixing Heaven. There are six articles of original pardon, and “po-ji” likewise has six articles of original remission, each carved on a plaque. The plaques are made of green jade. When the yue-du huang-she set forth the circumstances and submit a memorial seeking pardon, and the memorial reaches the desk and the Tathagata approves and entrusts Shuaixing Heaven to execute it, then “po-ji” is sent down to the jurisdiction in question, allowing discretionary handling there—none may resist; whoever resists is executed. The text is extremely secret and must not be divulged; whoever divulges it is executed. If worldly e-nu can, in accord with the three sentences above, make a sincere vow, the yue-du huang-she examine in detail, and when the circumstances are verified they report upward; once approval is granted, the gracious command descends and protection follows the jade plaques—hence it is as fast as a sudden wind and cloud.

The spell is given as: “Die li zhen, e-nu sa mo-luo suo he.” The text then continues with “die li zhen” and the yue-du huang-she’s careful examination, verified reporting, descent after approval, and protection according to the plaques—so again it is as swift as wind and cloud. The spell appears again: “Die li zhen, e-nu sa mo-luo suo he.”

The original sense of “die li zhen” was unclear; one interpretation takes it as an omen of plague spreading and the dead lying side by side. The commentary in the text says: “die” means real or sincere, expressing grief (it also denotes the hemp band of mourning dress); “li” is the shivering of cold and fear, both grief and fear arising from deep repentance; “zhen” is the pounding block, used to remove grime and make things level and correct. Taken together, it means that if an e-nu can vow, grieve and fear in repentance, and cleanse former defilements, one can quickly receive grace.

The closing mantra is: “Pi-zhe yan, e-nu sa mo-luo suo he.”

Pizhiyan refers to encountering adversity and calamity no matter when or where one goes. This is due to karma from past lives being excessively heavy. Others, at other times, can turn misfortune into blessing and transform danger into safety; when those who are suffering encounter such situations, the outcome is invariably the opposite. This is not because the two powers that preside over creation and dispense retribution are unkind, but because in past lives these sufferers were constantly scheming and refused to rest content with their proper place.

Their circumstances back then were originally like those of the Beidi multitude (in the text, people who accumulated merit in past lives and obtained whatever they sought): if they wanted clothing they got clothing, if they wanted food they got food—whatever they sought in every matter and every place, nothing went unfulfilled. Because these Beidi people had deeply accumulated merit in past lives, powerful protective spirits (luo cha, spirits of great strength who lend their power in support) worked on their behalf; the account appears in the Ayu Zhi (Record of Ashoka). This is precisely how the two arbiters reward those who cultivate merit and practice goodness.

Those who suffer now belong to the type who in the past were extremely cunning and deceitful, and whose habits have long been fixed. They were demoted and cast down because they practiced “good” with calculation in mind—that was not true goodness. The two arbiters detested them and, while they were still alive, took their souls; therefore these people now are full of suspicion, with every difficulty pressing on their hearts, and afterward they become dull and blocked everywhere they turn. In fact this is precisely the compassionate intent of the two arbiters: to use adversity to break through and shut off (their old ways), so that the sufferers may awaken—which is why the following line speaks of swift liberation.

The mantra phrase is: Sa va sa duo, pi na yan, e nu sa mo luo sha he. (The final sha he [svāhā] is the usual closing sound of dhāraṇīs, meaning the mantra is complete.)

Sa means awakening. Va [fo] is like being bound with ropes. Duo is obstruction. Pi na yan carries both the sense of “binding” and “obstruction.” Because people of the e nu type take self-deception as their nature, they are entangled by desire wherever they go, and no act is free from obstruction. The Creator pities them, so the text below gives a method of remedy. This is to dissolve binding by means of binding, and to break through obstruction by means of obstruction, so that having passed through such circumstances they will surely awaken—which is why the following line has the effect of swift liberation.

This dhāraṇī possesses great divine power.

The explanation of the dharani has already been given above. “Fully equipped” (ju) means complete and all in readiness. It is said to possess “great divine power” because within it lies the meaning that the eight divisions of dharma protectors—heavenly beings, dragons, and the rest of the eight classes in Buddhist teaching who guard the true Dharma—together with humans and non-humans, respond when they hear the sound and come to rescue in accord with the sound. This is so because every syllable of this dharani issues from the Usnisa Wheel King (the esoteric tutelary deity honored above all through the Buddha’s crown); it is originally the precious Dharma-sound that the Tathagata uttered from the heart.

“If there are good men and good women”: From this one sees that this is an equal Dharma, making no distinction between men and women; what alone is valued is the single word “good.”

“Receive it with utmost sincerity and widely explain it to others”: Utmost sincerity means sincerity and single-mindedness carried to the extreme. “Receive” means to take it in from a teacher; “maintain” means to keep and guard it in the heart. “Others” refers to people in the world; “explain” means to teach and speak this dharani.

Various evil spirits and ghosts, dragons, yakshas (fierce ghostly beings who also have a role as Dharma protectors), and humans and non-humans alike cannot harm one; every kind of benefit and ease increases day and night without cease. According to this teaching, such evil spirits and the like are baleful qi within heaven and earth, and also qi that inevitably arises in the natural course of the cosmic cycle (yuanyun). The two great…

If one can with utmost sincerity make offerings to the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) and recite this dharani sutra without a moment’s pause for seven days and seven nights, all dragons and heavenly gods will rejoice and of themselves, in secret, send down needed wealth and grain. Famine and pestilence are wholly removed; every karmic obstacle is extinguished; every hardship and fear finds peace; merit and wisdom gradually increase; what one seeks is fulfilled; and one swiftly realizes anuttara-samyak-sambodhi (the Buddha’s supreme, perfect enlightenment).

Using dharani-qi as the medium, one gathers and draws the Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity); true primordial essence (zhen yuan) is for a time infused into the treasury of wealth in that place; merit and wisdom gradually increase; what one seeks is fulfilled; and one swiftly realizes anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

Using Ni Qi (the kind of qi spoken of in the text; qi is vital energy) as the medium, one gathers the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity—and when primordial yuan (the innate original source) is briefly infused, the local storehouses of wealth and the like at once fill of themselves. This belongs to the Great Way and was never meant to be turned into spellcraft. The Buddha’s compassionate aim is simply that people should believe in the Dharma and thereby perfect their Buddha-nature. Know that the Three Powers arise from one nature: which treasure of the world is not condensed from this yuan? Yuan is nothing but the source of endless begetting. If beings through the ages could grasp this, all honoring Buddha-nature, that would match the World-Honored One’s boundless vow to deliver beings. The countless sentient beings of Jambudvipa could all receive the bounty of food and clothing. In the World-Honored One’s view, this is no more than our giving a bowl of rice or a cup of water to relieve a poor person’s hunger and thirst—how could the Buddha’s measure be limited to so small a benefit? The scripture speaks of it in detail because it is teaching the world. If one knows only that the Buddha’s measure is vast, boasts empty vows, scorns this teaching as a lesser path and refuses to learn it, one is of the “e” sort. Take strict warning. Consider the meaning of the dharani text: “E may be delivered; e must not be delivered.” When there is a distinction between those who may be delivered and those who may not, how can one fail to be on guard? Without such vigilance, how can one proceed?

Then the Buddha told the elder Miaoyue: You should accept and trust this dharani, remember it and recite it, and teach it widely to others; whatever benefit and ease you seek will be accomplished without obstruction.

In the passage above, the World-Honored One (a title of the Buddha) was moved by the elder’s sincere request and described how he himself had once received and passed on this teaching—everything drawn from direct experience and verified realization. That was meant not only to open the elder’s faith but also to stir the Buddha’s disciples in the assembly, along with gods, humans, and other non-human listeners, so that all would give rise to a compassionate vow. At this point the World-Honored One called to the elder, saying “you should believe and accept”—words that carry a deep compassionate intent: only by vowing to practice as the elder once did can one truly be said to believe and accept; and through this he urged everyone present to take their everyday cultivation seriously. So he first said “you should believe and accept,” then “recollect and uphold it,” then “expound it widely to others,” and finally “nothing will fail to go well.” He was using the elder to rouse the whole gathering: when the mind is thorough and all-reaching, the vow can be complete.

Then the elder, having heard the Buddha’s words, rejoiced and leaped with delight. He addressed the Buddha: I can receive and uphold this teaching and spread it widely to others, so that countless sentient beings gain benefit and ease—I only ask the World-Honored One for compassionate remembrance and protection (mindful blessing and guarding).

Commentary: The elder, as soon as he heard, stepped forward to take it on—how bold. He deeply trusted the Buddha’s words; his faith reached its height, and his vow was vast—and that came from long, gradual cultivation. He still asked the World-Honored One for protection because he knew there was inconceivable spiritual power at work; he also feared that the Three Jewels he relied on (the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and the root of his practice) might still fall short—so he asked the Buddha to sustain him. That was the elder speaking honestly.

The World-Honored One answered: So it is, so it is.

The Buddha’s compassionate assent was no empty promise; it held further meaning. In any task one must keep a single breath of momentum going; when the mind slackens, that momentum drains away. The Buddha assented to bolster the elder’s courage in taking responsibility. In truth, even without the Buddha’s protection, simply doing the work would surely succeed; what one must guard against is that slackening. The Confucian classics say: Such a man was Shun—such a man am I; someone who acts should be like this. That is won by a surge of vital momentum. Why? Only through faith can things be accomplished; when faith is deep, momentum naturally grows strong. The Thus-Come One did nothing more than deepen the elder’s “believe and accept.” Our former teacher’s commentary says exactly that.

At that time, the elder joined his palms in reverence, and those on his right did the same. This is because there is a vital energy (qi) that one can rely on to attain the goal. Why? It is accomplished through faith; when faith runs deep, qi naturally grows strong. The Thus Come One (the Buddha) added nothing beyond the words “faith and acceptance.” The prior masters put it this way.

Then the elder joined his palms in reverence, circumambulated the World-Honored One (an honorific for the Buddha) to the right a hundred thousand times, prostrated at the Buddha’s feet, and departed in joy.

In the Western Teaching (Buddhism), reverence is always shown with palms joined—and there is deep meaning in this: the openings of the heart connect with the two palms; when the two palms come together, the mind becomes single-pointed and the spirit concentrated, which is why ritual always uses joined palms. The text says circumambulation to the right because the way of Heaven turns left while the way of Earth turns right; disciples who receive the master’s transmission and act accordingly should follow the way of Earth, hence circling to the right. From the very start of a disciple’s service, one must not fail to understand this. Circumambulating the World-Honored One a hundred thousand times signifies having already attained “holding the world in this very body”: at that moment the elder’s body had already become the three Jambudvipa worlds (three human realms), preserving this living qi, changing and moving with the rotation; when the hundred thousand circuits were complete, the firing process (the stages of cultivation) was sufficient and generative qi (life-giving vital energy) was full—then he prostrated at the Buddha’s feet, thanked the Buddha for compassionate protection, and at once took leave and went away in joy. He already knew the spirit had responded and been verified, while others did not yet know; by custom this should be kept secret, so at parting he did not speak a word—taking the quality of depth, stillness, and solemnity. That is how it should be, yet though he knew inwardly that it had been verified, he could not help showing joy. All of this carries deep meaning and should be grasped. The prior masters put it this way.

At that time, the World-Honored One told Ananda: In each of Elder Miaoyue’s storehouses, every kind of grain and treasure is now completely full.

The World-Honored One spoke only to Ananda because Ananda was the Buddha’s chief disciple and remembered all he heard. By now faith had been understood in silence; what he had gained was like the elder’s, yet Ananda still did not grasp the intent and had not yet asked. The Buddha spoke thus to draw out his questioning and to instruct all disciples broadly to vow to uphold and receive the teaching.

The venerable Ananda said joyfully to the Buddha: For what reason have Elder Miaoyue’s storehouses suddenly become full?

Perhaps they suspected there was another kind of spiritual resonance. To gather the Qi of living vitality and from it bring forth transformation can be passed heart-to-heart yet cannot be spoken in words; it was not that attainment was impossible, but that they knew the Buddha would not lay it bare—hence this question. In the honored one’s mind was the wish to ask the Buddha to reveal a wonderful meaning that, once heard, anyone could cultivate and put to the test.

The Buddha told Ānanda: the Wonderful Moon Elder, hearing what I said, felt it could not be put into words; it was not that he could not do it—he knew the Buddha would not speak it— and so he asked. In the honored one’s mind was precisely the request to bring forth this meaning that all people can practice and verify.

The Buddha told Ānanda: the Wonderful Moon Elder, having heard the great dharaṇī I taught, believed deeply and rejoiced, received and upheld it, recited it, and wished to proclaim it for the sake of boundless sentient beings; through this merit, his storehouses were entirely filled.

The World-Honored One indeed taught a principle everyone could follow—nothing more than “let them be led to do it” alone. Earlier masters said this was disclosure without disclosure; what was disclosed lay in the three characters “dharaṇī.” Though a single dharaṇī text may be broken into many fragments, gathered together it is one casket of dharaṇī—what is meant by “each thing fully possesses its own Taiji (Supreme Ultimate).” When holding it in unified awareness, do not fix on literal meaning; only let each character flow from a light of undivided stillness. That is the secret of holding the dharaṇī without transmitting it outwardly. The ever-begetting true origin is unborn yet begetting; not clinging to maintain it is the way of gathering and nurturing the true source. Storehouses overflowing is merely one kind of result; cultivating to the other shore of liberation and personally realizing Buddhahood is nothing other than fully obtaining the three characters “dharaṇī.” Only Ānanda at that time could grasp this in the heart—hence “not disclosed, yet already disclosed.”

You too should receive, uphold, and recite it, and broadly proclaim this dharaṇī to others, so that sentient beings throughout the great trichiliocosm may all gain benefit and peace.

“You all” refers to the disciples present; “receive, uphold, and recite” refers to oneself; “broadly proclaim it to others” means guiding sentient beings throughout the great trichiliocosm so that they all obtain benefit and joy.

“You all” refers to the disciples present at the Dharma assembly. “Receive, uphold, and recite” means personally taking up, maintaining, and chanting the text; “expound it widely for others” means guiding people in the world. When one person recites alone, that is already proclaiming it broadly for others; recitation and wide exposition are themselves what it means to receive and uphold—there is no reciting or expounding apart from the dharani (zongchi, a mantra-like passage that “holds” the meaning of the teaching in one formula).

“Three thousand” refers to the human realm; “great thousand” refers to the world one inhabits; “three thousand great thousand” together is called a world-system—meaning that within it there is no real division: all are alike as sentient beings (youqing, beings endowed with consciousness). The World-Honored One (shizun, an honorific for the Buddha) holds that in these three thousand great thousand worlds, not one can fall outside the dharani. Whoever can recite it brings benefit and ease to every kind of sentient being. The dharani is vast enough to embrace all and fine enough to enter everywhere, so sentient beings can all cross over by means of it.

The World-Honored One said he had surveyed everywhere: from the immeasurably distant past through the present three thousand great thousand worlds, heavenly demons (tianmo, spirits that obstruct practice), Brahma-class beings, and the like could neither destroy nor step beyond the lines of this dharani. “Destroy” means to annihilate; “step beyond” means to go outside them. These lines are the Tathagata’s (rulai, “Thus-Come One,” a title of the Buddha) pure and true heart-speech—authentic and incorruptible. Therefore in the world there are no people of shallow roots of goodness and scant merit who can not only fail to recite and uphold but even fail to hear the dharani’s name; and if they do hear it, it is as though they had not.

Why is that? Such passages are jointly praised by the Buddhas of the three times (past, present, and future), and are further protected and sustained by inconceivable divine power, so that those who now hear and receive and uphold them all gain benefit and ease.

The phrase “the reason why” is itself a rhetorical question posed by the World-Honored One. That those of meager merit and no good roots cannot hear has its cause. Such passages are praised in unison by the Buddhas of the three times. The three times are past, future, and present. The Buddhas are the great awakened sages, teachers of gods and humans, the Blessed Ones (Bhagavān—an honorific meaning the worthy World-Honored One). “Praise” is to extol; “proclaim” is to declare. “Together thus” means all alike. “Inconceivable” means that this reverence arises naturally, so its spiritual power is beyond measure.

“Anoint and protect” is to shield; “cause” is to make. “Hearing and holding” means those who hear and can maintain the dhāraṇī (a brief formula that gathers the meaning of a scripture). “Benefit” is advantage; “ease” is peace. The meaning is that there are no longer hardship, illness, calamity, or fear, because the Buddhas all protect one with their spiritual power.

The former master said: The purport within is truly profound and subtle. Seeking outside the body falls into heterodox paths; abandoning the world to practice only attains worldly fruit. This body must be this world, this world must be this body—fused into one—before one accords with the Buddha’s aim. The heavens, dragons, spirits, fierce demons, yakṣas (a class of violent spirits), humans, and non-humans spoken of in the sūtra—are they ultimately outside or not outside? Only one who awakens to this may practice this sūtra. With one fist, shatter world, body, and life entirely.

The dhāraṇī is precisely nature (xing). Body and world can be seen, their order is clear, destruction and completion are distinct; this dhāraṇī cannot be seen when you look, cannot be heard when you listen. If body and world lose it, nothing remains but lumps and fragments of form. Students should know: the subtle meaning of the dhāraṇī lies in sound, not in written words. The Tathāgata (another honorific for the Buddha) revealed it so that people may proceed from events to text, from text to sound, from sound to awakening to nature—thus knowing the Great Way is in oneself. Quietly examine: Are world and body really two? Can nature and life truly be separated? Understanding this, one understands the Scripture on Upholding the World, fulfills the Confucian phrase “exhausting nature,” and further reaches “establishing mandate” (“establish” read with falling tone—meaning to arrive at), then lets go with ease.

The teaching from the West (Buddhism brought from India) is truly marvelous. Without the World-Honored One it could not be spoken; without Ānanda it could not be compiled; without Master Xuanzang it could not be translated. In the full Buddhist canon of the Western teaching, neither world nor body departs from mandate or escapes nature. From here one may go on to investigate the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment and the Flower Garland Sūtra.

Venerable Ananda—the Buddha’s disciple, famed for his vast learning—was deeply joyful within and offered praise in the form of a “wonderful gāthā.”

“Wonderful gāthā” here is explained as the name of a kind of fragrant cake: it is also called Returning-Soul Incense or Water-Tranquilizing Rest. Fine powder of agarwood, sandalwood, liquidambar, and other aromatics is blended and pressed into cakes; when lit, it is said to restore the dead to life and to settle the hun-soul and secure the original spirit—treasured incense in the Western Regions. Ananda uses it as a metaphor for the sutra’s meaning. It carries great compassion: one is to penetrate this sutra’s teaching through it and take it deep into the marrow of the heart; it also marks the first step of practice for those who receive and uphold this sutra; and again, it is like fragrance pervading the whole body and reaching the four quarters of heaven and earth. Within it lies the sense of “dead yesterday, alive today.” The above follows my late teacher’s explanation.

The realm of all buddhas is inconceivable; so too is the Dharma they teach; and the results obtained by those who practice it correctly are likewise inconceivable. These four lines praise the power of this sutra.

The king of Dharma who possesses all wisdom has extinguished birth, old age, sickness, and death and reached the supreme far shore. I bow to the great practitioner; the fruit is the same. These four lines again praise the sutra’s power.

The king of Dharma who possesses all wisdom has extinguished birth, old age, sickness, and death and reached the supreme far shore. I bow to the greatly awakened honored one. These four lines express the experience of personally realizing this sutra.

Then Ananda, joyful and elated, bowed to the Buddha, joined his palms, and said: World-Honored One, what should this Dharma gate be called? How should we receive and uphold it now?

Ananda had already grasped the gist of this sutra, yet its applications are not of one kind only; therefore he asked that a title be set so it could be venerated, cultivated, and transmitted, enabling countless ages to inherit and embody it, with fixed names for upper, middle, and lower grades. Thus one sees Ananda’s far-reaching insight, his great vow, and his joy clearly displayed.

The Buddha told Ananda: This sutra is named The Questions of the Elder Wonderful Moon. That name follows the event itself, for transmission, upholding, and practice; because responses are verified, this title is placed at the head. It is also named Capable of Responding to All Sources of Wealth and Rank.

Although this name is aimed specifically at hardship and distress, illness, guilt, and danger usually arise because people are pressed by their circumstances; gaining wealth, rank, and status is only one part of that. From this comes the opening to protect against and release every kind of adversity. That is the deep meaning of establishing this name.

It is also called “Healing Illness,” also called “Coming to Destroy Offenses,” and also called “Able to Remove All Fear and Dread.” When you distinguish clearly what each name addresses, practice accordingly—single-minded, without mixing names—and response and efficacy come quickly. Profound principle ought to work this way (“ying” read with level tone, meaning “should” or “ought to be so”).

It is also called “Praised Together by All Buddhas” and also called “Empowered by Divine Strength.” This shows it is not private cleverness of one person; it has a source: receiving the Buddha’s mindfulness and vows, then practicing by the name with undivided focus—only then is efficacy swift. Profound principle ought to work this way.

These two names are given again to say it does not come from private wit but has a basis, flowing through the Buddha’s mindfulness and vows—like the Daoist terms “benxing” (read with departing tone, meaning one’s original/principal practice) and “benyuan” (original vow).

It is also titled the Shishi Tuoluoni Jing (Dharani Scripture for Upholding the World; tuoluoni means a mantra that “holds” the totality of meaning). Note carefully: this section is addressed to great virtuous friends (great guides who lead cultivation). Bearing the Buddha’s vast vow, they declare and instruct dragons of heaven, earthly spirits, humans, non-humans, and all such hosts throughout the great trichiliocosm (the vast cosmos as Buddhism describes it). If the aim is only oneself, one household, or one locality, you should uphold the names given above—not this name. So the prior masters taught. It is also said: “practice of upholding” here means encompassing the three powers (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity), while preserving and transforming without going beyond the single body—that accords with the Buddha’s teaching and makes efficacy extremely swift. I have experienced this myself; it is truly so.

You also said: upholding that encompasses the three powers, with preservation and transformation not exceeding the one body—that fits the Buddha’s words and brings swift verification. I have lived through it; it is exactly so.

You should uphold this and not forget or lose it, using it to benefit and bring ease to all sentient beings (all living beings with feeling).

Our late teacher said: This is the compassionate intent of the entire scripture, oriented toward rapid attainment—nature is fully realized here, and life (xingming) is made complete here; within it lies a supreme, hidden meaning that is at once utterly plain and utterly subtle. That is why the World-Honored One (the Buddha) gave this charge. Buddhism as it came from the West takes non-clinging to merit as orthodox teaching, yet this scripture seems to lean toward dwelling in merit. The World-Honored One feared that people would take it as merely one path of accumulated practice and fail to see that it is really the learning of exhausting nature and fulfilling life (jin xing zhi ming)—exhausting one’s true nature and completing one’s destiny—so he called Ananda forth to tell him.

When the Bhagavan (an honorific for the Buddha; see the note above) had finished this scripture, countless shravakas (disciples who practice by hearing the Buddha’s teaching), together with all the hosts of devas, humans, asuras, and the rest, heard what the Buddha said, rejoiced greatly, and received it in faith and put it into practice.

Our late teacher said: The “devas, nagas,” and the like in the scripture are spoken in terms of the qi-pattern within the human body; when the text speaks of the “world,” it is to clarify the “body.” Qi within the body and qi in the world are one qi; human nature and Buddha-nature are one nature—both belong to the dharani (the mantra that “holds the meaning in total”). Thus one may “uphold the world” through this very body; if one abandons original nature and tries to uphold it, one falls into heterodox paths—this must be understood. Jilian grasped this and thought it could be read fruitfully alongside the book Three Dharanis for Healing the World; Confucian and Daoist teaching do not go beyond this scope. Used to annotate this scripture, it fulfills both teaching and nurturing according to the scripture’s aim: only after awakening to one’s own nature can one benefit and bring ease. What the mantra repeats in detail is precisely the great way of healing the world; to heal the world is to uphold the world.

Commentary on the Mantra of the Hidden-Trace Vajra Deity, annotated by Jilian of the Min family, tonsured monk of Wuxing, on Mount Tiao.

Respectfully noted: The Buddhist canon preserves this divine mantra, which flourished in the Tang. Thereafter it could bring people benefit and ease; what the true words unfold at length is precisely the great way of healing the world—healing the world is upholding the world.

According to textual research: this divine mantra appears in the Buddhist canon and was widely practiced in the Tang dynasty; the original scripture comprised two fascicles. The text relates that after Shakyamuni Buddha (the teacher of Buddhism, honored as the World-Honored One) entered parinirvana, the Brahma king with a spiraled topknot did not come to pay respects but instead let his followers seize the upasikas (lay Buddhist women) and bhikshunis (nuns) of the Buddha’s realm, indulging in licentious conduct without restraint and corrupting the Buddhist community. The Buddha’s realm was stricken with fear. Ananda and the other ten great disciples sent many arhats (saints who had attained fruition), countless warrior spirits, and a great host of mantra masters (practitioners who hold mantras) to rebuke him, yet not one returned alive—all perished because the Brahma king spread defilement and polluted what was pure. The assembly wept before the Buddha; moved, the World-Honored One manifested a three-headed, six-armed warrior spirit and appeared to the fourfold assembly—the upasakas (lay Buddhist men), upasikas, the many arhats, warrior spirits, and mantra masters. They went to rebuke him, and again not one returned, for the same reason: the Brahma king used filth to stain the pure. The assembly wailed to the Buddha once more; the World-Honored One, moved, manifested the three-headed, six-armed warrior spirit and said to the upasakas, upasikas, bhikshus (monks), bhikshunis, and the venerables Ananda, Kashyapa, and others: “I can subdue him.” The warrior spirit soared into the sky; golden light filled all directions until the light of sun and moon was eclipsed; after a while he returned. The Brahma king repented, personally escorted back the arhats, warrior spirits, and mantra masters he had taken, along with the upasikas and bhikshunis, offered precious incense and supreme treasures, and with his retinue prostrated before the Buddha, begging forgiveness. The Secret-trace Vajra protector (the Buddha’s secret guardian deity) placed his hand on the king’s crown and conferred the precepts (the ritual of touching the crown and transmitting the precepts), sent him back to his realm, and then expounded this mantra to the Buddhist assembly. It circulated as the foremost wondrous method of Esoteric Buddhism, named the “Mantra of the Secret-trace Vajra.” If people recite and uphold it, the warrior spirit vows to come and protect them, and all things go as they wish. Because the mantra arises from the Buddha’s mind, it is called “Secret-trace”; because it can reach into filth and subdue filth, it is also called the “Mantra of the Filth-trace Spirit.”

Mantra syllables (recite by sound; no separate semantic translation): Om fo hua gu kou yu

If one recites and upholds it, the warrior spirit vows to rush to protect, and everything accords with one’s wishes. Because it issues from the Buddha’s mind, it is called “Secret-trace”; because it can reach filth, it is also called the “Mantra of the Filth-trace Spirit.”

Mantra syllables: Om fo hua gu kou yu

“Om” is read like “weng”; it is a word of praise. “Fo” (Buddha) is read with a nasal quality; “gua” is read “huo,” “guo” as “ge,” and “kou-yu” as “lu.” This line means the Buddha has spoken—that is, the Buddha once addressed the assembly of buddhas.

“Mohe boluo” refers to the arhats who went to question him—saints who had already attained the fruit of the path. “Mohe” is Sanskrit, meaning “great” in Chinese. “Bo” is read “bu,” “luo” as “la”; this speaks of the nature of mind as luminous like a bowl (patra). A patra is like a bowl with a slightly smaller mouth, cast in gold and shining brightly; it is used as a simile for the substance of luminous nature. Those arhats all possess the light of great wisdom, like a golden bowl. “Luo” is a particle, equivalent to “thus” or “as.”

“Hen nade” refers to countless mighty warriors—those of great divine power. “Hen” shares sound and sense with “hen” (fierce). “Na” is read “nu,” “de” as “xu.” It means the innumerable warriors who went forth have extremely strong spiritual power, which I deeply approve. “Hen” means fierce and bold; “na” means “those”; “de” means to praise or approve.

“Wen zhi wen”: “Wen” is read “wen,” meaning utterance or formula—here, a mantra; “zhi” means pure essence. The doubled “wen” indicates mantra sounds rolling on without break in the mouth, referring to myriads of mantra masters (those who hold and recite mantras).

“Xi mani”: In one explanation, “xi” takes the sense of mantra and, continuing from above where “zhi” is essence and the repeated “wen” is mouth after mouth without pause, still points to myriads of mantra masters. In another explanation, “xi” is a compassionate resolve to renew and replace the old; “mo” is to demand and urge toward the good. The purpose of going was only to move that Brahma king (lord of the first dhyana heaven of the form realm) to repent and reform, so they admonished him with compassion. “Ni” refers to the sun—wishing to break darkness and open enlightenment like the sun. Such is the compassionate intent of the arhats, warriors, and mantra masters.

“Wei ji wei”: “Wei” is read “wei” or sometimes “wei”; “ji” is read “jie,” together “wei jie wei”—tail following tail. It means those who went were extremely numerous, one after another in an unbroken stream.

“Mo na qi” are characters used to write the sounds of the mantra.

“Mo” is to be read in the sense of “cannot” or “there is no way”; “na” follows the sound and meaning of “nai,” as in “what is one to do?”; “qi” means to halt or remain in place. Taken together, the phrase means that one is stuck there before him, utterly at a loss.

At that time the Brahma king with the spiraling topknot (a lord whose hair was coiled like a conch shell) spread foul and defiling things everywhere, thereby offending the Buddhist teaching. Even though he possessed spiritual powers, he could not find peace for himself—so how could he be made to repent? Hence the name “Monaqi” (Mo-na-qi: helplessly halted before him).

“Om” (pronounced like “an”) is a cry of lament. It laments the Brahma king’s wrongdoing and also grieves for the Buddhist community being scorned and defiled.

“Zhuo” and “zhe” are linked in sound and sense; “na” is read like “na” (to grasp or seize), expressing anxiety pushed to the limit. Among the Buddha’s followers, some had died and others had been defiled. Reflecting that the Brahma king showed no repentance at all and that calamity was falling upon the Buddha-land with scarcely any end in sight, the text says “zhuo ji na.” “Zhuo” originally means striking with an axe or stone; “ji” is urgency; “na” is helplessness. These are words the World-Honored One (a respectful title for the Buddha) spoke when the ten great disciples and others were wailing.

“Wu shen mu gu kou yu” records a stretch of mantra syllables for recitation. Such lines are mostly chanted for their sound, to echo the preceding lament over the Brahma king’s injustice and the defilement of the Buddhist community, and the acute anxiety that follows.

The character wu denotes the crow, whose feathers are black. Shen means to penetrate deeply into that realm. Mu points to the absence of the sun. The line means that if the Brahma king (Mahābrahmā) is slandered in this way, he dwells in a world without daylight. It expresses the World-Honored One (the Buddha’s honorific title) describing his purpose in going to subdue that situation: like a crow flying into this sunless heaven, he applies the mantra rendered in the text as zhulü huo zhuiyu—upright, luminous, and meant to dispel impurity.

Here zhuiyu differs from the opening of the passage: at the head of the text it marks the end of speech or the falling of the voice; in this place it denotes the sound of the incantation. Another reading takes wu as “I,” shen as “ascend,” and mu as “gaze into the distance,” while zhuiyu still names the sound of holding the mantra. On that reading, moved by the Buddhas’ cries of grief, the speaker ascends to the heights, looks toward the Brahma king’s capital, and intones this spell; at one utterance of zhuiyu, the dead may live again and what is defiled may be cleansed. The text therefore leads into “hong hong hong” below.

Hong hong hong is simply repeated assent—like saying “good, good, good” again and again.

The syllable “hong” is pronounced like “hou.” Older commentaries gloss it as “heart-light” (xin guang), but it is better understood through the sense of “hao” (good). Because “hong” and “hao” correspond in Western Regions pronunciation, “hong hong hong” is equivalent to saying “hao hao hao” (good, good, good). The meaning is: once the Buddha’s mantra is recited, defilement is transformed into what is pure; those who had died from contact with foul vapors are restored to life, and their spiritual powers return exactly as before. Seeing this, one cannot help but rejoice and exclaim “good, good, good”—words of self-congratulation and relief. To explain it still with the old gloss “heart-light” is also quite apt. This line continues from above: our Buddha went there, intoned the divine mantra again and again, and each time sent forth heart-light to illumine that world without sunlight, so that every kind of impurity was purified and those who had died from contact were revived—as stated below. Both interpretations can stand together.

“Pan pan pan.” This continues from above: as our Buddha held the divine mantra and shone heart-light, every kind of evil impurity in that realm was purified one by one; among our Buddha’s assembly, those who had lost their dharma and their lives through contact with the various pollutions also awoke one by one as before. This describes the mantra’s divine power and the wonderful effect of heart-light. “Pan” means to disperse, dissolve, and revive—to scatter evil impurity and release those who had withered and died from contamination so they recover. Saying it three times conveys the sense of successive dissolution, scattering, revival, and liberation.

“Pan pan svaha.” This continues from above and means that such dissolution, liberation, and revival come with extreme speed. “Svaha” (the text also writes “suo he”) denotes utmost swiftness.

From the Commentary on the Great Compassion Divine Mantra (Dabei Shenzhou Zhu), annotated by the monk Ji Lianshi Min Chaofu of Wuxing (the area of present-day Huzhou, Zhejiang).

The marvelous verses of the “Great, Perfect, Unobstructed Great Compassion Heart Mahā Dharani” (dharani means mantra or spell); the mantra text follows.

“Vast, complete, and without obstruction (wu he)” means that the light of nature (xingguang—the light of one’s inherent heart-mind) is originally vast and complete, with no barrier at all. He here means blockage or hindrance. The text deliberately uses he rather than ai (another common word for obstruction)—a refinement in wording. If it were ai, that would suggest blockage arising from doubt in the mind, the kind of hindrance that comes from refusing to go forward—not what someone who truly knows and follows this practice would experience. Once one knows and upholds the method, there is no need to fear obstruction born of doubt; hence the title reads wu he, not wu ai. If it were still ai, it would also suggest the delusion of taking oneself to have attained what one has not yet attained, which in turn blocks advance. Both are forms of obstruction, yet one is obstruction through doubt and one through delusion—and both are meant here.