The Sovereign Ritual of Amoghapāśa
Part 2
Toh 686
Degé Kangyur, vol. 92 (rgyud ’bum, ma), folios 1.b–316.a; vol. 93 (rgyud, tsa), folios 1.b–57.b
- Chödrak Pel Sangpo
- Rinchen Drup
Imprint
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Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2022
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Amoghapāśakalparāja is an early Kriyātantra of the lotus family. Historically, it is the main and largest compendium and manual of rites dedicated to Amoghapāśa, one of Avalokiteśvara’s principal emanations, who is named after and distinguished by his “unfailing noose” (amoghapāśa). The text is primarily soteriological, with an emphasis on the general Mahāyāna values of compassion and loving kindness for all beings. It offers many interesting insights into early Buddhist ritual and the development of its terminology.
Acknowledgements
This translation was produced by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Wiesiek Mical translated the text from a complete Sanskrit manuscript and wrote the introduction. Anna Zilman compared the translation draft against the Tibetan versions found in the Degé and other editions of the Kangyur. The project is greatly indebted to Prof. Ryugen Tanemura and his team of scholars at Taisho University, Tokyo, for making available to us a copy of the Sanskrit manuscript and its transcript.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Sun Ping, Tian Xingwen, and Sun Fanglin, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Text Body
Part 2
Noble Avalokiteśvara,80 the great bodhisattva being, rose from his seat, draped his upper garment over one shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, and bowed with folded hands in the direction of the Blessed One, whose body blazed with thousands of light rays of different colors, bright as the sun. [F.7.a] He smiled, his face resembling the orb of the full moon, and, reflecting on the power of loving kindness and compassion, he addressed the Blessed One for the benefit of and to show compassion to the members of the four castes and for the sake of obtaining all the supreme accomplishments of vidyā holders, such as the accomplishments of the true nature, and obtaining the boons that these accomplishments bestow.
“This Amogharāja,81 O Blessed One, [A.4.b] is the quintessence of my sovereign ritual. In it, there is a very secret, quintessential part that teaches the secret samaya practice of the great maṇḍalas, mudrās, and mantras that together constitute an ultimate maṇḍala of liberation. It brings the realization of reality that arises out of the great essence of reality itself by the means of the great lotus maṇḍala. I will now proclaim these teachings before the Blessed One.
“I will proclaim these teachings here, in the midst of this great assembly, before the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, and before the circle of the accomplished vidyā deities. I will proclaim them before the deities such as Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, before Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, the hosts of ṛṣis, Candra, Sūrya, stars and stellar constellations, siddhas,82 and celestial vidyādharīs. I will proclaim them before the Blessed One, who embodies the transcendent accomplishment of the true essence of reality that is won through the successful practice of recitation and visualization. I will proclaim them before the retinue-hosts of the great vidyādharas. I will teach the supreme secret of the essence of reality.”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni, adorned with hundreds of thousands83 of merits and splendorous with the major and minor marks of perfection, extended his golden arm, [F.7.b] which was fragrant like a rutting elephant and haloed with many light rays, [Ti.22] placed his hand on the head of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and stroked him, saying, “Please speak, O great compassionate, supremely pure being! You are blessed by the tathāgatas, and now also by me. Teach the most secret samaya that is delighted in and blessed by all the tathāgatas in the ten directions as numerous as atoms in the universe or the hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of sand grains in the Gaṅgā river. They rejoice and cheer you on.”
Blessed84 Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, looked in the ten directions, and then, facing the Blessed One, spoke the following mantras that are his own secret reality and essence:
[2] “Oṁ, you with a lotus in your hand, great Amoghapāśa, activate the essence of samaya! Go ahead, do! Hūṁ!”85
This mantra is the essence and innate nature of Amoghapāśa; it is a secret heart mantra of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being. As soon as it was spoken, Potala, the king of mountains, quaked in six different ways, along with all the mountains, forests, and groves, including Mount Sumeru with its inner and outer encircling ranges. All the palaces of gods swayed, as did the dwellings of nāgas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas. The great oceans swelled with waves, and the bodies of water shook.
The buddhas throughout the ten directions applauded: “Good! Good it is, O son of the victors! The secret heart mantra of Amogha was beautifully presented. If it is recited, it will bring supreme accomplishments.” [F.8.a]
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni said, “Good! Good it is, Avalokiteśvara! When recited, this secret amogha mantra will bring the realization of reality.”86
Avalokiteśvara replied, “It is so, O Blessed One! This secret heart dhāraṇī, even if it is repeated just once, will cause each and every single tathāgata everywhere in the ten directions, [A.5.a] equal in number to millions of billions times the number of sand particles in the Gaṅgā river, to extend his arm and hold the reciter’s head, giving him comfort. The reciter will perceive every tathāgata.87 By merely pronouncing this mantra, he will be freed from disease88 for hundreds of thousands of eons. Hells will no longer exist for him, and his wrongdoings will be purified.89 All his diseases and ailments will cease, as will all wickedness. Wicked beings, enemies, and adversaries will perish; there is no doubt about this. [Ti.23] Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant him boons and appear to him continually.
“The vidyā holder should purify himself, bathe thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. He should give rise to loving kindness and compassion and be solely motivated by kindness for all beings. He should make offerings before a cloth painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, with flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, scented oils, and lamps, on either the eighth or the fifteenth day of the bright fortnight. The recitation procedure requires the vidyā holder to recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times while sitting in a cross-legged posture in front of the painting and refraining from other talk. He should then recite the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times, while sprinkling the painting with water and mustard seeds and forming his mudrā twenty-one times in succession. One thus performs the mantra and mudrā empowerments of the painting. [F.8.b]
“After that, he should recite the heart mantra of the secret amogha samaya91 one thousand and eight times. When this mantra is thus repeated one hundred thousand times together with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and the mantra of Krodharāja, the recitation procedure is complete. Upon its completion, the cloth painting will blaze with light and the earth will quake. Light rays of various colors will radiate from the body of Noble Avalokiteśvara. The noose held in Amoghapāśa’s hand92 will also blaze with light. The vidyā holder will be thrilled, his body hair will bristle, and the top of his head will emit light. This is the sign of success—the ritual seal of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa has been accomplished.
“Subsequently, all activities and all tasks will be accomplished by merely pronouncing the mantra. Hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, will simultaneously appear before the vidyā holder and place their golden hand on his head.93 Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear in his body of secret essence, which is by nature completely pure, without stains or blemishes. Standing before the vidyā holder, he will grant all desirable things and all accomplishments, including the accomplishment of the ritual seal of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. They will protect the vidyā holder as their heart son, until he has attained the awakening of a buddha.
“A vidyā holder who wishes to see the world system named Sukhāvatī in its entirety, adorned with perfect buddha fields, and to see Noble Amitābha, the best of victors, with the retinue-hosts of bodhisattvas and [A.5.b] [Ti.24] sitting on a lion seat in an ornamented palace, his body ablaze with hundreds of thousands of billions of light rays as he teaches the Dharma, [F.9.a] should purify himself as required for a vidyā holder, keep his heart and mind completely pure,94 and cultivate, throughout the prātihāra fortnight,95 thoughts of loving kindness, faith, respect, a heart of compassion, and regard for his master. He should offer to the great cloth painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara whatever articles are available, such as flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, unguents, scented powders, robes, cloth, and banners. From the eighth day of the bright fortnight through the thirteenth, he should live on the three ‘white’ foods and recite daily,96 and he should recite the secret heart mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one97 times in front of the painting. He should refrain from other talk. He should likewise recite the heart and the auxiliary heart mantras of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times in front of the painting.98 A welcome offering of water,99 placed in front of the painting, should be offered at the three junctions of the day. The vidyā holder should, at that time, ‘wake up’ the deity using the incense of agarwood, sandalwood, olibanum, and bdellium, together with essential flower-oils and musk, and recite the summoning mantra one thousand and eight times.100
“If one uses the supreme king of incense101 called unfailing purity in the three worlds,102 all the world systems in the ten directions of the great trichiliocosm will fill, as soon as the incense is lit, with great clouds of incense, including all the buddha fields where all the buddhas and bodhisattvas dwell and the realms of the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other human and nonhuman beings. As soon as the incense reaches them during the performance of the incense worship with this great king of fragrances, all diseases will cease, and all nightmares and bad dreams will be completely pacified.103 Even animals [F.9.b] who smell the fragrance of the incense will have the wrongdoings and karmic obscurations that lead to rebirth in the lower realms completely purified. All disputes, quarrels, famines, wars, riots, public unrest, nightmares—all such misfortunes, calamities, and annoyances, including all diseases and ailments—will be completely pacified. So will all hurricanes, hailstorms, heat, and cold waves. All nonvirtue will be destroyed, including all the mantras that employ kākhordas and kiraṇas, and all poisons both liquid and powdered. All grahas, apasmāras, fevers, indigestion, eating disorders,104 and evil eye105 will be cleared up or dispelled when they smell the fragrance of the incense. They will disappear and will never recur [Ti.25] up until the final attainment of the seat of awakening. One should always use this king of incense.
“Then, on the fourteenth lunar day, the vidyā holder should fast for the whole day and night,106 recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times, and recite the mantra of Krodharāja the same number of times. He should offer a bali of three ‘white’ foods, as available, and burn a lamp with fragrant oil while reciting the heart and auxiliary heart mantras of Krodharāja. He should sleep in front of the painting until, at dawn, he sees golden treasures in his dreams. He will see the world system of Sukhāvatī with its palaces, jeweled trees, [A.6.a] and jeweled mountains, and also Puṣkiriṇī with its residences, temples, palaces, and all [F.10.a] its magical and marvelous displays. He will see the Tathāgata Amitāyus sitting inside his palatial temple, surrounded by the retinue-hosts of bodhisattvas, and also the congregations of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas.
“The blessed Tathāgata Amitāyus, a worthy, fully realized buddha, will, for his part, encourage and applaud the vidyā holder by saying, ‘Great! It is great, O good man! You have performed many honorable acts, O vidyā holder, and planted many roots of virtue. By performing what is worth performing, you have acquired much authority. You have accomplished, O vidyā holder, the essence of Amoghapāśa, the maṇḍala of liberation, the great seal, the essence of the mantra speech, and buddhahood itself. This is your last birth from a womb; when this birth runs its full course,107 you will be reborn in a buddha field and will pass on from one buddha field to another, until you finally attain the seat of awakening.’ Amitāyus will then place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head, granting him all the mundane accomplishments and the accomplishment of the path that leads beyond this world.
“This is the supreme practice, whereby the vidyā holder, thrilled with joy, will see for himself that he is fully realized. With all his karmic obscurations dispelled, he will be completely pure. Noble Avalokiteśvara, in the garb of a brahmin, will remain in front of him and provide all desirable things. The cloth painting will blaze and emit light. He will also obtain hundreds of thousands of other benefits and worldly splendor. [Ti.26] [F.10.b] All people, kings, ministers, brahmins, and householders will remain in his thrall, and he will be greatly venerated. In return, he will receive great amogha accomplishment from monks and brahmins. To bring this about, he should form the mudrā three times a day, and then, on the fourteenth day, he should make whatever offerings of money and food are available to monks and brahmins, and only then should he himself eat.
“If the vidyā holder seeks to see a buddha, a bodhisattva, or a deity, he should incant the king of incense twenty-one times with the mantra of summoning and offer the incense to the blessed Buddha. The summoned being will show itself as the result of merely burning the incense. It will explain what is auspicious and what is not, and what will bring loss and what will bring gain. It will explain everything, including the duration of the vidyā holder’s life and its own death and rebirth.
“I will now teach, as is proper, the mantra procedures for the successful performance of aim-specific rites:
“This is the auxiliary heart mantra to the heart mantra called Amogharāja.
“This is the impelling mantra. One should incant mustard seeds with it twenty-one times, mix them with water, and throw the water in the ten directions. All the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other human and nonhuman beings everywhere will become aroused when fumigated with the king of incense and sprinkled with this water. [A.6.b]
[5] “Oṁ, O lotus-eyed Amoghapāśa! Traverse the three worlds and come to the earth! Suru suru suru! [F.11.a] O pure being, hūṁ!110
“This is the summoning mantra. One should incant bdellium incense with it one hundred and eight times, mix the incense with water and flowers, and throw the water in the ten directions. This is supremely effective in summoning from anywhere.
[6] “Oṁ, O lotus-armed one who holds the great noose! I invite you, one of unfailing power, to come to Earth! Muru muru, hūṁ!111
“This is the invitation mantra—a vidyā of invitation from anywhere—for all the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas, for all the deities who dwell in the maṇḍalas, and for the devas, nāgas,112 and so forth. One should fumigate the vase, the water, the flowers, and the tooth sticks with the king of incense incanted with this mantra one hundred and eight times. [Ti.27]
“This is the mantra of securing the maṇḍala on the ground. One should incant water and mustard seeds with this mantra one hundred and eight times and cast them to the ground. This will consecrate a circular maṇḍala on the ground, one hundred leagues115 in diameter, so that the ground is composed of vajras, everything there is protected, and the beings there become stable minded. The vidyā holder will become invisible to all the enemies—to all the vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, and apasmāras, and to the ḍākinīs who can assume any shape at will. He will become invisible and as inviolable as vajra.
[8] “Oṁ, the throne of Amoghapāśa upon lotuses! Oṭi, miri miri, hūṁ!116
“Using this mantra for the seat, one should incant some mustard seeds one thousand and eight times and cast them at the ground. This will magically create a great lotus and consecrate it as a seat. The seat, made of the seven precious jewels and blessed by all the tathāgatas, [F.11.b] is a supreme offering.117 The vidyā holder should also sprinkle his own seat with water and mustard seeds incanted twenty-one times with this mantra. This will purify the seat, making it into a lotus seat of an accomplished vidyā holder.118
[9] “Oṁ, great compassionate Amoghapāśa! You are founded upon a firm vajra! Bhuru bhuru, in this best of places, svāhā!119
“With this mantra the vidyā holder can completely purify the entire maṇḍala, including houses, forests, pleasure groves, monasteries, shelters, walking areas, and secret retreat places in the forest. He can completely purify all places by sprinkling them with perfumed water and mustard seeds incanted one hundred and eight times. All the wicked vighnas,120 vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas will be warded off. This mantra is for purifying the place.
[10] “Oṁ, secure the border surrounding the ten directions with the unfailing lotus rope! Turu turu, hūṁ!121
“The vidyā holder should wind a five-colored thread onto five iron stakes that are eight fingers long, incant them with this mantra one thousand and eight times, and drive them into the ground in the four corners, with the center being the fifth. This will create an enclosing outer boundary at the distance of seven leagues. This great boundary will remain until the stakes are pulled out. [A.7.a]
[11] “Oṁ, amogha maṇḍala! Secure the borders all around with lotuses and great lotuses! Dhuru dhuru, svāhā!122
“This is the mantra for securing the maṇḍala. One should incant water and mustard seeds with it one hundred and eight times and sprinkle the entire maṇḍala, including above and below. [Ti.28] This will secure a great outer maṇḍala. No vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, or piśācas will be able to cross it. All the wicked beings there are, such as wicked gods or nāgas, [F.12.a] will be prevented from coming.123 All worldly or unwholesome activities, defective mantras, and the vile acts of wicked beings will be completely eradicated.
“The vidyā holder should use this mantra to incant, one thousand and eight times, water prepared with the five products of the cow, and then sprinkle the entire area, whether it is a monastery, a forest hermitage, a secret cave, a hidden place in a thicket, a walking area, a grove, a tended garden, a pleasure grove, a residence, a shelter, or a house. All swamps and cesspools, whether filled on not, will be cleared of any bhūtas, piśācas, pretas, and so forth who feed on refuse, as well as any savages. They will be expelled, and the area will become pure.
“If the vidyā holder sprinkles himself with the same water, he will be free from problems such as indigestion, eating disorders,125 or the evil eye. Unhealthy residences and dwelling places will become pure. Those who are dirty will become clean, the impure will become pure, the sexually incontinent will become continent, and those who do not fast will begin to do so. All the deities will stand by to guard, protect, and defend the vidyā holder. Īśvara, Maheśvara, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara,126 Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and so forth will remain attentive in guarding, protecting, and defending him. He will be loved and venerated by the entire world, and his speech will be treated as command. All his diseases will clear up, and he will be freed from his nonvirtue, obscurations, wrongdoings, and so forth.
“If the vidyā holder sprinkles all four quarters, [F.12.b] all quarrels, disputes, fights, disagreements, famines, and pestilence—all such misfortunes, calamities, and troubles—will be completely pacified. If he sprinkles himself or sips the water every day, he will obtain great success in the rites involving vidyās, mudrās, and maṇḍalas. He will obtain great amogha accomplishment. Wherever he goes, he will be honored and his progress never obstructed. Every night he will have splendorous dream-visions of great places and many extraordinary things.
“The vidyā holder will obtain great boons on all occasions. All monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, householders, kings, ministers, royal harems, and attendants will fall under his thrall. Always maintaining perfectly pure conduct, he will be greatly venerated. [Ti.29] He will be able to see Noble Avalokiteśvara any time, whenever he wishes, and will obtain all the most desirable boons. In his sleep he will perceive the Tathāgata Amitābha, [A.7.b] the worthy, fully realized Buddha. When he dies, he will be reborn in the world system of Sukhāvatī.
“This is the mantra of the secret great samaya.
“This is the mantra of entry.
“This is the mantra of the disciple.
“This is the mantra for binding the topknot. It should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for tossing the water. It should be recited twenty-one times.
[18] “Oṁ, amogha deformed water-container134 on a lotus seat! Full of water! [F.13.a] Act, act, hūṁ!135
“This is the mantra for the water pitcher. It should be recited one hundred and eight times.
“This is the mantra for containing water. It should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for the hands. One should incant both hands with it one thousand and eight times and commence whatever activities need to be accomplished that involve maṇḍala, mantra, and mudrā procedures. This procedure will make all practices successful, and it should always be included in all rites.
[21] “Oṁ, amogha purity that purifies the tip of the tongue! Tender as lotus, please purify the tongue! Keep it so, keep! Auspicious purity, svāhā!139
“This is the mantra for purifying the tongue. The vidyā holder should incant perfumed water with it one thousand and eight times and rinse the front of his mouth. It will remove all impurities from the tongue, which will then become delicate like the petal of a pink or red lotus. Similarly, it will purify the teeth, the palate, and the throat.
[22] “Oṁ, fragrant Amogha! Suru suru, prabhuru! Divine fragrance with the glow of a lotus! Svāhā!140
“With this mantra, the vidyā holder should prepare a fragrant pill to be kept at the front of the mouth. He should grind sandalwood, nalada,141 fenugreek, water lily, saffron, and musk into a fine powder and, [Ti.30] adding honey, make a pill the size of an eyeball. Reciting the above mantra with full voice, he should place the pill in a copper container, place the container in the mouth, and keep it there until he completes one thousand and eight recitations. After a while, the pleasant fragrance of a water lily will continually issue forth from his mouth for hundreds of yards. There is no doubt about this.
“All the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas will rejoice, and Noble Avalokiteśvara, the boon-granting lord, will be extremely pleased. [B2] This142 supreme vidyā of Amoghapāśa will be easily accomplished through recitation. [F.13.b] The vidyā holder who recites it will always be free from bad odor, bile, phlegm, and nasal mucous, which will all be swiftly cleared away, and divine fragrance143 will issue forth from his mouth. Whomever he targets with this formula will quickly be enthralled. All the gods including Śacī’s husband Indra, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, the Four Guardians of the World, Candra, and Sūrya will remain in his thrall.
“If the vidyā holder keeps this pill in his mouth, Sarasvatī will dwell at the tip of his tongue. His words will become clear, and his voice will be like that of kinnaras. He will always be free from dirt and blemish, and he will be able to memorize one thousand verses after the first recitation. [A.8.a] If he utters the syllable hūṁ, all the deities will arrive, including those who dwell within the maṇḍala. With the syllable phaṭ, all the wicked vighnas and vināyakas will perish, and all yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas,144 apasmāras, bhūtas, and guhyakas will immediately flee and fall with their faces down. If he holds the pill in his mouth, he will be a scholar at all times. He will swiftly obtain all accomplishments, including long life. While carrying the pill in this way, his speech will be endearing, sweet, and soft. The magical accomplishment of this pill is called the lotus-like amogha purity.
[23] “Oṁ, free from impurities in the inner space of the lotus! Roam through and merge with the sky, hūṁ! Amogha-accomplished! Purify, hūṁ!145
“The vidyā holder should take some bark of nāgapuṣpa,146 the root of khas-khas,147 sandalwood, lotus filaments, cloves, the kākolaka plant, spikenard, tagara148 powder, saffron, white lotus root, and cardamom and mix them together with an equal amount of ugrasugandhi.149 He should grind all this into a fine powder, make it into a pill,150 and incant the pill151 with this mantra one thousand and eight times. [F.14.a] He should then wash the pill well and mix it with rainwater.152 [Ti.31] By simply heating up and then bathing153 in this water, he will be released from previously accumulated terrible karma, remove all diseases, and effectively destroy all ailments. He will be freed from terrible afflictions, desire, hatred, and the darkness of ignorance; they will be removed. All impurities will be pacified by merely bathing; there is no doubt. Divine splendor will shine forth, and his store of merit will increase. The vidyā holder will always glow with an abundance of vital energy, a radiance resembling the sun.154 His body will be radiant and pure.
“An unclean vidyā holder will become clean; an impure one, pure. One who is sexually incontinent will become continent, and one who breaks one’s vow of silence will restore it.155 The vidyā holder’s hair will never turn grey,156 and he will never fall ill. His body will emit a divine fragrance that will precede him by the length of an arrow;157 there is no doubt. The body will emit a divine fragrance of sandalwood and will be as lovely as lotuses or water lilies. He will always fall asleep with ease and wake up with ease. No wicked beings such as yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, asuras, miscreant vināyakas, and vighnas will be able to harm him. There will be no dread of enemies.
“The vidyā holder should therefore purify his body in this way and perform the recitation well, as this will accomplish the activities. The vidyā holder will accomplish them with ease and will be able to see the truth exactly as it is. All the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas will swiftly arrive, as will all the deities, including those that inhabit the maṇḍala. The vidyā holder will accomplish whatever he desires. Having thus completed the procedure for the purification of the body, he should commence the preliminary mantra practices.
[24] “Oṁ, you with amogha lotus eyes [F.14.b] and divine vision, completely pure! Suru suru! O lotus-eyed one, bhuru bhuru! You direct your gaze everywhere! Svāhā!158
“The vidyā holder should prepare realgar, bovine bezoar, bones of cuttle fish,159 lotus, and honey into a mixture that can be applied with an eye brush.160 He should incant them by reciting this mantra one thousand and eight times, thrice. The tathāgatas praise this eye ointment as divine. It161 is the lord of the world [A.8.b] and the auspicious granter of boons. With it, the vidyā holder will pacify all eye diseases. He will experience divine visions in his dreams, he will never see unpleasant sights or anything ugly, and his vision will never be distorted. He will never see cruel murderers or savages. All spirits that cause dyspepsia, [Ti.32] overeating, indigestion, eating disorders, or unhealthy complexion, and all yakṣas, rākṣasas, and pannagas, will stay away all day and night; there is no doubt. One will perceive what is auspicious with one’s physical eyes and will dream auspicious dreams. Within one month of practice, one will obtain the divine eye.162 This mantra is for the purification of the eyes.
[25] “Oṁ, wake up, wake up! Wake up lucidly, facing Padmāmogha!163 Choose,164 choose any boon! Svāhā!165
“The vidyā holder should incant bovine bezoar one thousand and eight times with this vidyā, twenty-one times with the Amogharāja, seven times with the Krodharāja, and one hundred and eight times each with the heart and auxiliary heart mantras of Amoghapāśa. When still reciting, he should take the bezoar and make a single bindi mark on the forehead between the eyebrows. Above it on the forehead he should make another bindi in the form of a star. All wicked beings will come under his control, and all yakṣas, bhūtas, rākṣasas, vighnas, and vināyakas will perish; there is no doubt. Unable to bear the power of the bindi, all these beings with evil intentions will disappear together. Like a moth to a flame, kings will fall under the control of the vidyā holder, along with their attendants, retinues, ministers, priests, and harems. [F.15.a] They will all remain in his thrall. Also, all ordained monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, and śūdras will come under his control, and he will be greatly revered. All the vidyā deities, including those who dwell within the maṇḍala, will abide by their samayas and, guarding the ten directions, will protect beings. They will grant the supreme accomplishment.
“The vidyā holder should apply this bindi when imperiled on merchant trips.166 All dangers will disappear—there is no doubt—as will all thieves, robbers, mercenaries, skirmishes, and fights. All ferocious and frightening lions, tigers, wolves,167 elephants, jackals, and other troublesome creatures, as well as all snakes, such as āśīviṣa snakes and vipers, and other venomous creatures, will hide and not appear again. Lightning, fires, downpours, danger from weapons, floods, kākhordas, and house collapses will all pass without causing harm to one’s body, if one wears the bindi. All the undertakings and endeavors of the vidyā holder will be accomplished auspiciously and in full; there is no doubt.
“As168 soon as the vidyā holder remembers the essence of Amogharāja, I will, O Blessed One, immediately appear before him [Ti.33] and fulfill all his hopes and wishes, grant all the boons previously described, and accomplish all his activities. I will grant him the amogha accomplishment and faithfully protect the samaya. I have been authorized to do this, O Blessed One, by the Tathāgata’s words and blessings. I will deliver all this. [A.9.a] [F.15.b]
“If,169 O Blessed One, the vidyā holder performs the ritual practices as described, and displays the dhiṇi170 mudrās, he will, because of the way the mudrās function, accumulate a lot of merit. He will be blessed by all bodhisattvas, who will prophesy his future awakening. He will be protected by all deities, be worshiped as unique by the entire world, and become the one and only teacher of every living being. He will obtain the samaya for all rites and for their maṇḍalas and mudrās. Furthermore, he will obtain long life and amogha accomplishments. His words will be heeded, and he will develop good memory, intelligence, and fearlessness. The power of his intellect will be invincible.
“Noble Avalokiteśvara will confer boons upon the vidyā holder—he will appear to him whenever wished for and grant boons generously. He will grant him victory in every way, so that the vidyā holder will always be victorious over all his enemies, opponents, and adversaries and over all wicked beings. He will be invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, vighnas, vināyakas, asuras, and nāgas. He will become fearless like all noble ones. All kings and royal ministers with their harems and retinues will come under his control. He will be universally idolized and be treated as everyone’s favorite teacher. He will live a long life free of disease and all the impurities of hatred, envy, and jealousy. His memory will be excellent and his body pure.
“At the time of death, he will really see the tathāgatas. Noble Avalokiteśvara will also appear to him. They will all comfort him, saying, ‘Come son, follow us to the realm of Sukhāvatī!’ He will thus die fully aware of where he is going. The gates of all the hells will be closed, he will be saved from all unhappy destinies, and his current birth will be his last. He will have complete recall of his successive past births. [Ti.34] Wherever he steps, a lotus will spring up under his shoe. He will pass from one buddha field to another until he reaches ultimate and final awakening. [Ti.35]171
“However,172 if someone has failed to accomplish the practices of a vidyā holder, it is not me who will be at fault. For this reason, as a vidyā holder, one should engage in the formal practice that involves the mantra and the mudrā according to the ritual procedure as described. One will then magically accomplish all one’s tasks; there is no doubt about this.
“One should repeat the following mantras:
“This is the mantra of the sacred thread. One should incant a thread spun by a young girl with this mantra one hundred and eight times and wind it around one’s neck three times.174
“This is the mantra for the garments; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for casting off clothes; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for bathing; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for ablutions; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“The vidyā holder should perform the protection of his body by sprinkling it with mustard water incanted twenty-one times.
“This is the samaya mantra; it should be repeated seven times.
“One should perform the protection of disciples and assistants by marking a bindi on their forehead with ashes incanted with this mantra seven times.
“This is the mantra for positioning the feet in a stride; it should be recited twenty-one times.
[35] “Oṁ, unfold within the lotus, the great lotus! Surround everything with the unfailing noose! Huru huru, svāhā!184 [F.16.a]
“One should incant a five-colored thread seven times with this mantra and wind the thread.185
“This is the mantra for the banner; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the arrow; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the gate; it should be recited twenty-one times. By merely passing through this gate, one enters the gate of heaven. All wrongdoings and obscurations become completely purified.
[39] “Oṁ, you are filled and surrounded with various splendid amogha flowers and fruits! Para para, hūṁ!190
“This is the mantra for the full jar; it should be recited seven times.
[40] “Oṁ, jewel amogha palace, consecrated with the sacrificial vessel,191 you are divinely fragrant and radiating light everywhere! Shine, shine, svāhā!192
“This is the mantra for the sacrificial incense vessel; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the bali offered in a water jar; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the pot with a lid; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the water basin;196 it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the water vessel with a long neck;198 it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the vase; it should be recited seven times.
[46] “Oṁ, brightly blazing with different colors! Make the divisions distinct! Purify! Tuṭi, svāhā!200
“This is the mantra for the paints; it should be recited seven times.
“One should recite this mantra twenty-one times and then do the dividing.203
“One should draw the relevant emblems and recite the mantra seven times.
“This is the mantra for the thread. One should recite it one hundred and eight times and use the incanted thread to surround the maṇḍala, cloth painting, [F.16.b] or anything to be enclosed within an area.
“This mantra should be recited twenty-one times over each of the gates when mapping out their locations. The gates will then become well arranged and auspicious.207
[53] “Oṁ, oblatory foods and implements! Move, move! You are not subject to failure, svāhā!212
“This mantra should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for the welcome offering; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the perfume; it should be recited seven times.
[56] “Oṁ, you purify the body, making it immaculate! You fill it with divine fragrance! Fill it, fill, hūṁ!215
“This is the mantra for the scented oils; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the scented powders; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the unguents;218 it should be recited seven times.
[59] “Oṁ, you provide the full measure of divine fragrance! Divinely consecrated as the water of the ocean, you fill the interior of the water pitcher! Fill it, O bringer of victory, svāhā!219
“This is the mantra for the pitcher with scented water; it should be recited one hundred and eight times.
[60] “Oṁ, you possess the most exquisite of flavors! Blessed by all the vidyās! Become complete, hūṁ!220
“This is the mantra of the many-flavored bali; it should be recited twenty-one times. [A.10.b]
“This is the mantra for the food; it should be recited twenty-one times.
[62] “Oṁ, the three “white” foods! Bali with a broad range of exquisite tastes! Sura prasura, hūṁ!222
“This is the mantra of the three ‘white’ foods and other foods offered as bali; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for fruit; it should be recited seven times.
[64] “Oṁ, you rain down various flowers such as celestial water lilies! Stay on, stay! Svāhā!224
“This is the mantra for the flowers; it should be recited seven times.
[65] “Oṁ, forest tree overhung with various vines and flowers! Jar filled with food!225 Svāhā!226 [F.17.a]
“This is the mantra for the flowering vines; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for the incense; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for the fire; it should be recited seven times.
[68] “Oṁ, various jewels! Shining adornments of gold and precious stone! Jewel, jewel, amogha jewel! Svāhā!229
“This is the mantra for the adornments; it should be recited seven times.
[69] “Oṁ oṁ, lotus hands! Sama sama! Fingers with broad fingernails! Blessed by all the tathāgatas! Svāhā!230
“This is the mantra for the añjali gesture; it should be recited twenty-one times.
[70] “Oṁ, bowing my head, I pay homage to the perfect one with all the qualities! Mili mili, turiṇi, svāhā!231
“This is the mantra of salutation; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra for clockwise circumambulation; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for the handheld implements;234 it should be recited twenty-one times.
[73] “Oṁ, you with the divine amogha sound that spreads far and wide! You with a sweet tone! Ring, ring, hūṁ!235
“This is the mantra for the bell; it should be recited either twenty-one or one hundred and eight times.
[74] “Oṁ, you with the great jewel-like flame! Illuminate everything around with your bright light, svāhā!236
“This is the mantra for the lamp; it should be recited one hundred and eight times.
“This is the mantra for summoning. It should be recited one hundred and eight times while burning agarwood incense.
“This is the samaya mantra; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for the rosary; it should be recited one hundred and eight times.
[78] “Oṁ, you are made of divine flowers that blaze with colors like jewels! O flower delight, svāhā!241
“This is the mantra of the garland; it should be recited seven times.
[79] “Oṁ, divine, unfailing eye! Supreme and perfect! Blessed by all the vidyās! Your perception is pure, svāhā!242
“This is the mantra of summoning;243 it should be recited twenty-one times.
[80] “Oṁ, amogha lotus, you are an all-encompassing residence! Tara tara! Depart to your homes, svāhā!244
“This is the mantra for dismissing; [F.17.b] it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for the monk’s staff; it should be recited twenty-one times.
[82] “Oṁ, filler of the alms bowl! Fill it up! You with a radiating halo who never fails, svāhā!247
“This is the mantra for the alms bowl; it should be recited twenty-one times.
[83] “Oṁ, the bed of darbha grass blessed by the vidyās! Spread! Sura sura! You are worshiped by sages, svāhā!248
“This is the mantra of the bed of darbha grass; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra for the homa offering; it should be recited one hundred and eight times.
[85] “Oṁ, the most exquisite place and the abode of lotuses! The dwelling place of the nāgas, svāhā!250 [A.11.a]
“This is the mantra for the river and lake; it should be recited seven times.
“This is the mantra of taking;252 it should be recited one hundred and eight times.
[87] “Oṁ, the pure, universal amogha empowerment applied to the top of the head! O holder of a lotus banner with fine arms and hands, consecrate me, svāhā!253
“This is the mantra of empowerment; [Ti.39] it should be recited twenty-one times.
“The vidyā holder should employ all these mantras individually, one after the other, as part of his practice. They must be performed according to procedure, following in detail the practice rules prescribed for the individual rites. After he has done so, great powers and riches will manifest, such as great jewel palaces, various colorful jewel objects, flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, and scented oils. Various divine flowers, streamers,254 and banners will appear, as will the choicest foods of hundreds of exquisite flavors and various oblatory articles. There will appear palaces fit for tathāgatas, [F.18.a] bodhisattvas, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas; these palaces will manifest to suit each particular class. All the palaces and fine foods will manifest exactly as appropriate for humans’ individual needs.
“All the ritual tasks need to be performed as specified for accomplishing reality. The mantra practices must be done according to the correct procedure, and only then will the vidyā holder obtain the full range of supreme accomplishments. If he performs all the ritual tasks in full, then I will appear before him in person as soon as he recites the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. I will completely fulfill all his hopes and wishes, remove all his wrongdoings, obscurations, and negativity, and purify his body so that it becomes a divine, completely pure form.
“I will grant the vidyā holder the supreme accomplishment of Amogharāja’s maṇḍala of liberation255—the maṇḍala that constitutes the essence of Amogharāja’s rites with their mudrās and mantras. I will consecrate him as the great vidyādhara emperor and grant him the accomplishment of the true nature of things. I will grant him the worldly and supramundane accomplishments of the practice of great Amoghapāśa. I will likewise grant him the fearlessnesses256 in all their vastness. I will make him most distinguished among all people, who will worship and greatly respect him. I will grant him wealth and divine splendor. This should not be doubted or called into question.
“The vidyā holder should not be preoccupied with other things [F.18.b] but should feel love and compassion for all beings with all his heart, rejoicing at their happiness and treating them with equanimity. He should treat each and every being with the same care that he has for his only son. Delighting in truth, he should speak the truth, and his words should be pleasant to hear. Having developed the heart of compassion, he should memorize the heart essence of Amoghapāśa,257 [Ti.40] perform recitation according to procedure, and employ both the mudrās and the mantras. He should contemplate all the tathāgatas in the buddha fields in the ten directions. He should recollect the Buddha and pay homage to him and all the bodhisattvas. [A.11.b] He should also visualize Noble Avalokiteśvara in front of himself and pay homage to him. He should sit cross-legged on a bed of darbha grass in front of a cloth painting of Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara and recite the mantra without saying anything else, as this will bring the realization of secret reality.
“I will now teach the mudrā and mantra that bring true accomplishment of the essence of Amoghapāśa, which is imbued with the blessing of the accomplishment of the essence of Amoghapāśa as it really is. This practice was empowered by the compassionate protector of the world who affectionately cares for beings, the pure being with the lotus in his hand and a kind heart for all beings. It was blessed by all the tathāgatas258 in the ten directions. The devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, asuras, guhyakas, and world protectors, as well as Brahmā, Rudra, Viṣṇu, Kumāra,259 and so forth, and Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, the hosts of ṛṣis, Candra, Sūrya, the nakṣatras,260 Īśvara, and Maheśvara, will all swiftly arrive as soon as the mudrā is formed.
“As soon as this mudrā and mantra are employed, [F.19.a] the seven stars261 will arrive, as will the Pāramitās. So too will Nīlakaṇṭhī, Pāṇḍaravāsinī, Padmanarteśvarī, Jayā, Vijayā, Śaṅkalī, Vajraśaṅkalī, Māmakī, the goddess Bhṛkuṭī, Anaupamyā, Dyuti, Bhīmā, Śrī, Sarasvatī, Padmakoṣṭhī, Utpalī, Puṣpadantī, Kailāsaśikharavāsinī, Hārītī the mother of bhūtas, and the ten mahābalā goddesses who attend upon Vajrapāṇi. The great Vajradhara will arrive with the other lords of vidyādharas and the chief god of the realm of Thirty-Three, together with the remaining thirty-two gods from his realm.262 They will all arrive together, as soon as the vidyā holder employs the mudrā and mantra. All the tathāgatas will notice him and appear to him. At the same time, the bodhisattvas will also notice him and grant him boons. They will always appear before him whenever he wishes them to.263
“As soon as the vidyā holder displays the mudrā, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before him in his form of a thousand-armed and thousand-eyed protector holding different implements. There is no doubt about this. [Ti.41] Or,264 he may appear in the form of Brahmā, Amoghapāśa, Nīlakaṇṭha, Hayagrīva, or Vaḍabāmukha. The Lord may appear in his eleven-faced or four-faced form. The inconceivable Lord Avalokita, who removes the eight types of fear, can thus show himself in all these different forms, representing various illusory samādhis. He can display all these as soon as the vidyā holder forms this mudrā of the Lord.
“The Lord may instantly appear as the victorious guide Amitābha in his realm of Sukhāvatī, surrounded by a retinue of bodhisattvas. The vidyā holder will also see thousands of other buddha fields, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. He will see hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas there, surrounded by hosts of bodhisattvas, [F.19.b] as soon as he displays the mudrā of the Lord. Every day he will see many other great things, such as the seat of awakening, the Dharma wheel, the vajra seat, and the defeat of Māra.265 He will see them in his dreams at night; one should not harbor any doubts about this or call it into question.
“Those who display this mudrā will not be decried by the buddhas, even if they were destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell because they committed the five acts of immediate retribution, obstructed the great bodhisattva lords out of wickedness, reviled the noble ones, disputed the true Dharma, or rejected the teachings of the victors. Even all those trapped in the sixteen terrible hells for millions of eons will be instantly liberated. [A.12.a]
“As soon as the vidyā holder employs this mudrā and mantra and focuses on Amoghapāśa’s name, all his wrongdoings will be purified; there is no doubt about this. Seeing this heart mudrā of Amoghapāśa is the same as seeing Lord Amoghapāśa himself. Furthermore, he will see thousands of billions of buddhas equal to the number of water drops in hundreds of thousands of Gaṅgā rivers, all of them sitting on the seat of awakening and turning the wheel of Dharma. This mudrā, no different from the heart essence of Amogharāja, is a visual representation of his mantra. Upon seeing it, the vidyā holder will accumulate a lot of merit,266 its store ever increasing. His lifespan will increase infinitely; there is no doubt about this.
“In preparation for the rite, the vidyā holder should purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and, remaining pure, practice pure conduct at all times. He should smear his body with various fragrances, anoint his arms and hands with fragrant unguents, and perfume it with various types of incense. Sitting in a cross-legged posture [Ti.42] in a clean place on a clean seat of spread grass, he should engender thoughts of loving kindness and the true spirit of compassion. He should continuously salute the buddhas of the ten directions and the three times [F.20.a] and make offerings to the Lokeśvara267 and to his master, his thoughts focused on the Dharma. Refraining from speaking, the vidyā holder who is acquainted with the procedure should then perform the rite of protection. In the spirit of reverence for the master, he should follow the rules impeccably, speak the truth, speak pleasantly, feel compassion for all beings, and always practice kindness.
“The vidyā holder should then form the mudrā as follows. Making his hands into the shape of a lotus, with the thumbs268 aligned and touching each other, he should make the shape of the moon with the index fingers, positioning them against his chest. This mudrā is the heart essence of Amogharāja. Being his root mudrā, it brings the realization of the Buddha. To summon the lokeśvara Lord, one should recite the following mantra:
[88] “Oṁ, homage to you with a miraculous panoptic amogha vision! O amogha lotus of the tathāgatas who are established throughout the three times! Be active, diffuse, and unite, hūṁ hūṁ!269
“Immediately, the king of mudrās present throughout the three times will magically manifest the open, blazing amogha lotus, one that is perceived throughout the three times. The surrounding buddha fields, as numerous as the atoms in the universe, will quake violently. The blessed buddhas of the three times who dwell there will send forth many hundreds of thousands of millions of multicolored rays of light. Each of these tathāgatas, thrilled with joy and filled with great compassion, will extend his golden arm and, with buddha-like care, place it upon the head of the vidyā holder. Each of them will grant him the supreme accomplishment and give him the blessings that arise from the miraculous amogha manifestation. The gods Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, and other deities such as Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Vāsava, and Sanatkumāra, will stand by to guard, protect, and defend him. This mudrā, through merely being displayed, can remove all negativity and obscurations and deliver the vidyā holder [F.20.b] from the eight great fears.270 With the obscurations gone, the desired accomplishment will follow. This mudrā, supreme in every respect, is said to accomplish every activity.
“Formed in the shape of an open lotus, this mudrā is known as the main amogha samaya mudrā. [A.12.b] [Ti.43] When the middle fingers and the thumbs are made to resemble lotus goads, with the nails positioned evenly, this mudrā is called equanimity,271 and it makes for a full maṇḍala of liberation. While forming this mudrā, the vidyā holder should recite the mantra:
“Immediately after the vidyā holder forms the mudrā and pronounces the mantra, the blessed buddhas of the three times will applaud him. All the tathāgatas, uplifted with joy, pleased, and with great compassion swelling in their hearts, will grant the vidyā holder the supreme accomplishment. They will appear to him again and again, bestow upon him every boon, and grant him the accomplishment of the amogha samaya. Once he comprehends the maṇḍala of liberation consisting in the rites, mudrās, mantras, and dhāraṇīs274 of secret maṇḍala of all the tathāgatas, he will enter into the samaya. He will then understand this secret maṇḍala of Noble Avalokiteśvara in every respect and will fully accomplish the mantras for the necessary tasks. Noble Avalokiteśvara will become the giver of boons, appearing to him and granting his wishes.
“The vidyā holder should form the shape of the lotus with the palms of his hands. The middle fingers and the thumbs should be joined, forming a vajra point, and the little fingers should be outstretched. While forming this mudrā, he should offer incense, flowers, perfume, garlands, [F.21.a] unguents, scented powders, silken clothes, and adornments to the lotus bearer.275 He should offer a bali and a welcome offering including jars filled with perfume276 and so forth. He should also use the five-colored threads and various food articles. This mudrā is always supreme, supreme for conveying the articles of offering. This mudrā, empowered by Padmapāṇi, is for making amogha offerings.
“The same mudrā, but with a jewel enclosed between the hands, is the mudrā of the precious lotus-like fearlessness. It is the best mudrā for successful summoning.277 The accompanying mantra is:
[90] “Oṁ, Amoghapadma, the great being! Please come into this maṇḍala! Ciri ciri ciri! You with the lotus in your hand, svāhā!278
“This mantra is for supplicating and inviting279 the buddhas who appear throughout the three times. It is for supplicating all bodhisattvas and for inviting Padmahasta. It is also for summoning all the gods and maṇḍala deities. [Ti.44] When this mudrā is displayed, all the buddhas who dwell in the ten directions will arrive together, as will the bodhisattvas, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. They will all arrive instantaneously to offer protection; there is no doubt about this.
“When the hands form the shape of the vajra, the small fingers mark the edges of the lotus, and the middle fingers are contracted, this is the mudrā for demarcating the boundary.280 This mudrā is effective in the rites of binding the directions, securing the maṇḍala, and protection. By merely forming this mudrā and reciting the mantra one thousand times, the boundary will be set with the radius of seven leagues; the maṇḍala will be secured, and the protection applied. The mantra to recite is:
[91] “Oṁ, great boundary, formed around [this place] as the diamond-hard amogha lotus! [A.13.a] Protect me! Curu curu, hūṁ phaṭ!281
“Now I will teach the amogha mudrā that produces accomplishments, with particular regard to bringing benefit to all sentient beings. [F.21.b] The vidyā holder should form the vajrāñjali gesture, enclosing a hollow space between the palms. The fingers, aligned against each other lengthwise, should curve toward the center, and the small fingers and the thumbs should be outstretched. The index fingers should be folded in.282 This great amogha mudrā is known as the royal universal lotus.283 It is suitable for all activities and can be safely employed in any rite. It is said to be the best mudrā for effecting entry into any maṇḍala.284 The vidyā holder will receive supreme protection if he merely displays this mudrā and recites the mantra. He will obtain the supreme accomplishment of the maṇḍala of liberation of the three times.285 The mantra that belongs with this mudrā is:
[92] “Oṁ, vajra! Vajra-blessed lotus that assumes the universal form!286 Assume, assume it, hūṁ! Enter the course of the three times! Dhiri tuṭi, svāhā!287
“When this mudrā is displayed, the buddha fields in the ten directions, inhabited by those who realized the true nature, will quake six times;288 there is no doubt. The body of Padmapāṇi will blaze up, and an intense joy will be felt. Padmapāṇi will certainly appear to the vidyā holder with a smiling face and will stand before him. He will open the heavenly doors to all buddha fields for him. The gods of the realm of Thirty-Three will keep the doors of their realm open. All the doors to the Sukhāvatī, and all the palaces there, will be open for him as well. He will be able to enter them as soon as he displays the mudrā.
“The mudrā will remove all nonvirtue and destroy all afflictions. The vidyā holder will thus be free from all suffering [Ti.45] and vice. He will be saved from the sixteen hells and the eight great fears. As soon as this mudrā is displayed, all his wrongdoings will be destroyed, the doors of hells will be closed, and he will be saved from fear and terror. By merely displaying this mudrā, all the wrongdoings of the vidyā holder289 will be purified, including the five acts of immediate retribution. [F.22.a] He will be loved by all beings and blessed by all the tathāgatas.
“The vidyā holder should fold the thumbs in while holding their tips, make the middle fingers into the shape of a lotus braid, and position the hands at his topknot. This is the mudrā of the lotus braid called amogha hand.290 For the good of all beings, he should recite the mantra:
“Placing this mudrā at his head, the vidyā holder should perform ablutions with clean water incanted with the mantra one hundred and eight times. Once the ablutions are performed, the mudrā and mantra will have the power to make the unclean clean, and the impure pure.292 Vows of celibacy or silence will be mended in those who have broken them. The vidyā holder’s heap of merit will shine as bright as the sun and the moon. He will be loved by the whole world and will certainly win the supreme mantra accomplishment—the accomplishment of Amoghapāśa that comes from realizing the amogha nature. All the deities will arrive to protect him; there is no doubt. He will certainly obtain all kinds of boons from Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara, the giver of boons to pure beings, and will see him every day. His lifespan will increase,293 and he will be forever free from ailments as he never has been before. He will be happy and prosperous. He will be successful in every activity and free from all disease. [A.13.b] With all the obscurations cleared away, everything will be supremely auspicious. This ablution is very special; it is a supreme amogha ablution.
“Clasping his hands firmly, the vidyā holder should form the shape of the downward-pointing precious lotus. The index fingers294 should be folded in, and the other fingers surrounding them should be brought together. He should sit in the cross-legged posture, as if practicing samādhi. While displaying this mudrā, he should recite the mantra while fully focused. [F.22.b] When this mudrā is formed, his cross-legged posture will become as stable as Mount Sumeru. He will be surrounded with armor that will make him invisible to all the vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, asuras, and garuḍas. They will all [Ti.46] flee far away, disappearing into the cardinal and intermediate directions. Free of obstacles, he will be able to accomplish his activities that depend on the mantra recitation; there is no doubt. The mantra to recite with this mudrā is:
“The vidyā holder should join his hands evenly in the añjali gesture, pressing the index fingers between the palms.296 The front portions of the thumbs should form the shape of an open lotus. This mudrā should be formed in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara while reciting the following mantra of Lord Amogharāja:297
“The vidyā holder should first recite this mantra twenty-one times. Then, forming the mudrā, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa with one-pointed concentration, immersed in its reality. If the mantra is repeated mindfully just one time, the earth will quake. Hundreds of thousands of millions of buddhas of the three times—the tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas equaling the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river—will applaud the vidyā holder and give him comfort.299 They will bathe him in multicolored light. Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara will appear before him as soon as he thinks of him.
“By merely displaying this mudrā, the vidyā holder will master the six perfections. He will become fully endowed with the ten perfections, the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha, and the ten strengths of a tathāgata. He will also obtain the four types of fearlessness. His practice of the noble eightfold path will be completely pure. [F.23.a] As soon as he forms this mudrā and recollects the heart mantra of Amogharāja, the vidyā holder will obtain great qualities and benefits.
“If the vidyā holder performs a ritual fast for one day300 while reciting the mantra one hundred and eight times and displaying the mudrā as many times, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before him in person, in his true form, and will applaud him, saying, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder, that you have performed this supreme recitation!’ He will then extend his right arm, place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head, and encourage him, saying, ‘Come, son, I will grant you magical boons, the best that you may wish for! Accept them and become, through my blessing, my eldest vidyādhara-son. You have accomplished a maṇḍala of liberation that is the essence of Amoghapāśa. You should steadfastly uphold this sovereign rite that involves his mudrā.301 May your thoughts be suffused with great compassion for all beings. This is your last birth from a womb; when you die you will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where you will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. [A.14.a] [Ti.47] You will be adorned with every ornament and graced with the major and minor marks of perfection. Your lifespan will be inexhaustible, continuing until you finally ascend the seat of ultimate awakening.’
“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one thousand and eight times and displays the mudrā one hundred and eight times without engaging in other talk, he will ascend through space after the one thousand and eight recitations are complete. He will become a wheel-turning monarch in the magically created, pure amogha maṇḍala, where his lifespan will be infinite and he will be attended upon by a retinue of eighteen hundreds of thousands of millions of billions302 of vidyādharas. He will obtain the magical power called the great and wide amogha splendor, [F.23.b] whereby he will be able to visit303 any realm in the great trichiliocosm in the time it takes to extend and contract one’s arm.
“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred thousand times and displays the mudrā as many times, he will become like Noble Avalokiteśvara in this very life. Transformed through the samādhi of the illusory nature of phenomena, he will obtain the completely pure, divine amogha vision. He will thus be able to see gods such as Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, and also Rudra, Vāsava, Soma, Āditya, Kumāra, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and so forth, up to and including the different nāga kings with their various forms. He will see the forms of different beings according to their level of development. This worldly sādhana requires one hundred thousand repetitions of the mantra. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred thousand times as part of a transcendent sādhana, he will be able to see, face-to-face, all the tathāgatas in all the buddha fields in the ten directions. He will obtain a prophecy of his own future awakening from each of them, and he will be established on the level from which he will not turn back until ultimate awakening is attained.
“The vidyā holder should sit in the cross-legged posture and form the mudrā. Assuming an attitude of kindness, love, and compassion for all sentient beings, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa a single time. If this recitation is done in combination with the mudrā, it will be the same as reciting the mantra eighty-eight times.304 He will receive comfort from all the tathāgatas, who will grant him intelligence and good memory and will charge his body with energy. By reciting only the words of the mantra, [F.24.a] he will accomplish the six perfections. Rays of light will issue forth from the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara in the painting.
“When the vidyā holder is asleep, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him in his pure body and grant him every boon as requested. All the vidyā holder’s karmic obscurations will be completely purified. The obscurations caused by his wrongdoings will diminish and completely go away. All his diseases will end. The practices undertaken to fulfill worldly duties [Ti.48] will be fully accomplished. He should continually maintain the recollection of the Buddha. [B3]
“The vidyā holder should join his hands firmly, aligning them in the añjali gesture. The tips of the fingers should be slightly bent and held at the level of the mouth. The little and the middle fingers should be positioned to resemble an open lotus.305 The mantra to recite is:
[96] “Oṁ, turu turu! The lotus-related amogha accomplishment, hūṁ!306
“This is the mudrā of amogha accomplishment. It brings success in all activities. When this mudrā is displayed, [A.14.b] the vidyā holder will swiftly attain omniscience. Amoghapāśa will appear to him and grant him the amogha accomplishment that is difficult to obtain, as well as every boon, both mundane and supramundane. He will be freed from all his wrongdoings, his store of merit will ever increase, his speech will confer happiness, and he will always be protected by the devas.
“The vidyā holder should carefully form a vajra knot while maintaining a firm and steady mind. He should place the knot at the heart,307 with the index fingers folded in. This mudrā, called amogha lotus, is the heart essence of the lotus maṇḍala. It is the mudrā of the lotus lord that fulfills the aims of all activities. It should be formed while first reciting the following mantra and then the mantra of Amogharāja.
[97] “Oṁ, the lotus with an amogha heart essence! Hold it, hold, O lotus holder! The essence of the great maṇḍala, hūṁ!308
“This mudrā activates the heart essence of the lotus holder.309 It effectively actualizes the amogha essence as it really is; there is no doubt about this. [F.24.b] It accomplishes, without a doubt, all activities in every way. The vidyā holder should display this mudrā in secret and recite the mantra in utter secrecy. He should be well washed, wear clean clothes, have pure thoughts, feel compassion for all beings, and have devotion for his master. With complete faith, he should always delight in the worship of Padmapāṇi. He will swiftly accomplish the activities and attain buddhahood. He will swiftly become a lokeśvara and will have the capacity to benefit all beings.
“The vidyā holder should extend his left arm, keeping it at the level of his mouth, and form his hand into the shape of a lotus with the ring finger310 pointing upward and the thumb bent. The right arm should be extended, with the fingers forming the round shape of a lotus. With the thumb and the middle finger bent, the hand should appear as if holding the noose. Assuming the great, peaceful amogha vision, nurturing thoughts of loving kindness, and with the heart filled with compassion for all beings, [Ti.49] the vidyā holder should recite the following mantra:
[98] “Oṁ, O noose-holding lord of unfree beings, with a body adorned with hundreds of thousands of light rays! Pull them in! Awaken them, awaken them fully! Bhuru bhuru! You are the master of the unfailing noose, hūṁ!311
“This mudrā should be displayed and the mantra recited twenty-one times. After that, the vidyā holder should make the casting movement with the right hand—the one that displays the noose mudrā—while reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, and then bring it back to the same position. The mantra should be recited, and the casting movement repeated, seven times. The vidyā holder should recite the Amogharāja312 and maintain a pure heart. As soon as the mudrā of the noose is displayed—the great unfailing noose—it will elicit complete awakening and effect an instant realization of buddhahood. Whatever other tasks the vidyā holder may have in mind, the mudrā will elicit instant and complete success in them that cannot be matched. Devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, [F.25.a] asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will all arrive that very moment in order to see the vidyā holder. All the buddhas in the ten directions will direct their gaze at him and appear to him in person. The bodhisattvas, too, will arrive in order to honor him. Noble Avalokiteśvara, the boon-granting lord, will place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head. He will instantly manifest before the vidyā holder in his pure body. [A.15.a]
“If any beings—such as those destined to be reborn in the Avīci hell because of committing the five acts of immediate retribution, criticizing the noble ones, or rejecting the true Dharma—see this mudrā displayed and employed, all their wrongdoings will be quashed, and they will instantly behold the Guide. All their tasks will be accomplished as soon as the mudrā is formed. When the vidyā holder displays this mudrā while reciting the mantra, it is the same as if he were displaying the face of Noble Avalokiteśvara. By merely displaying or seeing this mudrā, all his wrongdoings and karmic obscurations accumulated over hundreds of thousands of births, eon after eon, will be purified; there is no doubt about this.
“The wise vidyā holder should form the shape of a lotus by firmly joining his hands with the fingers arranged symmetrically. His index fingers should form the shape of a jewel, and the middle fingers should be folded. His arms should be extended upward, forming a banner topped by the great wish-fulfilling jewel. The vidyā holder should consecrate the crown of his head while reciting the mantra:
[99] “Oṁ, you who abide in the three times, consecrate me [Ti.50] with all the consecrations of the three times! O jewel among lotuses! Auspicious amogha lotus, blessed by all the tathāgatas! Hūṁ!313
“With this mudrā and mantra alone, the vidyā holder is consecrated by all the tathāgatas. He is consecrated by Noble Avalokiteśvara’s own hand, [F.25.b] becomes the great king of vidyādharas, and accomplishes all vidyās. All his afflictions and obscurations are purified, and he becomes the most exalted person in the world.
“The vidyā holder should form a vajra lotus on his head with the tips of his extended fingers. His index fingers should form the shape of a hook, and he should knit his eyebrows. This is the mudrā of Krodharāja that accomplishes all activities; it brings all accomplishments. Recollecting this supremely efficacious mantra is the ultimate way of accomplishing everything.
[100] “Oṁ, Krodharāja, great and unfailing! Strike, strike all the villains, hūṁ!314
“It is sufficient to merely recollect this mantra while displaying the mudrā, as it has great power. The vidyā holder will be able to destroy all wicked beings and even shatter Mount Sumeru. When this mudrā is displayed, all miscreants and evil beings will perish, and all the wicked nāgas, vighnas, and vināyakas will be pacified. As soon as the mudrā is formed, they all come under the vidyā holder’s control and will remain so. All devas, humans, monks, brahmins, śūdras,315 and kṣatriyas will fall under his thrall and will remain so; there is no doubt about this.
“The well-focused vidyā holder should join his thumbs together, so that they are evenly aligned, and stretch out his middle fingers while bending them upwards. This is the great lotus mudrā of the goddess Tārā that is supreme in every respect. It brings unexcelled accomplishments.
“If he shapes the mudrā like a lotus bud with only his thumbs outstretched and his little fingers folded in, he makes the divine mudrā of Mahāśvetā, an unexcelled mudrā that brings every accomplishment.
“The wise vidyā holder should firmly lock his hands in a vajra-shaped añjali gesture, close his right hand, and put a frown on his face. This is the great mudrā of Bhṛkuṭī that grants all wishes.
“The great mudrā is formed when the vidyā holder makes the añjali gesture with his hands outstretched, [F.26.a] then forms the shape of conjoined316 lotuses by straightening his thumbs317 and folding them between his hands318 with his small fingers outstretched, and then positions his hands at his heart. [A.15.b] [Ti.51] This is the mudrā of all the deities dwelling in the maṇḍala. When this mudrā is formed, all the maṇḍala deities will rejoice, and they will all arrive together and offer protection; there is no doubt.
“The same mudrā, if formed with the palms outstretched and joined in the añjali gesture to create the shape of a lotus positioned at the heart, is known as the mudrā of dūtīs and yakṣiṇīs.
“The vidyā holder should form a tightly clenched vajra fist with his middle fingers folded in. His remaining fingers, including the thumbs, should form the shape of a lotus close to his mouth.319 This mudrā is known as the seven stars.320 It will produce unexcelled accomplishment in every respect. It will cause all evildoers to perish and will remove all afflictions and diseases; there is no doubt. It will accomplish all the rites and will bring the supreme amogha accomplishment.
“The vidyā holder should align his hands to form the shape of a vajra lotus. His index fingers should be curled in so that they press on the thumbs. This is the mudrā of Hayagrīva, supreme in all rites.321
“The vidyā holder should join his hands in the añjali gesture to form the shape of a lotus. His middle fingers, formed into hooks, should touch the joints of his index fingers. His ring fingers should be extended as one.322 This is the mudrā of Amoghapāśa—the mare’s mouth. With it, one can bite diamond. This mudrā is said to accomplish all activities and grant all unexcelled accomplishments.323
“The same mudrā formed at the heart, but with the index fingers and thumbs joined and the remaining fingers folded to form the shape of a lotus, is the mudrā of Nīlakaṇṭha; it grants proficiency in all the rites.
“If the vidyā holder forms the ‘lotus fist’ with both his left and right hands and assumes a gentle expression with a loving pair of eyes, he forms the mudrā of the eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara; it is completely inviolable.
“If he aligns his thumbs [F.26.b] symmetrically with the fingertips folded in and the index fingers positioned to form the shape of a lotus, it is the mudrā of Īśvara.324
“The same mudrā formed with the middle fingers contracted to form the shape of the moon and the left index finger extended is the mudrā of Maheśvara;325 it destroys all the bhūtas.
“If the hands are firmly interlocked to form a chain, then extended out, and then brought back close to the heart, this is the mudrā of Yama.
“If the left hand is extended out with the fingers bent upward, and the right hand placed near the heart with the thumb and the small finger folded in and the remaining fingers extended, this is the great mudrā of Varuṇa. It has the power to summon nāgas.
“If the hands are firmly joined so that the fingers of each hand are wrapped around the opposite hand—the fingers of the right hand wrapped around the left and vice versa—and the hands are then folded at the heart, this is the mudrā of Kubera. It has the power to destroy all the yakṣas.
“If the right hand is raised326 [Ti.52] with the index finger and thumb folded, and the left hand extended with the fingers327 pointing upward, this is the mudrā of Brahmā. It can accomplish all activities in every way.
“The same mudrā formed with the little finger of the right hand folded is the mudrā of the hosts of ṛṣis. It is used for paying homage to the gods.
“If the hands are firmly joined to elegantly form the shape of a discus, this is the mudrā of Viṣṇu. It has the power to destroy328 all asuras.
“If the right hand is made into the shape of a citron, and the left into the shape of a trident with the thumbs329 and the small fingers folded, this is the mudrā of Rudra. It has the power to destroy all bhūtas.
“If the right hand [A.16.a] is made into a fist with the index finger extended330 toward the left, and the fist is placed on the hip331 while the vidyā holder assumes an angry look, this is the mudrā of Kumāra,332 the general of the army of gods. [F.27.a]
“If the hands are extended upward with three fingers outstretched and the index fingers squeezing the thumbs,333 this is the mudrā of Āditya; it releases thousands of light rays.
“The same mudrā formed with three fingers squeezed and the remaining two extended is said to be the mudrā of Soma adorned with a multitude of stars.
“For these mudrās, there are the following great mantric formulas that make the practice effective and accomplish the aims of all activities. They remove all wrongdoings and afflictions and are used to purify all the obscurations and exhaust all karma. They bring the amogha accomplishment and fulfill the amogha activity:334
[104] “Oṁ, lotus-like Pāṇḍaravāsinī! Kuṇḍa kuṇḍa, svāhā!338
[105] “Oṁ, the giver of the boons of Amoghapadma! Succeed, succeed, hūṁ!339
[109] “Oṁ, Vaḍavāmukhā! Massacre the wicked, hūṁ!344
[110] “Oṁ, lotus-like Lord Nīlakaṇṭha! Bhuru bhuru, hūṁ!345
[112] “Oṁ, lotus goddess! Bring accomplishment, hūṁ!347
[119] “Oṁ, King Amogha-Viṣṇu with a lotus growing out of your navel and arms surrounded by water! Svāhā!357
“These are the mantras for the mudrās that have been taught, with each mudrā having a corresponding mantra.362 The vidyā holder should always perform each rite in full as instructed. He should follow the rules of ritual purity, be clean and well washed, and wear clean clothes. He should anoint his arms and hands with fragrant unguents and practice the mudrās one at a time. [F.27.b] If he mindfully repeats a mantra when displaying its corresponding mudrā, it will be the same as displaying this mudrā hundreds of thousands of millions upon millions of times.
“The vidyā holder who displays a mudrā acquires a great amount of merit and receives a prophecy from all the buddhas363 and bodhisattvas of his future awakening, as well as their blessing. He is protected by all deities, receives unparalleled worship from the entire world, and becomes the favorite teacher of all beings. He enters the samaya bond required for the entire range of mudrā-based rites in every maṇḍala. His lifespan becomes infinite, and he becomes a vidyādhara whose accomplishment cannot fail and whose speech is always heeded. He also acquires the powers of recollection, intelligence, and confidence. [A.16.b] His intelligence becomes perfect.
“Such a vidyā holder will receive boons from Noble Avalokiteśvara. The noble Lord will appear according to the vidyā holder’s wish and generously grant boons. All his enemies, opponents, ill-wishers, and wicked beings, including the very wicked, will be defeated. Victory will follow the vidyā holder everywhere. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, vighnas, vināyakas, asuras, and nāgas will want to see him. He will possess the great fearlessness of all noble beings, and all kings, royal ministers, royal harems, and retinues will remain under his thrall. He will always be their most cherished idol and favorite teacher. His lifespan will be long, and he will be totally free from all disease. His faults, defilements, jealousy, and envy will be purified, [Ti.54] his memory will be good, and his body will be completely pure. [F.28.a]
“At the time of death, the vidyā holder will be able to see the great tathāgatas and Noble Avalokiteśvara. They will all comfort him, saying, ‘Come, dear son! Follow us to the realm of Sukhāvatī!’ He will retain his lucidity at the time of dying. The doors to all the hell realms will be closed, and he will be delivered from all unhappy destinies. This birth will be his last birth from a womb. Retaining the full memory of his previous birth, he will be spontaneously reborn from a lotus flower. He will in this manner move from one buddha field to another until he finally attains the seat of awakening. [Tii.89]
“Now I will explain the emblems and mudrās that are lokeśvara emanations. The vidyā holder should draw their handheld implements—which delight and thrill when merely seen—around the rim of the maṇḍala.364 The viewer will be freed from all wrongdoings and attain true accomplishment, whereby he will be continually protected by armor. He will continually shine with the blazing armor of the Dharma365 and will obtain the accomplishment consistent with each rite, the supreme accomplishment of each mantra.366
“When the mudrās are drawn in the maṇḍala and the mantras recited,367 the yakṣas and rākṣasas will flee, and all grahas will perish at the mere sight of the drawings; there is no doubt. The vidyā holder will be freed from all diseases and ailments. Unassailable by enemies, he will always be virtuously victorious, whether over an enemy army or while leading his own. He will always have the ability to successfully destroy rākṣasas.368 He will truly attain the accomplishment whereby he can experience the supreme pleasures of the vidyādharas.
“These mudrā signs and implements of Noble Avalokiteśvara all have their respective forms, and they serve as mudrās according to their respective purpose. [F.28.b] Each of them should be drawn adorned with the petals of the so-called369 open lotus and be surrounded by a halo of light.370 All these mudrās are endowed with life, and all produce results. They are as follows:371 the result vajra,372 the three-pointed vajra, the javelin vajra, the maṇḍalin,373 the lotus vajra, the garland of lotuses, the vajra mark, the lotus pedestal, the lotus gesture of giving comfort,374 the pair of lotuses, the lotus gesture of applauding, the lotus fist, [A.17.a] the lotus threatening-gesture, the opening lotus, the lotus-goad añjali, the lotus cage, the lotus chain that always brings accomplishment,375 the lotus wish-fulfilling jewel,376 the jeweled lotus, that which is called auspicious vajra, the amogha lotus, the lotus bell, the lotus sword, that which is called trident, the pestle holder,377 the jeweled staff, the flower staff, the holder of the seven nooses, the holder of the sea monster, the half circle, the conch, the citron, the pomegranate, the moon holder, [Tii.90] the sun holder, the hammer holder, the tooth stick, the flower pot, the rosary of beads, the five-pointed vajra, the unfailing noose, and the amogha accomplishment.378 All these are drawn resting on a lotus.
“The hand symbols above should be drawn at their respective locations, as appropriate. These forty379 symbols should be drawn as being held in the hand, radiating light in all directions, and adorned with jeweled ornaments. They380 should be drawn on a cotton cloth in a circle. Alternatively, they can be drawn on a wall or wherever appropriate. By merely seeing them, the vidyā holder will be instantly purged of his wrongdoings, including the five acts of immediate retribution that warrant rebirth in the Avīci hell. All his wrongdoings will be purged in an instant, and the vidyā holder will become a so-called pure being. He will be established on the ten bodhisattva levels, irreversibly established on the path to awakening. This irreversible state is attained by seeing the circle of the mudrās. Noble Avalokiteśvara, the boon giver, will always keep his hand on the vidyā holder’s head. [F.29.a] The boon-granting Lokeśvara will always appear to the vidyā holder directly, face-to-face.
“Whichever mudrā-symbol the vidyā holder looks at, he will attain the corresponding excellence. He must memorize the following thirty-five381 mantric formulas. He will then be successful at everything at all times. He will not follow unhappy destinies; rather, with the maṇḍala of liberation in sight, he will swiftly attain buddhahood. He will become the eldest son of Amitābha and of the Lord of the World without a doubt.382 He will always be the foremost among the heart sons of the Lord of the World. The Guide will prophesy his future birth as a dharmatā buddha.383 Being near the tathāgata, the worthy, fully realized Buddha, the vidyā holder will sow thousands of millions of billions of roots of virtue, equal to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. Transformed by this, he will obtain a vast amount of merit that is immeasurable and incalculable.
“When these mudrās384 are displayed with the hands in combination with the following mantras, they will bring, it is declared, great benefits.385
[127] “Oṁ, blessed by all the tathāgatas! Bhiri bhiri, hūṁ!390
[140] “Oṁ, you are free from the three stains! Bhiṭi bhiṭi, hūṁ!403
[147] “Oṁ, you with the noose that is like a wish-fulfilling jewel, the giver of boons! Hūṁ!410
[150] “Oṁ, you with the noose that binds nāgas! Bind and pull them in! Bring down the wicked nāgas with your noose! Hūṁ!413
“These mantras should be combined with their corresponding hand gestures and recited just once while displaying the mudrā. This will instantly remove all wrongdoings and will swiftly bring [Tii.92] buddhahood. One will swiftly accomplish the ritual and the supreme maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa.
“The symbolic implements that belong there429 are the precious jewel, the flower, the lotus, the water jar, the jewel rosary, the rudrākṣa rosary, the conch, the discus, the club, the spear, the vajra scepter, the trident, the paṭṭiśa spear, the horizontal vajra,430 the axe, the double trident,431 the jewel vajra,432 the jewel spear, the vajra of activity, the wish-fulfilling jewel, the knife, the staff, the mace, the trident of Maheśvara, the sword, the noose, the goad, the serpent, the tree, the coral tree, the axe, the discus,433 the axe-mace,434 the hand, the topknot, the jewel lamp, the light, light rays, the pestle, the naula,435 the axe, the water pot, the water pitcher, the rock, the mountain, [F.30.a] Mount Sumeru, the coil of a snake, the parasol, the banner, the sea monster, the fish, the tortoise, the auspicious diagram,436 the vidyā circle,437 the vidyā mudrā,438 the trident, the circle, the scimitar, the dagger, the lotus garland, that which is called trident, musuṇḍi,439 the javelin, the sling, the fang,440 the four mudrās, the four fangs, the gulaka,441 the conch, the wheel, the vajra conch,442 the conch that is called trident,443 the jewel conch, the lotus conch, the rudhā,444 the cloth, the lion’s face,445 the partridge, the cuckoo, the goose, the swan, the curlew, the peacock, Yama’s rod, the four-faced,446 the four small circles,447 that which is called trident, the full jar, the half-moon, the sun disk, moonlight, the four lotuses,448 the three lotuses, the ocean, the vase with flowers,449 the book, the deer skin, the thunderbolt, the chain,450 the vajra chain, the archway, the bowl, the robe, the mendicant’s staff, the braid of hair, the vedika,451 the sash, the topknot, the sacred thread, the garland of banyan flowers,452 the triangle, and the samanta vajra.453
“The above are the symbolic implements, as taught by the guides of the world, known as the secret maṇḍala of liberation that belongs to the ritual of Amoghapāśa. [A.18.a] They should be drawn on cotton cloth, a tablet, a wall, or wherever is convenient. The vidyā holder should select the paints and apply them carefully, skillfully combining the colors. All these symbols should be drawn resting upon lotuses, radiating light in all directions. All of them are endowed with life. [Tii.93] They accomplish the aims of all activities and instantly remove all wrongdoings, always bringing the desired results.
“All these symbols are empowered by the lokeśvara-guides.454 They have also been empowered by all the tathāgata-buddhas, including the king of the Śākyas. For this reason, the wise vidyā holder [F.30.b] should practice them with great effort. As a result, he will be loved by the buddhas as their eldest son; there is no doubt. The vidyā holder who practices this collection of mudrā symbols, which are the heart essence of Amoghapāśa and together constitute his secret maṇḍala of liberation, will become the eldest son of the Lord of the World.455 He will swiftly obtain the supreme accomplishment of Amoghapāśa’s dhāraṇīs, mudrās, and mantras.456
“Now I will teach the seven nooses applicable to all amogha rites, and how to follow the right procedure so the practice will be truly effective. The vidyā holder should learn the complete ritual for each noose individually and how to practice them effectively according to their individual characteristics. For the successful performance of the noose sādhana, the vidyā holder should prepare five required threads. He will obtain instant success by merely holding457 the noose; there is no doubt. The five threads are cotton thread,458 lotus thread,459 giant milkweed thread,460 aśoka thread,461 and thread made from tree bark. These threads should each be spun and made into a noose, meeting the procedural requirements for the practice to take effect. They should all be spun using the cotton thread as the measure.
“The vidyā holder should fast, wear clean clothes, be washed clean, observe celibacy, live on the three ‘white’ foods, and stay in a clean place with clean surroundings. In short, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa with thoughts of loving kindness. Then he should take the separate threads and, fully focused, twist them together into a string of eight strands.
“He should prepare an effigy462 of the upper body of Amogharāja with his hands joined in the añjali gesture and holding a blossoming lotus. The figure should be four fingers in height, crowned with a diadem463 upon his topknot, and adorned with all ornaments. The vidyā holder should use silver or gold to make three forms of the effigy—one peaceful, one frowning, and one in the form of Krodharāja. He should attach a noose that is sixteen cubits long to one side of the effigy,464 and a trident465 with a myrobalan fruit to the other side. [F.31.a]
“Then, on the fifteenth day, the day of the full moon, or on the eighth, the vidyā holder should fast466 for one day and one night and then bathe and put on clean clothes. Sitting cross-legged, he should worship the Buddha with offerings as prescribed. Without uttering other words, he should incant the noose with the mantra one thousand and eight times. When the number of recitations is complete, [Tii.94] he should arrange a divine seat, place the noose on it, and consecrate it with the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. He should perform a pūjā fit for the gods, offering flowers, incense, fragrances, garlands, unguents, scented powders, cloth, and so forth. He should burn incense of agarwood, sandalwood, and olibanum and light lamps.
“He should then incant mustard seeds twenty-one times and cast them upon the noose, and he should worship a cotton painting of Avalokiteśvara with whatever offerings are available. Sitting cross-legged and undistracted in front of the noose, [A.18.b] he should perform worship in the morning and then recite the mantra. Incanting the mustard seeds just once, he should throw them on the noose one thousand and eight times. He should do this every day as much as he can, reciting the mantra in the morning and performing worship. He should avoid spoiled or leftover food and wear clean clothes.
“When the vidyā holder has reached the number one thousand and eight, the noose will blaze with light. If the accomplishment that he has won is worldly, the noose will blaze with the light of a fire; if the accomplishment is supramundane, the noose will blaze with multicolored light. The body of Amoghapāśa will likewise emit light, and he will utter the following words: ‘Good! Good it is, O vidyā holder! You have attained a supramundane accomplishment. With the noose of bodhicitta, [F.31.b] you have drawn to yourself the supreme bodhicitta. You have fully developed the six perfections and are endowed with the ten perfections.’
“From then on, the wishes of the vidyā holder will be fulfilled, and his worldly practice will become like a wish-fulfilling jewel. Any requests he may have will be realized as soon as he flings his hand.467 Everything desirable will be drawn to him. If he casts the noose in any direction while reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times, anything he wants from that direction will instantly be brought to him. Even if he has committed the five acts of immediate retribution and is destined to be reborn in the Avīci hell, this practice will effectively nullify it. There should be no doubt or uncertainty in this regard.
“Wherever the vidyā holder casts the noose attached to the frowning effigy,468 all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, [Tii.95] and other nonhuman and human beings will certainly be pulled before the vidyā holder and will remain his servants for as long as he lives. All the kings and royal ministers with their harems and retinues will remain in his thrall, and he will be much venerated by the entire world. Whatever his purpose for casting the noose, that purpose will be realized.
“If the vidyā holder incants the Krodharāja469 twenty-one times and casts the noose attached to him,470 then, as soon as it is cast, all the vighnas, vināyakas, and other wicked beings will be bound by the noose and will remain so, according to the vidyā holder’s wish, for a year, a hundred years, a thousand years, or a hundred thousand eons. When he feels pity and love for them, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa three times to free them. If he casts the noose of Krodharāja into the thick of a battle, [F.32.a] all weapons and arms, such as bows, arrows, spears, swords, clubs, musuṇḍis, discuses, lances, shields, and armor, will be bound by the noose. He can free them by casting onto the, water and mustard seeds incanted seven times. He should make offerings to the noose every day according to his means, to succeed in whatever venture he undertakes. This ritual procedure to be thus performed is called the unfailing noose.
“If the vidyā holder wants to become invisible, he should do as follows. He should form his right and left hands into the mudrā of Amoghapāśa as previously described. He should then hold the noose and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times. If he recites the mantra one hundred and eight times twice, he will be able to travel through space and will become the great emperor of the unfailing noose vidyādharas471 with a retinue of one hundred thousand million. [A.19.a] He will live one hundred million years. His hair will become wavy and curly, and his strength, energy, and valor can never be impaired.
“If there is need for rain, the vidyā holder can perform the appropriate pūjā, and it will rain as much as necessary. If it rains too much, he can perform the pūjā for stopping the rain, and the rain will stop. If there is need to pacify any misfortune, disasters, calamities, or deadly pestilences, the vidyā holder should bathe, clean himself, and put on clean clothes. [Tii.96] He should climb to an elevated spot with the noose in his hand and hold the noose while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. [F.32.b] He should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times into each of the four directions while casting the noose. As soon as the mantra is recited, all quarrels, disagreements, disputes, and lawsuits will cease, and armies, whether one’s own or those of the enemy, and all opponents and adversaries will be appeased. All fears, hostilities, misfortunes, deadly pestilences, famines, and other dangers will be pacified. Excessive or untimely rains, cold spells, strong winds, heat waves, and all similar dangers will not arise, and a protective boundary will be created with the radius of one hundred leagues. The vidyā holder will accomplish whatever wishes come to his mind.
“He should perform a pūjā, recite the Amogharāja, and pay homage to him. By merely performing the pūjā and making the requests, everything will instantly turn out favorably. He should not question or have any doubts about this. He should perform any of the ritual activities that have been taught in this manual, any of the procedures and practices, and so obtain instant success in everything.
“He should cultivate loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. He should be wholly motivated by pity for all sentient beings. He should worship Noble Avalokiteśvara and feel respect for the Three Jewels. He should contemplate all the tathāgatas and respect his master. He should maintain pure conduct and have pure morality. By its very nature, the prescribed practice of Amoghapāśa, whereby one attracts the principle of bodhi, is like a wish-fulfilling jewel.
“I will now teach vidyā holders the ritual practice of the wheel noose,472 the nature of which allows them to enter passages to subterranean paradises.473 [F.33.a] This practice for entering all passages is the supreme means to this effect. The vidyā holder will be able to enter the palaces of asuras, kinnaras, gandharvas, and devas. He will be able to travel through space and enter the realm of Thirty-Three and even travel as far as the realm of Akaniṣṭha. He will also gain entry to the palaces of the nāga kings and their subterranean realms, as well as the abodes of the sun, the moon,474 the stars, and the nakṣatras. Whether it be forests, mountains, or great rivers, the vidyā holder will be able to enter any place he directs his thoughts, both in this world and beyond. The ritual procedure of the noose can accomplish this with little effort and little practice. He should not harbor any questions or doubts about this.
“The vidyā holder [Tii.97] should be clean, bathe well, wear clean clothes, and live on the three ‘white’ foods. He should chant the Buddhānusmṛti Gāthā475 in the true spirit of devotion and faith, cultivating thoughts of loving kindness, the heart of compassion, and a pure mind. He should start on the thirteenth lunar day and follow the procedure until the full moon,476 as is auspicious. He should offer a pūjā according to his means three times a day [A.19.b] and always recite the mantra one hundred and eight times, three times a day. He should do this at the three junctions of the day and the three junctions of the night.
“He should procure three types of thread—cotton thread, lotus thread, and giant milkweed thread—and make the supreme wheel-noose. He should twine them into a string with three strands exactly thirty-six cubits long. He should also make a wheel four fingers in diameter with three parts—hub, rim, and spokes—distributed in a circle. The wheel should be made of gold, silver, and copper. He should place the wheel on a divine seat adorned as the Dharma seat. [F.33.b] It should be strewn with the fragrant maṇḍūka477 flowers and adorned with full jars. The vidyā holder should also provide bowls with an argha offering, placing them opposite the cotton painting.478
“He should then place the noose on the Dharma seat and, at the three junctions of the day, make offerings of whatever articles he chooses while reciting the mantra one hundred and eight times. Then, on the fifteenth lunar day when the moon is full, having fasted for one day and one night without speaking, he should make offerings to the cotton painting of Avalokiteśvara. He should burn three types of incense—agarwood, sandalwood, and bdellium. Sitting opposite the painting in front of the Dharma seat, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times, each time incanting a single mustard seed and casting it upon the noose.
“When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, the noose will blaze with light. The wheel will stay suspended in the air479 and revolve, ablaze with light. The body of the vidyā holder will radiate light, with rays emerging from his head. Words of approval will then issue forth from the cotton painting, and the vidyā holder will know that he has accomplished the great rite of the wheel noose that employs the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa.
“The vidyā holder should then offer a large pūjā [Tii.98] and recite the mantra of Amoghakrodharāja. After incanting the noose one thousand and eight times, he should grasp it. With the left hand displaying the mudrā of the wheel he should grasp the wheel. With the right hand displaying the mudrā of the noose he should hold the noose.480 He should then cast the noose in each of the four directions while reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. Afterward, he should cast the noose in the ten directions, each time reciting the mantra of Krodharāja twenty-one times. [F.34.a] He should then swing the noose seven times to consecrate his body. He will be consecrated as the great emperor of the vidyādharas as soon as the noose is swung and the mudrā displayed.
“Subsequently, he will obtain the supremely great accomplishments. The king Sudarśana with his great army481 will appear before him in person, bow his head to his feet, and say, ‘Speak, vidyā holder! I will carry out whatever you command me to do.’ The vidyā holder should then specify what he needs, and Sudarśana will do it all. He will become a servant who performs all the tasks.
“Whenever the vidyā holder wishes to enter a particular residence,482 he should fast for three days and nights and then display the noose mudrā with his hand. He should swing the noose483 three times in the direction of the entrance or opening, and cast it while reciting the Amogharāja. As soon as the noose is cast, the entrances or openings to any residence will open. All the locks and bolts will unlock and fall away, and all the paths under the great rivers or up the mountains that are made difficult by the yakṣas and rākṣasas will become gentle meanders. [A.20.a] The bolts and door locks will break into pieces, and chains will break, split, and fall off. They will deteriorate and disintegrate.
“Subsequently, the vidyā holder will see huge magical palaces that are immaculate and pure. He will see palatial residences constructed from the seven types of jewels and adorned with various bright jewels and different species of jeweled trees, all enveloped in the fragrance from flower gardens with various species of flowers. At that time, he should hold the noose with the hand that displays the mudrā, place the wheel before him,484 [F.34.b] recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, and enter. As soon as he enters the palatial compound of the vidyādharas, [Tii.99] the compound will shake in six different ways. It will move and quake, make rattling and booming sounds, and be awash in a great divine light. He should now enter.
“When he enters, a medicinal goddess named Immaculate Amogha Purity will arrive in a female form adorned with celestial ornaments, clothes, and adornments, magnificent in her pure golden splendor and endowed with great divine beauty, and will hold out a citron. Upon seeing the female form of this medicinal goddess, vitality and strength will be granted to everyone within a radius of one league. The vidyā holder should, at that time, hold up the noose with the wheel of Amoghapāśa. As soon as she sees it, all his485 vitality and strength will be taken away, and he will feel weak. The female being will laugh.
“At that moment, the vidyā holder should suppress her with the sound of the syllable oṁ and recite the mantra of Krodharāja. She will fall on her face and ooze water. He should not sprinkle himself with this water but recite the Amogharāja. She will cast amorous glances. The vidyā holder should tie her with the noose, whereupon she will ooze the water of immortality. He should collect this water and sprinkle himself. As soon as he does this, he will rise into the air. At first, he will travel upon the wind. If he anoints his eyes with the water, he will be able to see everything in the ten directions, including all the tathāgatas with their retinues of bodhisattvas and all their marvelous palatial compounds in the respective buddha fields. He will see them as if in the palm of his hand. He will see the buddhas who are presently alive and those who have entered final nirvāṇa. [F.35.a] He will see all the buddhas of the past, the present, and the future, as well as the great caityas with relics in the inner sanctums and wooden posts486 in the pinnacles.487 He will see them all as houses and retinues.488
“He should rub his entire body with the water. As soon as he rubs himself with the water from the pot, his skin will turn a divine golden color. His hair will be of deep blue color with nice, wavy locks. His eyes will turn deep blue, like exquisite celestial lotuses. His lifespan will increase to one hundred thousand celestial eons, and he will have a retinue of eighteen million vidyādharas and hundreds of thousands of vidyādhara emperors. In his immediate proximity there will be seventy-two489 apsarases, kinnarīs, and vidyādharīs [Tii.100] and hundreds of thousands of millions of gods. His retinue will be as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river.
“Whatever he wishes for490 will materialize as soon he thinks of it. [A.20.b] Divine food of one hundred exquisite tastes will appear in front of him, and the best divine beverages tasting of nectar will appear. King Sudarśana with his great army491 will advance ahead of him, crushing all the enemies and all vighnas and vināyakas—breaking, cutting, tearing, stopping, piercing, and destroying them—right up to the moment of the vidyā holder’s ultimate realization of bodhi. All medicinal goddesses will pull out their hair to make it into sashes that will turn whatever is bound with them into the seven precious jewels. The vidyā holder will enter any place invisibly. All deities will be his close attendants, and all nāgas, asuras,492 kinnaras, and vidyādharas will come under the vidyā holder’s control. They will all, along with their retinues, attach themselves to him and follow close behind him [F.35.b] until the time of his ultimate realization of bodhi.
“If he wants to enter a residence and come out again, he should neither speak to the medicinal goddess nor touch her but instead form the mudrā of the noose493 with his hands and enter the grand residence. Afterward, all the inhabitants of this residence—women, men, boys, and girls—will come outside and stand before the vidyā holder. Some will hold full jars in their hands; some, parasols; some, divine clothes; some, great celestial jewels; some, perfume; some, flowers; some, garlands; some, ornaments and adornments of various kinds; some, unguents; some, scented powders; some, perfumed water; some, platters filled with the seven types of jewels; some, various divine fruits; and some will hold various divine flowers such as white, pink, and blue lotuses and water lilies, mandārava, great mandārava, mañjūṣaka, great mañjūṣaka, rocaka, great rocaka, atimuktaka,494 champak,495 jasmine, nīla, great nīla,496 laran, sumanas, yūthikā,497 nāgapuṣpa,498 kontagandha,499 and vārṣika.500 Some will hold divine [Tii.101] incense such as the incense of gośīrṣa, uragasāra, candana,501 agarwood, olibanum, or tamāla502 leaves.
“Some of the inhabitants will hold peacock feathers503 in their hands; some, a sword; some, a spear; some, a diamond axe; some, a javelin; some, a spear; some, a club; some, a trident; and some will hold a musuṇḍi.504 Some will arrive and stand nearby to provide protection with armor, coats of mail, metal shields, and cuirasses.505 Some will hold plates with various jewels, [F.36.a] golden plates, silver plates, and also flowers made entirely of jewels, gold, or silver. They will all respectfully offer these things to the vidyā holder, who, for his part, should visualize himself as Avalokiteśvara in the form of Amoghapāśa. He should feel intense compassion and loving kindness and remember the Buddha. Wholly motivated by compassion, attentive, and silent, he should give them comfort and consolation and cause them to embark on the right path.506
“Then, standing in front of a lion seat, the vidyā holder should place the amogha wheel-noose on it and sit down. [B4] [A.21.a] He should bow to all the tathāgatas above and to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the boon granter, and so bring defeat upon all his enemies. If he bows to those who walk upside down,507 the heads of his opponents will be chopped off with the wheel.
“As soon as the vidyā holder sits down, the residence will shake in six different ways, and a loud sound will be heard. There will be cries of joy and the divine sounds of the five types of instruments. Deities will emerge from space in a great aerial palace and consecrate the vidyā holder’s head, investing him with a silk turban.508 As soon as he is consecrated, a rain of seven types of jewels will fall, as will a rain of gold, riches, and clothes and a rain of golden, silver, and various other types of celestial flowers and celestial adornments. Apsarases will then arrive and offer plates with seven types of jewels and the elixir of longevity. [F.36.b] The vidyā holder should accept the offerings while reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and touch509 the elixir to his lips. [Tii.102] As soon as the vidyā holder sips it, he will obtain a divine, completely pure body with a golden complexion. His hair will turn deep blue, his eyes will be like celestial lotuses, and he will obtain divine, pure vision. His lifespan will increase to hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of celestial eons.
“If the vidyā holder wants never to return, he should take as much of that supreme elixir as he wishes, step into510 rainwater perfumed with sandalwood, and bathe in it. As soon as he has bathed, he will find himself at an entry passage.511 He will look as beautiful as Maheśvara and be the sole, foremost object of worship in the entire world. Worshiped with offerings and honored as master, he will be like Noble Avalokiteśvara. If in this situation he sprinkles himself with the supreme elixir, his body will be as pure as the gold from the great river Jambu. If he sprinkles a house, mountain, pillar, tree, vessel, pitcher, pot, pill, missile,512 or clod of earth, it will become refined gold like that from the great river Jambu. Things will materialize as needed.
“If the vidyā holder wants a vidyādhara girl, a nāga girl, an apsaras, or perhaps a young kinnarī to arrive, he should be clean, wear clean clothes, and wash carefully. On the eighth, the fourteenth, or the fifteenth lunar day, he should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara in the cotton painting and fast for one day and one night. He should place the great wheel-noose upon the divine seat adorned as the Dharma seat and perform a pūjā before it while refraining from talking. [F.37.a] He should recite the mantra one thousand and eight times, incant a single mustard seed with each recitation, and throw it at the noose. When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, the noose will coil up like a snake, and the wheel will assume the shape of the snake’s hood. At that moment, the vidyā holder should grasp the noose, stand next to a cleft513 leading to a palace of nāgas, kinnaras, or apsarases, [A.21.b] and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. He should cast the noose inside the palace and immediately draw it back. [Tii.103] He will catch any girl he has in mind with the noose, and she will do whatever he wishes.
“He should cast the noose at anything else he may wish for, be it money, gold coins, gold bullion, jewels, pearls, beryl stones, conch-like stones, coral, silver, gold, clothes, ornaments, adornments, or other things such as celestial palaces. He can pull anything from anywhere. The objects will manifest wherever he casts the noose. Whatever objects he wishes for will manifest in full, and nothing else will manifest.
“Whoever the vidyā holder wishes to attract—a woman, man, boy, or girl from a royal, brahmin, or kṣatriya family—will be pulled in as soon as he utters their name and casts the noose. They will be bound by the noose and brought into his presence. He may also attract deer, birds, lions, tigers, elephants, and buffalo. If he casts the noose in the middle of a village while uttering someone’s name, that person will be bound by the noose and brought before him. All his wishes will be realized.
“If he wants the moon or the sun to descend to earth,514 [F.37.b] he should stand facing them and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times. He should then cast the noose toward the moon or the sun and draw it in again. Bound by the noose, the moon and the sun will be pulled down and descend from the sky and stand before the vidyā holder. They will perform whatever tasks he wants them to. If he wants to visit their respective palaces, he should grasp the noose with the hand that forms the noose mudrā and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa; he will then rise up through space, share the seat with the moon or the sun for as long as necessary, and descend back to earth in good health, uninjured, unharmed, and unaffected.
“If he wants to enter a passage leading to a secret grove, he should be clean, wear clean clothes, and bathe well. He should recite the mantra near the opening of the passageway into the grove twenty-one times and cast the noose. As soon as the noose is released from his hand, all the nāgas that dwell in the palatial residence behind the passageway515 will come out and stand before the vidyā holder. They will say,516 ‘Please enter, vidyā holder, into this supreme, great palace.’ At that point, the vidyā holder should recite the Amogharāja. [Tii.104] Displaying the noose mudrā with his hand, he should enter the passageway in the grove. As soon as he enters, the residence in the grove will shake in six different ways. In the center of the area toward the end of the grove there will be a lotus pond, built with the seven types of jewels, whose water will have the divine fragrance of sandalwood and will be neither too cold nor too hot. It will taste sweet when used for rinsing the mouth and will have the properties of the elixir of longevity.
“The vidyā holder should incant some mustard seeds with the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times and cast them into the center of the lotus pond. [F.38.a] As soon as they are cast, a girl resembling the jewel of a woman517 will emerge from the pond, revealing the upper half of her body, [A.22.a] holding a jar filled with the seven types of jewels, and adorned with divine flowers of various colors. She will offer the jar to the vidyā holder. With her head bowed low, she will say coyly, ‘May the venerable vidyā holder please enter the house without further delay!’ The vidyā holder can request three types of magical accomplishment—entry into the world beyond, the state of a vidyādhara, or the worldly accomplishments with their attendant pleasures.518 He can request the girl to be either his mother, sister, or servant. He should say, ‘I would like to enter the other world. Please grant it, sister, so that I may enter.’ She will say, ‘Accept it, vidyā holder, and enter the house!’
“He should then display the noose mudrā with his hands and enter, reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja. The supreme great palace—constructed from the seven types of jewels and adorned with divine wind chimes, lattices, golden hangings, silken hangings, and garlands—will be open to view. The girl will offer the vidyā holder a great precious jewel, saying, ‘Accept this great precious gem, O vidyā holder, if you wish to enter the world beyond.’ The vidyā holder should accept it and request a seat.519 Arranging the noose nicely into a circle, he should place it on the seat and place the great precious jewel on top of that. He should offer flowers and incense and then recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja.
“As soon as the mantra is recited, the noose and the great precious jewel will emit light. The jewel will also ooze milk. [Tii.105] The vidyā holder should scoop the milk and sprinkle himself with seven handfuls of it. As soon as he sprinkles the milk, [F.38.b] his entire body will become pure and immaculate. It will acquire a glow that is called the wide circular aura of the effulgent amogha light. He will be irreversibly established on the supreme path to awakening and progress through the ten bodhisattva levels. He will obtain the mirage-like samādhi of Noble Avalokiteśvara with its magical displays.
“Avalokiteśvara himself will appear before the vidyā holder in his completely pure true form wearing the attire of Amoghapāśa, place his right hand on his head, and give him comfort by saying, ‘You are my eldest son who has attained the state of vidyādhara with a completely pure body of a buddha in the great maṇḍala of liberation.’ The vidyā holder will see all the tathāgatas in the ten directions, who will all applaud him, saying, ‘Good! Good it is, O great being, that you have entered and definitively established yourself on the path to awakening.’
“This practice is known as the path to liberation.
“If the vidyā holder wants to become a vidyādhara instead,520 he should offer golden flowers by taking them and placing them on the head of the girl while suppressing her with the syllable oṁ. As soon as the syllable is positioned upright and its sound clearly pronounced, the girl’s beautiful eyes will overflow with tears. The vidyā holder should collect the teardrops and sprinkle himself. As soon as he does, he will become an emperor of the vidyādharas. His hair will become curly, and he will travel through space with the wheel noose in his hand, surrounded by a retinue of one trillion eight hundred billion vidyādharas.521 He will be able to recall seven thousand of his former births.
“This is the vidyādhara practice.522 [A.22.b]
“Alternatively, the girl may offer the vidyā holder the procedure for worldly practice, in which case she will say, ‘Accept my hair, vidyā holder.’ She will then cut off her topknot and [F.39.a] give it to him. He should take all of it and use it to make a plait with three strands. He should make twenty-one knots in it and tie the plait around his head. Whatever he thinks about will manifest as a magical display. He will be able to conjure at will all the [Tii.106] flowers and fruits he desires, and he will cause whatever he desires to appear in reality. If he ties the plait around his neck, he will become invisible. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, kumbhāṇḍas, mahoragas, and humans523 will come under his control. If he ties the plait around his forehead, all devas and nāgas will come under his control. If he ties it around his right arm, he will have the strength of ten elephants and be unassailable by armies or any wicked opponents and adversaries.524
“If he ties the plait around his left arm, all the members of the four castes will come to him and remain under his thrall. If he ties the plait around his left hand, whomever he touches will fall under his thrall and place themselves and their wealth at the vidyā holder’s disposal. If he ties the plait around his right hand and knocks at the eastern gate of the city three times, he will bring the king, his harem, and his retinue, as well as the capital city with all its women, men, boys, and girls, under his thrall. They will place themselves and their wealth at the vidyā holder’s disposal. All animals and birds, both carnivorous and herbivorous, venomous snakes, and other venomous creatures that are in his vicinity will come under his control. If he ties the plait around his right thigh, all medicinal substances and herbs, and all the deities that live in the forests, crevices, mountain wildernesses, caves, or forest dwellings that he enters will appear before him in their respective forms as soon as he enters there. [F.39.b]
“If he ties the plait around his right foot or right calf, he will cross the great ocean by foot,525 not to mention the great rivers. The water will be just knee-deep. If he ties the plait around his left foot, he will be able to travel one hundred leagues every single day and return without getting tired. If he ties it around his left thigh and subsequently enters a great charnel ground, all the beings who live there will become naked and remain under his thrall.526
“If he wants to have sex right there in the palace, he should grasp the full jar with his left hand, and the girl with the right, and enter this great supreme dwelling. That supreme place will have a lotus pond in the center that is strewn with flowers. They both should bathe in that lotus pond and splash527 in the water. As soon as he has bathed and performed his ablutions, the vidyā holder will become the emperor of vidyādharas with the wheel and the noose. He will have a retinue of seven billion vidyādharas and will live ten thousand eons. [Tii.107] His hair will become wavy and curly, and he will be the master of eight hundred forty palatial dwellings in the grove.528
“If he requests the girl to be his mother, she will care for him as if for her own son, and will procure money,529 grain, clothes, ornaments, precious stones, pearls, coral, silver, and gold for him. If he requests her to be his sister, [A.23.a] she will provide all supplies and services without any hesitation and will not neglect any detail. Every single day she will procure a divinely-adorned celestial woman and arrange for heavenly delights in palatial mansions. She will provide a heavenly residential palace. When dispatched, she will go wherever she is asked to go, [F.40.a] whether it is to the palaces of the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, or bhūtas. She will perform whatever other tasks come to the vidyā holder’s mind and are assigned to her.
“This was the practice procedure of the grove.
“If the vidyā holder wants to enter subterranean paradises, he should clean himself, bathe, put on clean clothes, and draw a four-sided maṇḍala in a hidden place on a clean patch of ground. He should smear the maṇḍala with various fragrances, arrange a bali offering of various tastes, and burn agarwood incense. After fasting for three days and three nights, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times while displaying the hand mudrā of the wheel noose. When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, incense smoke will issue forth from the center of the maṇḍala. He should then recite the mantra of Krodharāja seven times. When this is done, a huge, black-colored man will emerge from inside the maṇḍala, exposing the upper half of his body. He will be grimacing, bearing his fangs, and his hair will flow upward from his blazing head. He will have red eyes, a red tongue and lips, red fingernails, blue hair, firm and taut arms, and a protruding belly. He will wear a white sacred cord, have a five-headed venomous snake above his head, and have a lolling tongue. He will be clad in a tiger’s skin and hold an axe and a bell in his hands. He will cast glances in the ten directions.
“The vidyā holder should not be afraid at this time, but should remain steadfast and recite the Krodharāja. He should cast the wheel noose and cut off the head of the black-colored man. A lot of blood will gush out, which he should smear all over his body. As soon as he does this, his body will turn into an unbreakable and infrangible vajra. [Tii.108] Having gouged out the eyes from the severed head, the vidyā holder should anoint his own eyes by rubbing them with the gouged eyeballs. He will then obtain the divine eye. Having extracted the bone marrow from the corpse, he should sprinkle it over himself; his lifespan will increase to ten thousand eons. He will become an ocean-like receptacle of sacred knowledge. [F.40.b] He will remember his former births stretching back for hundreds of thousands of eons. If he eats530 a little bit of the corpse’s heart, he will travel through space. If he makes a bindi on his chest with the blood from the corpse, he will become invisible. If he cuts out the corpse’s tongue, it will turn into a sword that can be used to destroy all enemies.
“If the vidyā holder wants to enter subterranean paradises,531 he should incant the wheel noose with the Krodharāja one hundred and eight times, grasp the noose with the hand displaying the mudrā, and strike the earth three times with the wheel.532 The gates to the subterranean paradise will fall open,533 and he should enter as if he were entering his own house. He will be able to visit it repeatedly and perform any other task.534 All the inhabitants of the paradise535 will fall under his thrall.
“If, after that, he wants to travel through space, he should direct his gaze upward and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times. He should smear his body with mustard oil incanted just as many times. By forming the hand mudrā of the noose, he will ascend to the firmament of the sky and remain there suspended in space. If he wishes to enter the palace of a god, he should go to a temple, [A.23.b] stand by the side of the god, and tie the noose around the god’s neck.536 He should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times. The god whom he ties and whose name he recalls will descend to earth and stand before him. Whether it is Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Maheśvara, he will say to the vidyā holder, ‘I will grant whatever you wish for, O vidyā holder.’ The vidyā holder should reply, ‘I intend to visit the god’s palace.’ That god will also grant any other boons he might wish for.
“The vidyā holder will then go to the abode of the god. Held by the hand, he will, by the god’s magical power, ascend through space up to the god’s abode, and he will enjoy himself to his heart’s content in the great celestial mansion. When he has had enough, [F.41.a] he can leave the god’s abode and descend back to earth. Any other wishes that he may have or tasks that he wants performed will be accomplished in full; one should not harbor any doubts or uncertainties about it. [Tii.109]
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the lotus noose, he should bathe, put on clean clothes, and fast for either three, five, or a single day and night. He should procure the right type of thread for the noose—either cotton or lotus thread dyed the color of beryl and cut to the measure of twenty-one cubits. The lotus537 should be made from the three types of precious material, and its petals should be open and measure four fingers.538 The material to be used for the petals539 should be gold plate or silver plate. Its kernels should be made of either beryl or sapphire and surrounded by pearl. The lotus should then be attached to the noose, and the hand at the opposite side should display the noose mudrā.
“The vidyā holder should then prepare a divine seat adorned as the Dharma seat and draw a circle with cow dung. Above the circle he should visualize a lotus rich in fragrance and place the Dharma seat within the circle. He should adorn the circle with full jars, strew it with flowers, and burn incense of agarwood, sandalwood, and olibanum in front of it. He should also set out argha water for the feet. The lotus noose should be placed on the Dharma seat.
“The vidyā holder should sit cross-legged in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ten thousand times, incanting with each recitation a single mustard seed and throwing it on the noose until he has reached the number ten thousand. On the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, after fasting for one day and one night, he should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and to the noose. [F.41.b] Then, displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one hundred and eight times and, after that, the heart mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. He should recite at the three junctions of the day and make offerings. The lotus noose will then blaze with light of various colors, and the words ‘Good! It is good!’ will be heard. The painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara will also radiate light of various colors. At that time, the vidyā holder, displaying the mudrā, should sit in the cross-legged posture without blinking, with a smiling countenance and his heart filled with great compassion. [Tii.110] Looking at Noble Avalokiteśvara’s face, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa three times.
“After this, Noble Avalokiteśvara [A.24.a] will appear before the vidyā holder in his true divine nature. He will extend his right arm, place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head, and applaud and comfort him, saying, ‘You, a vidyā holder, are my eldest son and very close to me. This great ritual procedure of recitation and offerings constitutes my ultimate worship. This is the supreme way of reciting, and the supreme practice. You have accomplished the heart mantra of Amogharāja and mastered the practice of the great lotus-noose. You have obtained the desired boons and fulfilled all your wishes. You are freed from the dreadful prison of saṃsāra. You are freed from the terrible fears of birth, old age, death, and despair. You are saved from the sixteen great and terrible hells. You are saved from the eight great fears and from terrible suffering and pain. This is your last birth from a womb with its dreadful suffering. [F.42.a] After you die, O vidyā holder, you will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where you will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. This will continue until you attain the ultimate and final awakening. You have planted roots of great virtue in the presence of eighty-four billion tathāgatas equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. Your store of merit, O vidyā holder, is huge. You have performed many acts of respectful service. You, O great vidyā holder, are prophesied to attain liberation. You are saved from all the terrors of the hells and cleansed of all your past obscurations. You may request whatever boon comes to mind.’
“At this point the vidyā holder will obtain a boon according to his wish. He should grasp the lotus noose and, in a clean place, make copious offerings with reverence. Whenever a task needs to be performed, he should grasp the noose with his hand; he will then be able to perform any task. He should place the lotus540 in the left hand of Noble Avalokiteśvara, grasp the noose with the right hand, and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one hundred and eight times. [Tii.111] Whatever being or deity’s name he focuses on while reciting the mantra, that being will arrive in front of the bodhisattva541 when the number one hundred and eight has been reached. The bodhisattva will grant that being all the desired boons.
“If the vidyā holder wants his future awakening to be prophesied, he should be well bathed and clean and wear clean clothes. After fasting for one day and one night, he should offer a large pūjā to the blessed Buddha Śākyamuni542 and place the lotus noose in the blessed Buddha’s hand. He should tie the other end of the noose to his own neck and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja the full one thousand and eight times. When this number is reached, the blessed Buddha will arrive before the vidyā holder in his golden body [F.42.b] and place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head. He will comfort him, prophesy his future awakening, and make all his wishes come true. He will remove all his wrongdoings and obscurations accumulated over hundreds of thousands of his former births; they will be exhausted completely.
“The body of the vidyā holder will become completely pure. His stains will be removed, and his envy and jealousy will be gone. His current birth will be his last birth from a womb. He will experience the splendor of the celestial realms.543 All beings will treat him as their unique master and offer due worship.544 The tathāgatas in the ten directions will think about him at the time of his death, [A.24.b] offer him comfort, and show him the right path. Noble Avalokiteśvara, too, will appear before him and give him comfort, placing his right hand on his head. He will leave his body while facing Noble Avalokiteśvara, who will be aware of his presence. As soon as he dies he will, as is his destiny, proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. His body will be adorned with all the ornaments, including the major and minor marks of perfection. He will recover the memories of his former births, going back in time hundreds of thousands of eons, and this Heart Essence of Amoghapāśa545—this maṇḍala of liberation, the ritual text complete with its collection of mudrās—will remain prominent in his memory.546 He will be irreversibly established on the ten bodhisattva levels, from where there is no turning back. [Tii.112] Until the moment of his ultimate and final awakening, he will travel through all the buddha fields in the ten directions, from one to another, living in supremely great residences and celestial palaces that have been miraculously created through great magical power.
“If the vidyā holder wants to see the realm of Sukhāvatī [F.43.a] just as he sees this temporal world, he should draw a four-sided maṇḍala in a clean place in a house, forest, park, garden pavilion, or a walking area, on a mountaintop, or in a hut. It should be drawn in a clean spot on the ground with a smooth, well-swept surface. The maṇḍala should be one or two547 cubits across, regular in shape, and with four corners and four sides. It should be daubed with a mixture of clay and cow dung, have a smooth surface, and be adorned with green and tender medicinal grass.548 Using thread, the skilled vidyā holder should demarcate the sections of the maṇḍala, the perimeter, and the central area. In the central area he should use paints of vivid colors to expertly draw a lotus with one hundred petals and one hundred and eight kernels.549
“Around the perimeter of the lotus he should draw various circular motifs and lotuses in a variety of colors, each four fingers in size. He should draw beautiful blue lotuses in the inner corners of the main lotus and a circular jeweled platform around it. He should draw a surrounding ocean filled with divine water and palaces made of various jewels.550 The ocean’s waters should be strewn with various flowers and contain many nesting birds such as geese, cranes, curlews, cakravāka birds, jīvaka birds, cuckoos, and various other birds. It should be filled with fish, crocodiles, and dolphins. On the ocean’s shore he should draw various jewel trees, blossom-bearing trees, and fruit trees provided with benches.551 Outside the circular platform, he should draw hand mudrās and implements. The Four Great Kings should stand at the four gates. A divine seat should be depicted on the lotus in center of the maṇḍala, with the blessed Amitābha seated upon it. The vidyā holder should also draw Noble Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta.552 [F.43.b]
“The maṇḍala should be adorned with full jars, strewn with flowers, smeared with scented oils, and adorned with various divine banners. The vidyā holder should offer a bali consisting of ‘white’ foods, drinking water, argha water for the feet, and a row of lamps. [Tii.113] He should place the lotus at the end of the lotus noose in Amitābha’s hand. Clean, well washed, and wearing clean clothes, [A.25.a] he should sprinkle himself with the five products of the cow. On the day of the full moon, after fasting for one day and night, he should sit cross-legged with his face toward the east while displaying the noose mudrā with his hand and reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. Dedicated to caring and feeling pity for all beings, he should cultivate loving kindness and compassion. He should thus carry on reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa until, in the last watch of the night, Amitābha will blaze with light. The great maṇḍala will also emit light. The body of the vidyā holder will move and blaze with golden light.553
“At dawn, the noble Tathāgata Amitābha, a worthy, fully realized buddha, will appear before the vidyā holder in his golden tathāgata body, place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head, and comfort him. He will make all his wishes come true and then disappear. The vidyā holder will subsequently have a dream called stainlessly pure light. As soon as he goes to sleep and closes his eyes, he will see the realm of Sukhāvatī with its palatial dwellings. He will see all the inhabited places in the world and the full assembly of bodhisattvas. He will see the Tathāgata Amitābha teaching the Dharma and giving comfort to everyone in the assembly. [F.44.a] He will see miraculous creations appearing through the power of magic. His current birth will be his last birth from the womb, and when he dies he will, as is his destiny, be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī. He will retain his memories from one birth to another and be able to recall seven thousand of his former births.
If after waking from the dream the vidyā holder incants the noose with the mantra one thousand and eight times and grasps it with his right hand, he will ascend into the sky. He will live for ten thousand years and become an emperor of the vidyādharas, all of them the masters of the noose. His retinue will number eighteen thousand.554
“This was the procedure for the practice of the lotus noose. [Tii.114]
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the vajra noose, he should make a thread twenty-one cubits long that combines equal measures of tree-bark fibers, cotton, and silk. He should make a vajra555 that is four fingers long from white sandalwood. The vajra should be five-pronged and bound with a rope made of a nāga with a head.556 It should be garlanded by flames like the nāga king Nandopananda. The vidyā holder should attached the vajra to the noose.
“He should be clean, wear clean clothes, bathe thoroughly, and sprinkle himself with the five products of the cow. He should sit on a seat of grass opposite the painting. Pressing down on the noose with his right hand, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ten thousand times and, afterwards, the mantra of Krodharāja one thousand times. The noose will blaze with light. If he then grasps it, he will ascend into the sky. All the deities of the vajra, tathāgata, jewel, and lotus families will meet him face-to-face. He will possess beauty, strength, diligence, [F.44.b] and valor similar to that of Vajrapāṇi. He will live twelve thousand celestial years.
“The vajra noose can accomplish all tasks and destroy all enemies. [A.25.b] Wherever the vidyā holder casts this noose, whether up or down, he will bind any being he has in mind and bring it into his presence. If he casts the noose into the cardinal or intermediate directions557 while reciting the Krodharāja, he will quickly bind and draw any woman or man, or any other being, whoever it is, with the noose. There is no doubt about this. Whether it is a deva, a nāga, a yakṣa, a rākṣasa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a bhūta, or a mahoraga, he can swiftly summon any of them, bound by the noose. There is no doubt.
“If the vidyā holder incants the noose with the Krodharāja twenty-one times on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, during a dark night, and casts it in the four cardinal directions, all the vighnas, vināyakas, wicked yakṣas, and rākṣasas will be bound and brought into the presence of the vidyā holder as soon as the noose is cast. They will perform all his tasks and remain in his thrall as his servants for the rest of their lives. All grahas will leave him alone if they merely see the noose. [Tii.115]
“If the vidyā holder incants the noose with the Krodharāja one hundred and eight times and then enters a charnel ground while holding it in his hand, he will be invisible. The gates to all palaces will be open for him, and if he approaches any secret passage and strikes its opening with the vajra noose, it will open. All the locks and bolts will split. All the dangers of the road, bad people, nonhuman beings, and river crossings will vanish,558 and venomous aśīviṣa and gonāsa snakes [F.45.a] will become lifeless. Walking straight on a straight path, the vidyā holder should enter the passage as if entering his own house. Once he has accomplished all his intended tasks there, he can leave the dwelling again.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the jewel noose, he should procure a suitable jewel. It could be a diamond, beryl, natural crystal, emerald, or sapphire the size of a finger joint. Having cleaned it thoroughly with utmost care, the vidyā holder should set it in a golden setting shaped like a flower and surround it with pearls. He should prepare a thread, cut to the measure of exactly twenty-one cubits, from divine cotton the beautiful orange color of champak blossoms559 bristling with filaments. At one end, the vidyā holder should attach the jewel, which should be the size560 of the middle finger, and at the other, a hook made of precious stone or gold.561
“The vidyā holder, ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, should then perform ablutions and sprinkle himself with the five products of the cow. He should prepare a maṇḍala in front of a painting562 with four sides of equal length, smear it with every fragrance, and put out full jars.563 He should arrange incense bowls around it,564 offering incense of agarwood, sandalwood, and olibanum. In the center of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should arrange a divine seat the size of a Dharma seat.565 The maṇḍala should be surrounded by various banners,566 well adorned, strewn with flowers, and perfumed, and it should have musical instruments placed around it.
“The vidyā holder should live on the three ‘white’ foods and avoid bad food and drink, food and drink that has been inappropriately stored, and leftovers. He should then recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one thousand times. The noose [F.45.b] should be placed on the Dharma seat and pressed down with the right hand. [Tii.116] When the vidyā holder has completed twenty-one thousand recitations, he should recite the mantra of Krodharāja a full one thousand and eight times. With each repetition of the Krodharāja, he should cast a single mustard seed onto the noose. When the number one thousand and eight has been reached, he should offer a large pūjā in front of the cotton painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara. [A.26.a] He should likewise offer a large pūjā to the blessed Amitābha and the Tathāgata Śākyamuni.
“During the full moon on the fifteenth lunar day, after fasting for one day and one night, he should worship the noose with elaborate offerings, fully completing each stage of the ritual exactly as required. He should incant the offerings with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times and offer them. Then, sitting in a cross-legged posture all day and all night, he should recite the same mantra one thousand and eight times, casting, with each recitation, a single mustard seed onto the noose. When the number one thousand and eight has been reached, there will be a great earthquake, and Noble Avalokiteśvara in the cotton painting will emit multicolored light. This light will make the jewel noose blaze with light, and the body567 of the vidyā holder will blaze too. The vidyā holder should grasp the noose with the right hand as soon as it blazes, whereupon a loud sound will be heard.
“At that time, Noble Avalokiteśvara and the tathāgatas Amitābha and Śākyamuni will appear before the vidyā holder in their true divine forms. They and the sovereign lord Avalokita will,568 through their magical power, remain suspended in space in their golden tathāgata-bodies and will applaud the vidyā holder. Extending their golden arm, each of them will place his hand upon the vidyā holder’s head [F.46.a] and comfort him, saying, ‘Good! Good it is, vidyā holder! You have accomplished the pure practice of the great wish-fulfilling, unfailing jewel-noose. You have accomplished the supreme procedure of this ritual practice that has both worldly and supramundane applications. Noble Avalokiteśvara will fulfill all the wishes of the vidyā holder who holds the great wish-fulfilling jewel-noose that brings amogha accomplishments. You should strive, O vidyā holder, with all your being, to demonstrate569 the successful performance of the required tasks that are based on worldly and supramundane procedures. You should display, through your magical power, various magical creations according to your wish. [Tii.117] When you die, O vidyā holder, you will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī.’
“If the vidyā holder wants to see the realm of Sukhāvatī and worship the tathāgatas, the worthy ones,570 with heaps of divine offerings suitable for them—offerings such as divine flowers, fragrances, garlands, scented oils, scented powders, clothes, parasols, banners,571 flags, ornaments, adornments, and fabrics—he should prepare a fragrant maṇḍala at a prominent spot572 and offer flowers and incense. With his left hand he should press down on the great unfailing noose attached to the wish-fulfilling jewel and grasp the wish-fulfilling amogha jewel with his right hand. He should place his right knee on the ground and, in the spirit of great sincerity, bring to mind whatever heartfelt wishes he may have. He should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja seven times while bowing to the great wish-fulfilling jewel. Then, as his heart overflows with great loving kindness and compassion, he should recite the following heart mantra of Noble Avalokiteśvara, which promotes great amogha activity, one hundred and eight times, [F.46.b] wholly motivated by a sense of care for all beings. [B5] The mantra is:
“Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas established throughout the three times, comparable to the expanse of the ocean! Homage to all the pratyekabuddhas and the hosts of the noble śrāvakas, those of the past, present, and future! Homage to those who follow the right path and have the right understanding! [A.26.b] Homage to Śāradvatīputra, the great lord of charity!573 Homage to the great inhabitants of the supreme abode of Tuṣita, headed by Noble Maitreya, together with the eminent hosts! Homage to the noble Tathāgata Amitābha, who dwells in the realm of Sukhāvatī! Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great and most compassionate bodhisattva being! Homage to Avalokita who manifests all forms, including those of the divine sons headed by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and Īśvara!’574
“The part of the mantra to be repeated is:
[165] “Oṁ, the great wish-fulfilling jewel in the lotus! Jewel, jewel, the amogha jewel, the good jewel, the great jewel! The great amogha jewel that adorns all the tathāgatas! Act, act, be active! [Tii.118] O lord of spirits that roam at night!575 The great lotus-armed one! The most compassionate boon giver! The great and most excellent bodhisattva who can assume any form! You hold a lotus, sit on a lotus seat, wear a lotus diadem and garland, and are adorned with many lotuses. You have a thousand arms, a thousand eyes, and various magical implements, and your thousand arms are adorned with mudrā gestures. Be victorious, be! Your body is adorned with hundreds of thousands of light rays. O wearer of fine adornments, wear them, wear! Your body is adorned with jewels, gold, diamonds, beryls, emeralds, sapphires, and corals, ciri ciri! [F.47.a] You are a great boon-granting bodhisattva of illustrious conduct. You assume the forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. You take on the form of the lotus lord, the lokeśvara, and the eternal lord.576 You wear the garb of Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, the sages, and the general Kumāra, dhara dhara,577 dhiri dhiri, dhūra dhūra! You, consecrated by all the tathāgatas, assume the form of the four great elements. Remember your samaya, O lord! Make the moon full! Ferry beings to the other shore! Train the beings! Threaten the wicked ones! Bring down the vighnas! Kill those who are stained by the three faults! Assail evil, assail, assail! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ! Succeed, succeed, O holder of the unfailing noose with its great wish-fulfilling jewel! Bring accomplishment! Grant me the great accomplishment of the goddess of the threefold universe! O compassionate one, be awake, be! Awaken, awaken others! Awaken them fully! You wear the garb of the great Paśupati. Please display your infinite power of magical transformation! Turū turū, you travel across the sky. Homage to you who are seen inside a grand palace! You hold a large treasure trove of merit. O great Amoghasiddhi, hūṁ hūṁ! Give me an initiation! You confer great fame of the goddess of the threefold universe, svāhā! Bhuva svāhā! Bhūr bhuva svāhā! Svāhā to Amoghavipula!578 Svāhā to the one who grants the accomplishment of the wish-fulfilling jewel! Svāhā to him who grants all the supreme accomplishments! Oṁ, majestic lord, lord of the world, great lord, you are a great wish-fulfilling jewel! O great Amoghasiddhi! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!579
“Immediately after incanting the great unfailing jewel-noose with this mantra one hundred and eight times, the vidyā holder’s entire body will blaze will light. If he then presses down on the unfailing noose with his hand, he will magically fly into the sky. Through his great magical power, he will display illusion-like580 miraculous creations. He will be able to see the realm of Sukhāvatī, [Tii.119] where he will behold the Tathāgata Amitābha with his retinue and the great gathering of bodhisattvas in their palatial estates, surrounded by magical creations. Great clouds of offerings will appear, raining down.
“Through the power of the Tathāgata Amitāyus, great clouds of offerings will continuously rain down offerings upon all the inhabitants of Sukhāvatī. [A.27.a] [F.47.b] The Tathāgata Amitāyus and all the inhabitants of Sukhāvatī will congratulate the vidyā holder, who will hear all their words and will see the clouds of offerings raining down. If he wants to descend back to earth,581 he will descend as soon as he thinks of it. If he does not want to, he can remain there in the sky and become the great emperor of all the siddhas that live throughout the expanse of space, and of the vidyādharas who hold in their hands the great wish-fulfilling jewel that grants the vast amogha accomplishments. He will live there for eight billion great eons and then descend to earth.
“On earth, he will live ten thousand years and be a unique celebrity throughout the world, receiving offerings and great respect like a lokeśvara. The devas will descend to earth with him and will make bountiful, excellent offerings to him. All beings will joyfully welcome him as if he were their only son and will honor him. All the deities will protect him and praise him. He will become an ocean-like receptacle of great learning.
“If the vidyā holder wants to make offerings to all the tathāgatas of the three times and the ten directions, who are surrounded by retinue-hosts of bodhisattvas and the congregations of pratyekabuddhas and noble śrāvakas, along with the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas who are favorably disposed to the teachings of the Buddha; if he wants to accumulate great merit equal to that of all the tathāgatas of the three times and the ten directions; [F.48.a] if he wants to plant the roots of great virtue; if he wants to satiate all the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and the hosts of noble śrāvakas with the divine elixir of immortality and the best of food and drink; [Tii.120] if he wants to make large donations or offer worship every single day with clouds of offerings, he should bathe, purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and prepare a four-sided maṇḍala as is practicable.582 The vidyā holder should then offer flowers and burn incense in front of the painting of the Blessed Lord, Noble Avalokiteśvara. Kneeling down, he should hold the noose with his hands folded in the añjali gesture. Keeping all the tathāgatas in his heart, he should offer a large pūjā to the great wish-fulfilling amogha jewel583 and recite the heart mantra of Noble Avalokiteśvara seven times. He should visualize large and extensive clouds of offerings and offer gifts consisting of food, drink, perfume, garlands, scented oils, scented powders, robes, parasols, banners, flags, clothes, ornaments, adornments, jewelry, song, music, and the sound of tāḍāvacaras.584 He should visualize jewel trees, fruit trees, blossoming trees,585 lamp trees, and wish-fulfilling trees.
“While reciting this dhāraṇī mantra, he should swing the noose in the ten directions and wish for the visualized things to manifest. Consequently, all useful items will manifest, just as he wanted and in perfect condition, in front of the tathāgatas of the three times who dwell in the ten directions together with their retinues. Great clouds of offerings will appear, raining down offerings. [F.48.b] All useful items will manifest in perfect condition as great clouds of offerings. This very powerful dhāraṇī that produces vast clouds of precious amogha offerings is the heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara. [A.27.b]
“If the vidyā holder recites this dhāraṇī three times at each of the three junctions of the day every day, the tathāgatas of the three times together with their retinues will be pleased with him. If he thus worships and venerates them, he will accumulate a great deal of merit and plant many roots of virtue. All the tathāgatas of the three times together with their retinues will grant him excellent memory, intellect, strength, energy, and vitality. All the tathāgatas will appear to him in person every day and will always think of him. He will always have a bond with Noble Avalokiteśvara, [Tii.121] who will appear to him in person and grant him boons.
“In this very life, they will pacify all the vidyā holder’s suffering and fear of saṃsāra, which is so frightening and terrifying. He will never fall ill again and will not succumb to fever or come into contact with poison or toxins. His body will not be harmed by weapons, fire, or water. He will face no danger from enemies, foreign soldiers and armies, opponents, or adversaries. He need not fear devas, yakṣas, [F.49.a] gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, rākṣasas, ḍākinīs, or shapeshifting yoginīs. They will not be able to approach him within the radius of one league and will flee far away. No obstacles will arise for him.
“Any being who has committed the five acts of immediate retribution and is destined to be reborn in the Avīci hell, any being who criticizes the noble ones and rejects the true Dharma, and any being whose body is beset with karmic obscurations accumulated over hundreds of thousands of eons will exhaust all his negativities and win liberation in this very life.
“If the vidyā holder recites the dhāraṇī one thousand and eight times without speaking any other words—if he performs this recitation even once during a fast—the recitation will free him from the karma he accumulated over hundreds of thousands of millions of births, and he will leave saṃsāra. His evil deeds accumulated over thousands of eons will be purified, and he will no longer be defiled by saṃsāra’s faults, just as a lotus is not defiled by mud.586 Like a lotus587 he cannot be defiled by any wrongdoings or obscurations, and he will obtain the fifth bodhisattva stage in this life. Through his practice, which adheres to the rules of the recitation procedure, he will attain the level of not turning back. Merely through recitation, he will accomplish the six perfections and live in accordance with the ten perfections.
“If the vidyā holder recites the dhāraṇī every day one hundred and eight times, he will attain the state of Samantabhadra in this very life. He will gain access to all mantra rites, maṇḍalas, and mudrās. He will enter all the samayas and will be in accord with the way everything comes together.588 [F.49.b] By merely seeing it,589 all the vidyā holder’s wrongdoings that would otherwise lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell will be eradicated.
“At the very least, when the vidyā holder enters a charnel ground and his shadow falls on a corpse’s bones, [Tii.122] flesh, or rotten remains, or even just a deceased person’s discarded shroud,590 their garlands, or a painting on a wall,591 those beings on whose remains the shadow falls will be instantly liberated and will ascend to the realm of Sukhāvatī, even if they were destined to be reborn in hell. This should not be doubted or questioned. How much more is this the case for those for whom the vidyā holder performs dedicated rites.
“If any son or daughter of noble family, a monk or a nun, a male or a female lay practitioner, [A.28.a] or any person with faith upholds this dhāraṇī, propagates it, recites it, memorizes it, contemplates it, meditates on it, makes offerings to it, writes it down, or commissions it to be written, they will never again turn back from supreme, perfect awakening. They will obtain hundreds of thousands of great qualities in this very life. By means of this dhāraṇī, they will, in this very life, accumulate the roots of every virtue. By applying the six perfections, their accumulation will become complete.
“As this dhāraṇī, when accomplished, brings every possible benefit, what is the point of the vidyā holder exhausting himself with too many undertakings if, once he has accomplished the wish-fulfilling amogha jewel-noose, he can accomplish every activity he sets out to do? Any tasks that need to be carried out will be accomplished. Just as he can obtain boons and a prophecy about his future awakening when seeing Noble Avalokiteśvara face-to-face, so too can he obtain the same when seeing this wish-fulfilling amogha jewel-noose. [F.50.a] He should not harbor doubts about this.
“If the vidyā holder puts the noose around his neck and takes the jewel and goad into his right and left hands respectively, he will become invisible and will be able to enter any place he wants. The light emanating from the jewel will make the night become as bright as day. He can enter any place, including the abodes of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. Entrances to caves, mountains, forests, and subterranean paradises592 will fall open. The vidyā holder can enter and exit anywhere without being seen [Tii.123] and do whatever he pleases. He will live among humans for one hundred celestial years. All his afflictions, impurities, and faults will be pacified.
“If the vidyā holder wants to know how to accomplish the required tasks, he should, on the full moon,593 eighth day, or fourteenth day of the waxing moon, bathe, purify himself ritually, and put on clean clothes. In a clean place, he should smear the ground with cow dung and purify it with the five products of the cow.594 In the center of that space, he should prepare a small perfumed maṇḍala, strewing it with flowers and arraying it with full jars. It should be made fragrant with various scents and various types of incense. Then, in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, he should prepare a divine seat and place upon it the noose, neatly coiled like a snake so that the jewel595 ends up right in the center.
“The vidyā holder should then perform the rite of worship, reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times, the mantra of Krodharāja twenty-one times, and the heart mantra of the wish-fulfilling jewel-noose of Amogha one hundred and eight times. Then, he should offer incense of agarwood, sandalwood, [F.50.b] and olibanum. If he watches the jewel attentively, he will see everything within the noose-surrounded jewel, including tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, devas, and nāgas. He will see yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. He will see battles and military conflicts. He will see a person’s lifespan, when it will be exhausted, and their transition between lives. He will see if someone will obtain a kingdom, a village, a province, or a city. He will see the locations of raw or smelted gold, jewels, pearls, beryl stones, mother-of-pearl, coral, silver, wrought gold, clothes, jewelry, ornaments, and decorations.
“He will receive information about metallurgy, magical displays, fields, [A.28.b] treasure troves, and grain stores. He will see how to obtain a girl, accomplish a rite or a mantra, enthrall someone, or obtain majestic power. [Tii.124] He will see all this inside the jewel. He will see everything, both the auspicious and the inauspicious. He will see rains and drought, all misfortunes, calamities, and catastrophes such as deadly plagues and pestilences, and the dying of animals such as cows, horses, and elephants. He will see great dangers and terrors, whether due to local or foreign armies. He will see all this as if reflected in the mirror. He will see whatever he thinks of or requests, and he will see whether it is possible to accomplish it or not and whether it is auspicious or not. This should not be doubted, dismissed, or questioned. No result other than the one desired will come about.
“If during excessive rain596 the vidyā holder places the jewel in a pool inhabited by nāgas, the clouds will give off the desired amount of rain. If during a heavy downpour [F.51.a] he displays the jewel to the sky, the downpour will stop. If at sunrise he displays the jewel to the rising sun, the god of the sun will descend and grant the vidyā holder every boon. If he displays the jewel to the new moon, the youthful god of the moon will descend and grant him every boon he desires. If he displays it to the middle of a great river, fine jewels will appear. If he displays it in a clearing in the forest, all the medicinal substances and herbs will manifest before him in their own forms so that he can take whichever one he needs. If he displays it to a cleft in a mountain, all the herbs there will begin to glow, and he can then collect whichever ones he wants. If he displays the jewel to a heap of grain, all the grain will be transported wherever he desires.
“If the vidyā holder shows the jewel to Mahākāla in a place frequented by mātṛs and places it on his head, Mahākāla will arrive in person before him surrounded by a host of mātṛs, fall under his thrall, and carry out all the tasks assigned to him. If he displays the jewel to a king, the king will fall under his thrall along with his best troops in their four divisions, horses, ministers, ladies of the harem, and entire retinue. They will be at the vidyā holder’s disposal along with their gold, gold bullion, jewels, pearls, beryl stones, mother-of-pearl, coral, silver, wrought gold, clothes, jewelry, adornments, ornaments, palaces, and other wonderful things. They will attend upon the vidyā holder for the rest of their lives.
“If the vidyā holder casts the noose into a crowd of people while reciting the dhāraṇī of the wish-fulfilling amogha jewel, he will bring forth a rain of flowers, fruits, and palaces597—anything he may wish for or think of.
“The vidyā holder who follows the noble eightfold path can mount the jewel on the tip of a banner and set it up in the hall of the house of an anointed kṣatriya. [Tii.125] While feeling compassion for all beings, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times, the mantra of Krodharāja twenty-one times, [F.51.b] and then the dhāraṇī of the wish-fulfilling amogha-jewel one hundred and eight times in a loud voice. When he has reached the number one hundred and eight, a rain of whatever he has in mind will fall, whether it is money, grain, clothes, adornments, and so forth, along with flowers and fruits. All quarrels, arguments, contests, disputes, famine, the dangers that one meets with in the wilderness, and misfortunes will cease through the power of Noble Avalokiteśvara. They will all be pacified. All beings will be granted fearlessness and released from all enmity and fear. All wicked beings, even wild animals, will become friendly. All beings will be content, and all their wishes will be fulfilled.
“This was the practice of the wish-fulfilling jewel-noose.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the vidyādhara sword-noose,598 [A.29.a] he should forge a sword of heavy iron that is sixteen fingers long. The handle should be made of silver and inlaid with shining gold. He should commission a thread made from tree bark, a thread made from giant milkweed, and a thread made from silk, each sixteen cubits long and prepared following the full procedure as required. These threads of equal length should be aligned lengthwise and twisted together.
“The vidyā holder, ritually pure, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, should then attach the noose to the sword, place it inside a circular maṇḍala, and grasp the sword with his right hand while angrily knitting his eyebrows and making a fierce expression. Sitting in a cross-legged posture in front of a painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should recite the Krodharāja one thousand and eight times. When the mantra has been recited the full one thousand and eight times, the sword will blaze with light, and the vidyā holder will ascend into the sky. [F.52.a] He will become the powerful emperor of all the sword-wielding vidyādharas and siddhas,599 will possess irresistible power and valor, and will live eighteen thousand years.
“The vidyā holder will become invisible if he grasps the noose with his left hand, [Tii.126] the sword with his right, and angrily pronounces the syllable hūṁ. He will become a powerful king, an emperor of all the invisible siddhas and vidyādharas with their noose-swords,600 and he will live for ten thousand years.
“If the vidyā holder swings the sword angrily, he will cut down all the vighnas, vināyakas, wicked yakṣas and rākṣasas, and all wicked bhūtas. If he swings the sword just once in the midst of a battle, he will shatter all the weapons of the warriors. They will all be brought to a halt and will flee in the ten directions. If he swings the sword in the middle of a charnel ground, he will cut down all its wild inhabitants601 so that their houses are emptied out. If he swings the sword at any gate, all its locks and panels will split, and the door bolts will break. All the wicked nonhumans who roam around creating obstacles will be cut down and completely annihilated, while others will carry out whatever tasks the vidyā holder wants them to.
“This was the practice procedure of the sword.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the snake noose, he should prepare five threads, dye them in the five colors, cut them to an appropriate length, and join them together so that they can be effectively used as part of the practice. He should then take some pure food that has been powdered, madhupuṣpa,602 rasapuṣpa,603 realgar, lotus filaments, nāgapuṣpa,604 and the sap of giant milkweed, blend them with asafetida605 into a single compound [F.52.b] of smooth consistency, and glue it firmly to the end of the cord.606 He should incant it with the mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times, arrange it like a coiled snake—one with three heads, each with a hood—cover it with gold, and join them together.607 The supreme noose has six coils.608
“The vidyā holder, ritually pure, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, should then use cow dung to make a four-sided maṇḍala of appropriate size. He should perfume it with fragrances, strew it with flowers, array it with full jars, and adorn it with banners. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should make a divine seat and place the snake noose on it, arranged in a circle with the central snake’s hood facing east. [Tii.127] He should present a bali offering of the three ‘white’ foods, including argha water for the feet, and burn incense of sandalwood, [A.29.b] agarwood, and olibanum. He should sprinkle the maṇḍala with parched grain and mustard seeds.
“Placing the noose in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should make abundant offerings. He should then sit in a cross-legged posture and follow the extensive recitation procedure, starting with the one thousand and eight recitations of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. When this is complete, he should recite the Krodharāja, which is the supreme recitation, one thousand and eight times. With each recitation, he should cast a single mustard seed on to the snake’s head. When all the parts of the rite have been completed, the snake will invariably blaze with light, and the noose will move from its seat, rising to the height of four fingers.
“If the vidyā holder grasps the noose at that time, he will become invisible. If he visits the abode of the nāgas, or stands in a nāga pond, the doors to the nāga dwelling will fall open. He should enter while mindfully reciting609 the Amogharāja and swing the snake noose three times. [F.53.a] The nāga king will then arrive with his harem and retinue to welcome the vidyā holder, saying, ‘Come in, vidyā holder!’ The vidyā holder should then grasp the snake noose and enter while swinging it. The nāgas’ malice will entirely disappear; he will experience none of it. Locks and doors will split and fall away. As soon as the vidyā holder enters, divine nāga girls will arrive, beautiful in form, kind, adorned with every ornament, and wearing garlands. They will bow to the vidyā holder.
“The vidyā holder should grab one of the nāga girls and place her on his head. As soon as he does that, he will fly up into the sky together with the girl, her two breasts oozing milk. If the vidyā holder takes some of the milk and drinks it, he will live twelve thousand years. His hair will form into curls, and he will become an emperor-like overlord of all the nāga kings. He will be powerful, bold, and valorous.
“If the vidyā holder mindfully repeats the heart mantra of the nāga noose [Tii.128] and anoints himself with a sprig of oleander, he can summon whomever he has in mind, and in an instant they will be brought together.610 If, at the time of a drought, he swings the noose from an elevated place just once, a heavy rain will fall the instant he swings the noose. If it rains too much, he should descend from that elevated place with snake noose,611 and the excessive rain will stop. If it is cold, windy, or hailing, the vidyā holder should swing the nāga noose in the four directions before dawn, and hail will not fall612 for a radius of one hundred leagues, and the cold wind will cease.613
“If, the vidyā holder recites the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times every day while winding the noose with his right hand and holding it back614 with his left, [F.53.b] then every day all kinds of divine food, drink, and pleasure will appear from the nāga realm and be given to thousands upon thousands of beings. All snake venom will be neutralized just by seeing it.615
“When there are clouds616 in the sky during the spring or autumn, the vidyā holder should grasp the nāga noose with his right hand while holding a snake617 with his left, swing the noose while repeating the Krodharāja, and then cast it into the air. Any flowers or fruits that are normally harvested when ready will fall from the sky down to earth, perfectly ripe and ready to eat.618
“If the vidyā holder swings the nāga noose twenty-one times while reciting the Krodharāja, the nāgas’ palaces,619 ornaments, clothes, jewelry, and adornments will all fall to earth. If he swings the noose once more while bringing to mind the Krodharāja,620 the nāgas, along with their retinues and palaces, will fall to earth. If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a king together with his harem and retinue,621 he should set the noose down and throw mustard seeds at it one thousand and eight times, [A.30.a] each time reciting the Amogharāja. He should then grasp the noose and swing it specifically in the direction of the royal household. The king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under his thrall and will remain so for as long as he lives.
“If during an armed conflict the vidyā holder casts the noose into the thick of the battle while reciting the Krodharāja, a great venomous serpent will appear with huge eyes and a flicking tongue. At the mere glance of its eyes, glowing like embers, all four divisions of the enemy army will flee in all directions. The vidyā holder can also perform any other necessary tasks, whatever he may have in mind. [F.54.a]
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the noose of the lord of bhūtas,622 he should twist the long hairs from the tail of a female yak into a single strand and attach it to an iron trident that is four fingers long. Having fasted for one day and one night, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times, and the mantra of Krodharāja one thousand and eight times. Ritually pure, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, he should do this practice on the fourteenth day and night of the dark fortnight. Then, when he grasps the trident noose, he will become identical in form with the lord of bhūtas. As the lord of all the bhūtas, he will live eight thousand years and rule over the palaces of the bhūtas.
“If the vidyā holder enters a charnel ground with the noose in his hand, all the dwellers therein will gather before him. The doors to all their dwellings will be open, and they will invite him to enter and do what he pleases. If the vidyā holder ties the noose around the neck of a corpse and pulls it623 while bringing to mind the Krodharāja mantra, the corpse will attend to him, tell him whatever he wants to know, and do whatever the vidyā holder commands. When the animating spirit is released, the dead body will be discarded.
“If the vidyā holder ties the noose around the neck of a yakṣa and pulls him angrily while mindfully repeating the Krodharāja mantra, the yakṣa will approach the vidyā holder and say, ‘Command me, sir! I will follow your orders.’ The vidyā holder should say, ‘Be my servant and messenger for as long as I live!’624 The yakṣa will reply, ‘So be it!’ From then on, every single day, the yakṣa will do whatever the vidyā holder commands.
“If the vidyā holder ties the noose around the neck of a yakṣiṇī and brings to mind the Krodharāja mantra, the yakṣiṇī will approach and stand before him. Staring at the vidyā holder without blinking, [F.54.b] she will ask, ‘What would you like me to do, vidyā holder?’ The vidyā holder should say, ‘Perform one of the three roles for me: either that of a mother, a wife, or a sister!’ If she becomes his mother, she will care for him as if he were her son, looking after his food, drink, bed, clothes, money, and grain. As a wife, she will furnish him with everything he needs, grant him masculine power,625 and join him in pleasure. If she becomes his sister, she will fulfill all his desires and make his wishes come true. She will do everything that needs to be done. She will go everywhere and return, day after day, bringing jewelry, clothes, ornaments, and adornments. [Tiii.14] Every day she will procure celestial girls for his pleasure.
“If the vidyā holder ties the noose around the neck of Vaiśravaṇa and pulls him angrily while reciting the mantra of the lord of wrath, Vaiśravaṇa will come every day to offer one thousand dinars and one thousand pieces of gold. The vidyā holder should give it away every day as gifts, thus accumulating merit.
“The vidyā holder should tie the noose around the neck of Mahākāla and recite the Krodharāja seven times while holding the noose with his right hand and slapping Mahākāla angrily. [A.30.b] The vidyā holder should not be afraid when Mahākāla shrieks, but instead angrily threaten him further. When Mahākāla starts shedding tears, the vidyā holder should collect a tear and apply it to his forehead as a bindi. When he does so, he will become invisible and will be able to see all hidden treasures. He should slap Mahākāla again, causing him to vomit blood. If the vidyā holder touches it, he will fly up into the sky and become the great lord of the yakṣas.
“If the vidyā holder offers bdellium incense while mindfully repeating the Krodharāja mantra, Mahākāla will come before him in his true form and grant him every boon he desires. [F.55.a] His host of mātṛs will remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall, and he will perform all the tasks that need to be performed or that the vidyā holder wants performed.
“This was the practice procedure of the trident noose.
“Now I will explain how to use the painting when performing the noose practice. It is an unsurpassable method for mastering reality.
“This pertains to the practice procedures of the noose that involve the painting.
“Now I will teach a homa procedure that accomplishes the aims of all amogha activities. It instantly removes every evil and destroys all obstacles. It crushes all enemies, destroys all vighnas, and repels all wicked beings. It is the best way to eradicate any vice. It saves from the sufferings of the sixteen hells. [F.56.a] It continuously removes the eight unbearable fears. It obliterates adversaries and is the best means for repelling foreign armies. It instantly removes all diseases and pacifies every argument, quarrel, and dispute. It prevents famines and other misfortunes and calamities, and it attracts divine pleasures and happiness.
“The homa rite can truly accomplish buddhahood. It is the best means to effect every accomplishment, including the supreme awakening of the Buddha. It is accessible to all beings, granting them the best of boons that are difficult to obtain. It always pleases the deities and brings joy to the nāgas. The tathāgatas will, without a doubt, watch over the vidyā holder day and night, and the bodhisattvas will rejoice. The vidyā holder, constantly focused, will always receive boons from the Lokeśvara;633 there is no doubt about this. The Four Great Kings together with their retinues and ministers will always look after him, affording him every kind of protection.
“A wise vidyā holder should therefore perform the homa. He should go to a place that is clean, choose an area on the ground that is clean and well concealed, and perform the activities of pacifying, nourishing, or assaulting, all while free from distraction. Pacifying should be performed for the sake of all beings to remove all their negativity. Through the rites of nourishing, the vidyā holder will obtain complete well-being without any deficiencies. If the vidyā holder is afraid of enemies or vināyakas, or wicked yakṣas, rākṣasas, and guhyakas, he should perform the rite of assault with a wrathful mind in order to frighten and tame them. This homa is an unsurpassable means to accomplish the mantra. It is performed for worldly aims, as well as those that relate to the hereafter. It can be used to summon the god of fire, devas,634 nāgas, and vidyādharas.
“The vidyā holder should dig a pit shaped like a lotus and draw a lotus there as always, with filaments in the center. The pit should be dug according to procedure as a [F.56.b] square or circular pit. It should be carefully wiped, completely white,635 well concealed, well proportioned, and perfect. [Tiii.17] The day and the stars should be auspicious. He should make an extensive bali offering with fine articles636 and place divine incense and flowers all around.
“He should first summon the god of fire and thereafter perform the homa rite. Then, ritually pure, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, he should recite the mantras according to the procedures necessary for the setting of the boundaries, performing self-protection, tying his hair in a topknot,637 establishing the sacred area for the protection of others, and creating protection for his assistants. For fuel, he should always use sticks of giant milkweed and fragrant wood. He should cast ghee, mustard seeds, and parched grains twenty-one times for the fire to consume, and he should summon the god of fire with the mantra:
[166] “Oṁ, I salute you, O blazing fire, blazing brightly with large flames and a halo of light. You are the omniscient fire of sacrificial oblations, burning hot with smoke and hissing sounds; the flames are your face. As hot and bright as a forest fire or lightning, your main function is to consume oblations. You are the great energy, the great victory, the great power, and the destructive ability of all gods and yakṣas. Burning everything, you freely expand through space in cloud-like swirls. [A.31.b] You are universally worshiped and honored as a fearless form of the divine. You are a bringer of winds and the oblation-eating god, Hutāśana.638 When there is darkness, you dispel it by radiating light. You have the fragrance of beautyberry639 and are born from the tastes of the best of fruits and food. Beloved, you are subtle, very sharp, and a reviver of the dead.640 Ashes for flowers and ashes for clothing, ashes are useful—they are always used to cover. You arise within the billows of smoke. Accomplished in cooking, you bring out the best of flavors. You run everywhere, wiping out everything. Once you touch and sting, you don’t want to let go. Among the gods of the thirty-two abodes,641 you are the chief god of fire. You give vitality and strength to those without appetite. You are a great fire priest, the fearless god of gods, always the most noble. Swiftly make the rites truly successful! Oṁ, burn, burn! Remain! Huru, huru the samaya! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!642 [F.57.a]
“The vidyā holder should magnify Agni with this mantra,643 repeating it seven times while offering seven handfuls of bdellium and mustard seeds smeared with ghee into the fire. A welcome offering of argha water for the feet644 should be offered by hand. [Tiii.18] The skilled vidyā holder645 should also offer perfume, scented oils, incense, and a handful of fruits. He should then sprinkle himself with water. Following the prescribed order for the specific deity rite, he should take a sip of the water and commence the homa ritual, using clean sticks of fragrant wood from bodhi tree, cluster fig, great flowering jasmine, champak,646 or karnikara.647 One may also use white and blue lotuses, cedar, surabhi,648 and sandalwood.
“For the rites of pacifying, a skilled vidyā holder, peacefully disposed,649 should use sticks of bodhi tree, or other fragrant sticks or slats of wood,650 and the darbha651 grass of the best quality.652 Having lit the fire with them, he should continue with the homa ritual, using parched rice, sandalwood powder, agarwood, olibanum or frankincense, fenugreek, spikenard, and beautyberry.653 He should mix these ingredients together, adding ghee and654 freshly churned butter to the mixture. He should recite the mantra of Amogharāja one hundred and eight times and offer the mixture to the fire. He should offer it as one thousand and eight655 oblations in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara.656
“When the vidyā holder has thus reached the number one thousand and eight, the god of fire will appear in person at midnight. Blazing steadily, he will look in the ten directions, examine everything, and applaud the vidyā holder: ‘Good! This is good, vidyā holder! I am pleased that you, the vidyā holder, have successfully performed the supreme homa procedure. I will give you everything you ask for.’ The vidyā holder should request whatever boons he desires, and he will be given whatever he requests. The vidyā holder should then offer argha water for the feet657 and make a ritual bali offering. [F.57.b]
“Next, he should offer a large sacrificial cake smeared with ghee into the fire while feeding the fire with sticks of a fruit tree658 and reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times. When this number has been reached, a man will emerge halfway from the middle of the fire pit and will present the vidyā holder with a silver dish filled with food, holding it up at the level of the vidyā holder’s thighs.659 If the vidyā holder takes this dish, he will fly up into the sky, as soon as he grasps it, as bright flames issue from his body. [Tiii.19] Upon eating the food, his lifespan will extend to ten thousand years, and he will become an emperor of celestial vidyādharas. He will recover memories of his former births as far back as ten eons, and this maṇḍala of liberation of the sovereign amogha ritual will remain prominent in his memory.
“If the vidyā holder does not grasp the silver dish but instead offers another twenty-one oblations, the earth will shake violently, and Noble Avalokiteśvara [A.32.a] will appear before him in person. He will comfort him by saying, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder, that you have performed the homa ritual successfully. I will give you whatever you ask for.’ The vidyā holder should then request whatever boons he desires, and all will be granted. Noble Avalokiteśvara will take the dish from the man in the middle of the fire pit and hold it out to the vidyā holder with his own hands. The vidyā holder should take some of the food and eat it. As soon as he does, he will magically rise into the sky, his light-filled body blazing with multicolored rays. He will become an amogha emperor of vidyādharas. [B6]
“His retinue of vidyādhara emperors will number ninety-two hundred thousand million billion, [F.58.a] matching the number of grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. The palatial amogha-founded estates that manifest will number, again, ninety-two hundred thousand million billion, matching the number of the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. All the palaces will be made of the seven types of jewels and will be furnished with mountains, forests, and gardens with flowers and fruit-bearing trees. The trees will have a variety of unusual vines, shoots, leaves, and root growths.660 Some will have golden flowers; others, silver; and still others will have flowers of different types made of seven types of jewels. Some will have a variety of auspicious and unusual celestial flowers.
“Each palace will be adorned with pleasant, landscaped gardens and parks that provide fuel661 and are the homes of sal trees, tamāla trees,662 champak,663 latātāla,664 vārṣika, sumanas, yūthika,665 taraṇa,666 and kupyaka667 both charming and pleasant. The palaces, made from the seven types of jewels, will be graced with divine brooks, lakes, tanks, and lotus ponds, all filled with divine water scented with sandalwood and adorned with divine white, pink, and blue lotuses and water lilies. Golden sand will spread throughout the water. [Tiii.20] The palaces will be made pleasant by the celestial apsarases, goddesses, kinnarīs, and gandharvīs playing there in groups. They will be filled with groups of devas, dānavas, gandharvas, nāgas, vidyādharas, and kinnaras and furnished with divine pleasure houses. The vidyā holder will play and enjoy himself there, roaming freely668 until his complete and final awakening. He will sit under the Bodhi tree and subsequently turn the wheel of Dharma until he enters final nirvāṇa. [F.58.b] All of this will occur during a single lifetime. This constitutes the great, unsurpassed accomplishment. He will always have a connection with Noble Avalokiteśvara until complete and final awakening.669
“Such is the practice procedure of the sacrificial cake, which is extremely difficult to find. The vidyā holder will travel to meet with all the tathāgatas of every buddha field in all ten directions, and he will listen to Dharma discourses in their presence. He will fill the great trichiliocosm with blazing light and illuminate the world systems. This Amoghapāśa,670 the heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara honored by all the bodhisattvas, a collection of mantras and mudrās that constitute a maṇḍala of liberation with a complete set of practice procedures, this entire huge collection of rites, will remain prominent in his memory. Tens of thousands of millions of nāga kings will remain permanently in its thrall, as will all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas.671 The gods up to the Akaniṣṭha realm will remain bound to the vidyā holder as his great retinue. Palaces with varieties of the choicest food and drink of divine taste will spontaneously [A.32.b] manifest for him, as will the palaces furnished with various pieces of clothing, ornaments, and adornments.
“If a vidyā holder who lacks the seed of the buddhas and bodhisattvas due to his ill fortune grasps the dish, he will, as soon as he grasps it, acquire the might of a king and enjoy celestial and human splendor. [F.59.a] By merely touching it, [Tiii.21] his lifespan will extend to eighty-four thousand god-years, he will not suffer again from any disease, and he will be free of every evil, obscuration, and affliction. All his opponents and adversaries, and all wicked and corrupt beings, will disappear. He will likewise be saved, once and for all, from rebirth in the hell realms, the animal realm, the world of Yama, and the preta realm. He will become the sole object of worship for all beings. All beings—women, men, boys, and girls—will long to see him, and he will be victorious673 in all things. He will obtain amogha speech that is pleasant to hear.
“At the time of his death, all the tathāgatas will wish to see the vidyā holder, and he will behold Noble Avalokiteśvara directly. At death, he will be in a state of stable awareness, and after he dies, he will, as is his destiny,674 be spontaneously reborn from a lotus flower in the realm of Sukhāvatī. He will remember all his previous lives and will never again fall into the lower realms or be born from a mother’s womb. Instead, he will move from one buddha field to another, where he will see all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas.
“If the vidyā holder marks his forehead with a bindi,675 he will become invisible. As soon as he recalls the god of fire, the god will appear in person before him, grant him every boon, and perform all duties on his behalf.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the amogha oblation cake, he should mix rice with barley, cook it into a mush, blend it with ghee, molasses, sugar, and honey, and make it into balls the size of bilva fruits.676 Then, after making a fire with oleander, [F.59.b] he should offer the balls one by one into the fire, incanting each of them seven times. He should offer one hundred and eight of them at each of the three junctions of the day over the period of three days.677 Then, he should combine mustard seeds with whatever flowers are available, incant them twenty-one times, and cast them into the fire. He should also sprinkle678 parched rice and mustard seeds incanted seven times with the Krodharāja.679
“The god of fire will then appear in the middle of the fire, exposed from the waist up. He will offer up sacrificial cakes on a dish made of seven jewels and say, ‘Vidyā holder, [Tiii.22] take these great and divine sacrificial cakes. You have successfully performed the practice procedure of the sacrificial cake.’ The vidyā holder should accept this dish of sacrificial food; as soon as he touches it, it will transform into an elixir of longevity. He will then fly up into the sky, his hair will become wavy and curly, and his complexion will become impeccably clear. He will become an emperor of the vidyādharas with a retinue of sixty-eight thousand. The fire deities together with their retinues will remain in his thrall, allowing him to use their dwellings and palaces and performing all the tasks for him.
“Whoever touches the sacrificial cakes will acquire great learning as vast as an ocean. This heart essence of Amoghapāśa,680 a maṇḍala of liberation honored by all the bodhisattvas, [A.33.a] complete with its rites and the collections of mudrās and mantras, will remain prominent in his memory. If he recites one thousand stanzas every single day and reflects on it, he will, at the end of his life, go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. He will have memories of his successive births and will never again forget anything. His speech will be pleasant, and he will be loved by all beings. [F.60.a] He will be worthy of great honor.
“If the vidyā holder marks his forehead with a bindi,681 he will become invisible and will bring all bhūtas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas under his control. The doors to every home will open to him. If a man’s wife desires a son and eats the sacrificial food,682 she will have a son. He will be handsome, amiable, and good looking, with a most wonderful pale complexion. He will be intelligent, live long, have a keen mind, and become very learned and confident. He will gain expertise in all branches of knowledge.
“If the vidyā holder wants to feed one hundred thousand people, he should procure some milk pudding and, in a clean place that is free from distractions, cook it over a fire of oleander sticks until it thickens. He should keep the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa in mind until it is ready. He should then sprinkle it with water and mustard seeds incanted with the mantra of Krodharāja and place a single sacrificial cake in the pot containing the pudding. He should then divide it into portions and offer the first portion to the Three Jewels as alms, [Tiii.23] the next to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and the next to Noble Mañjuśrī. After that, he should give them to mendicants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras. He should give them to women, men, boys, and girls, and he should give generously to the poor, the destitute, travelers, and beggars, until he has given them to one hundred thousand people. They will eat as much as they like, but the amount in the pot will neither diminish nor increase, nor will it be exhausted.
“Those who eat this food will be freed from their past obscurations, misdeeds, and impurities.683 They will be freed from all disease and will not face misfortunes,684 enemies, or adversaries. They will not face danger from bhūtas, yakṣas, or rākṣasas. [F.60.b] Their bodies will become smooth and soft, and their voices will be divinely sweet and soft like the voices of kinnaras.685 They will always be free from evil and suffering,686 and they will be happy for as long as they live. After they die, they will remain on an auspicious course.
“The vidyā holder should fill a dish with milk pudding and, having drawn a maṇḍala at an elevated and open spot, place it in the maṇḍala circle and offer it to all the tathāgatas in the ten directions. As soon as he offers it, all the tathāgatas from the ten directions, equal in number to the many hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, will arrive from each and every buddha field and stand before the vidyā holder. Dishes filled with divine foods of one hundred flavors and a bowl filled with balls of the divine milk pudding will appear. A ring of divine sandalwood powder strewn with divine flowers will also appear. All the tathāgatas who dwell in the buddha fields of the ten directions, along with their assemblies, the host of bodhisattvas, and the congregation of śrāvakas, will be sated with the excellent food of one hundred flavors.
“In consequence, all these tathāgatas together with their assemblies, the host of bodhisattvas, and the congregation of śrāvakas will purify the gifts of the vidyā holder and his patron.687 With his gifts purified, the vidyā holder will obtain great power, influence, [A.33.b] [Tiii.24] and gold in the same life, as is his destiny. His numerous granaries and treasuries will be full of riches. All the tathāgatas will keep him in their minds, all the bodhisattvas will yearn to see him, and all deities will guard, protect, and defend him.
“If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a king together with his harem and the four divisions of his army, [F.61.a] he should make himself ritually pure, bathe, and put on clean clothes. He should mix the milk pudding with ghee and offer it into the fire one thousand and eight times. He should then make a fire using sticks of cedar or giant milkweed and repeat the homa one thousand and eight times. The king, his harem, his retinue, and the four divisions of his army will remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall, putting both themselves and their wealth at his disposal.
“If the vidyā holder performs this rite over three consecutive nights, all nāga kings will fall under his thrall along with their households and retinues. If he performs it over five consecutive nights, all bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other nonhuman and human beings will come under his thrall together with their retinues. If he performs the rite over seven consecutive nights, all vidyādharas will come under his thrall. If the vidyā holder practices it every night,688 the gods of the realm of Thirty-Three, headed by Śakra, and all apsarases and beautiful celestial girls will arrive and remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall. They will attend upon him for as long as they live.
“Alternatively, the vidyā holder should commence the rite on the day of the full moon and continue until the eighth or fifteenth day, making the homa offering twenty-one times at the three junctions of the day.689 On the fifteenth day,690 he should make a fire with the sticks of giant milkweed. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in person and will applaud him, saying, ‘Good! Good, vidyā holder! I am pleased with you. Ask for a boon and I will grant it. I will grant all that you desire, whether it is the ability to find treasure, skill in the alchemical arts, knowledge of agriculture, the ability to travel through space, the ability to become invisible, ability in mantra, or success in ritual activity—I will grant it all. [F.61.b] I can grant the position of the king or a minister, the powers of speech,691 villages,692 [Tiii.25] clothes, cows, horses, buffalo, camels, and other animals.693 I can also grant money and grain. I can grant everything—sky travel, invisibility, magical powers, samādhi, dhāraṇī, the accomplishment of rites involving mudrās and maṇḍalas, the power to animate corpses by summoning vetālas, the state of a siddhi vidyādhara, strong-arm vidyādhara694 and space vidyādhara,695 the ability to find openings in the ground,696 and the power to enter forests,697 mountains, or cemeteries. I can grant all of this.’
“The vidyā holder should then state his wishes, and all will be granted. Through the mere act of seeing,698 his body will be purified in a manner known by the name stainless amogha gaze.699 Upon his death, he will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from the pericarp of a lotus flower and will retain his memories from each of his rebirths. This heart essence of Amoghapāśa700 honored by all the bodhisattvas, this maṇḍala of liberation complete with its rites and the collections of mudrās and mantras, will remain prominent in his memory until he attains complete and final awakening.
“If the vidyā holder wants to successfully perform the homa rite with modaka sweets,701 he should prepare one thousand and eight sweetmeats [A.34.a] and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times. Then, ritually clean, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, he should offer the sweetmeats, mixed with ghee, into a burning fire made with sticks of fragrant wood. When he has offered all one thousand and eight of them, a boy will appear in the middle of the fire, holding out a dish filled with divine sweetmeats. [F.62.a] At that point, the vidyā holder should sprinkle the boy702 with mustard seeds incanted seven times.
“The boy will then say to the vidyā holder, ‘What do you request, vidyā holder?’ The vidyā holder should reply, ‘Fulfill all my wishes!’ The boy will say, ‘If you take this dish of sweetmeats, O vidyā holder, all your boundless activities will succeed. [Tiii.26] This is the sublime elixir of longevity, vidyā holder. Take it and you will gain the supreme accomplishment.’ The vidyā holder should take the full dish and say to the boy, ‘Please be my assistant!’ The boy will reply, ‘I will. As an assistant, I will succeed in any undertaking. Whenever you have a task to perform, you should offer a homa using sticks of giant milkweed for fuel and consisting of mustard seeds smeared with ghee, mixed with bdellium and sandalwood, and incanted seven times with the mantra of Amoghāṅkuśa.703 As soon as the homa is offered, I will be summoned and immediately arrive to perform all tasks and activities. For as long as I live, I will stand by and perform the duties of an assistant. I will ward off all vighnas, vināyakas, bhūtas, and rākṣasas.’
“If the vidyā holder touches the sweetmeats, he will fly up into the sky, where he will visit704 all the vidyādhara clans. He will become the great emperor over all vidyādharas and have a retinue of one hundred and eighty million705 vidyādhara emperors. His hair will become wavy and curly, and his lifespan will increase to sixty thousand celestial eons.
“If the vidyā holder puts the sweetmeats in a dish, places them in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, sprinkles them with water incanted with the Amogharāja-krodha,706 and then hands them out to be eaten by all the [F.62.b] mendicants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras, including women, men, boys, and girls, the sweetmeats will not be exhausted but will continuously reappear. For as long as the sweetmeats are in the dish, they will continue to appear without diminishing, even after being given in generous portions to one hundred thousand people.
“If the vidyā holder incants the sweetmeats seven times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, then anything he touches will turn into celestial gold. If he incants the sweetmeats seven times and throws them into the home of nāgas, all the nāga kings as far away as the distant shores of the ocean, together with their entire retinues, will fall under his thrall and become servants to carry out his orders. In the case of a drought, they can be ordered to send rain. In the case of excessive rainfall, they can be ordered to stop the rain. They will stop hurricanes, cold spells, heat waves, and thunderstorms [Tiii.27] at his command.
“If the vidyā holder incants the sweetmeats seven times near openings in the earth and smashes them on the entrances, the doors will all fall open; all locks, bolts, and door panels will break, and the inhabitants of the dwellings will all come out and stand before the vidyā holder, ready to carry out his orders. If the sweetmeats are cast into the entrance of a deep forest,707 the doors to the dwellings in the forest [A.34.b] will open, and all the medicinal substances and herbs will appear before the vidyā holder in their own respective forms.
“If the vidyā holder incants the sweetmeats seven times and casts them into the middle of a vast charnel ground, the doors to the houses of all the bhūtas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas who dwell there will fall open, and all the yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas will become naked. All of them will remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall and attend upon him for as long as they live. [F.63.a]
“The vidyā holder should wash an untouched708 corpse in scented water, then incant a sweetmeat twenty-one times and place it in its hands. He should wrap the corpse in white cloth and sprinkle it with water and mustard incanted seven times with the Krodharāja mantra. It will tell the vidyā everything he wants to know about contentment, prosperity, poverty, diseases, misfortunes, calamities, dangers from foreign armies, opponents, and adversaries, as well as about pestilence and plague. It will foretell his rebirth in a deva realm, a buddha field, or a hell. It will tell him whether his lifespan will be short or long, and it will foretell an untimely death. It will tell him about finding a treasure709 and about alchemical processes, give him farming advice, and tell him the secrets of magic. It will explain how to accomplish a rite, a mantra, a mudrā, or a maṇḍala. It will teach him about applying magic ointments and making magic pills. It will teach him everything about moving through the air, becoming invisible, animating corpses by summoning a vetāla, soothing fevers, subduing enemies, or enthralling someone. It will teach him useful skills and how to increase or diminish something. And it will describe this entire eon, past, present, and future. After this, the vidyā holder should splash water on the corpse’s face710 and remove the sweetmeat from its hands; the corpse will then collapse.
“If the vidyā holder incants a sweetmeat twenty-one times and places it at the gate to a royal palace, the king, harem, [Tiii.28] and retinue will remain under the vidyā holder’s thrall and place themselves and their wealth at his disposal. If he places the sweetmeat at a city gate, all its inhabitants—women, men, boys, and girls—will fall under his thrall. He will come to be revered and will be a master of amassing wealth. [F.63.b]
“If he incants a sweetmeat seven times and places it in the hands of the statue of the great goddess Śrī, Śrī will fall under his thrall and will grant him great wealth. She will attend upon him for as long as he lives.
“If he incants the sweetmeat one hundred and eight times, places it in a pouch, and keeps it under his arm, he will remain invisible for as long as he keeps it there, and he will be able to enter any place he wants.
“If he incants the sweetmeat twenty-one times by a lonely tree next to a stream and places it at the root of the tree, he will enthrall all beautiful shapeshifting women.711 They will provide every pleasure and offer every service depending on his wish, and they will serve him for as long as he lives.
“If he incants the sweetmeat twenty-one times, places it on the head of Mahākāla712 in a place sacred to the mātṛs, and sprinkles the sweetmeat with water and mustard seeds incanted seven times with the Krodharāja mantra, all yoginīs and ḍākinīs will fall under his thrall and attend upon him as servants to carry out all his tasks. If the vidyā holder incants a sweetmeat twenty-one times and places it in at Mahākāla’s navel, the entire host of mātṛs will appear before him in their respective forms, grant him every boon, and perform all tasks.
“If he incants the sweetmeat one hundred and eight times, places it in Mañjuśrī’s alms bowl, and sprinkles it with water incanted with the Krodharāja mantra, [A.35.a] various foods of the best flavors that afford divine pleasure will appear before all the tathāgatas in the ten directions. For as long as the sweetmeat remains in the bowl, the tathāgatas together with all the śrāvakas and bodhisattvas in the great assemblies will become fully sated. [F.64.a] All these tathāgatas, the hosts of bodhisattvas, and the congregation of śrāvakas will purify the vidyā holder’s gift.
“The vidyā holder should incant the sweetmeat one hundred and eight times and consecrate713 it with the Krodharāja mantra. He should then incant water with the Aṅkuśarāja mantra [Tiii.29] and use it to demarcate the border of the fire pit. He should light a fire using sticks of giant milkweed and place the sweetmeat in the middle of the fire pit. He should then make one hundred and eight offerings of ghee and mustard seeds smeared with curds and honey into the fire. When he has reached the number one hundred and eight, the god of fire will appear in person before the vidyā holder and say, ‘Good! Good, vidyā holder! I am sated and overjoyed. I obtained the highest happiness. Please tell me, vidyā holder, what your heart desires, and I will grant it.’
“The vidyā holder should then tell him what boons he desires, and the god of fire will grant them all. He will remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall and will serve him, enabling him to accomplish all his activities. The vidyā holder will be able to enter and exit a great mass of fire with thousands of blazing flames as if it were water, and it will feel as cool as snow-covered mountains. Touching the fire lightly with his hand, he will be able to place its blazing mass on his head, and not a single hair will be singed or affected by the fire in any way. He will be able to carry fire in his mouth and not feel any of its heat, and if fire touches his body, the vidyā holder will feel refreshed as if by sandalwood balm. The god of fire will perform all kinds of deeds for him.
“Fire will not burn the vidyā holder’s clothes if they comes into contact with it, and if the vidyā holder places fire beneath water, the fire will not go out. The god of fire will attend upon the vidyā holder in person during all homa procedures and will successfully complete any tasks he is given, wherever they may take him. [F.64.b] He will always instruct him in all successful uses of every mantra and maṇḍala. He can travel a thousand leagues and back again, propelled by smoke,714 wind, cloud,715 and flame. He will indicate what needs to be done and will do all of it. He will ensure success in all things.
“Next716 is the practice for the vidyā holder who wants to accomplish the amogha blaze fire, a supreme divine fire that is like a wish-fulfilling jewel. It is bright as the rising sun, illuminates the entirety of the ten directions, brings success in the diverse activities, and is the ultimate catalyst for ripening.717 It is the sublime elixir of longevity, is indispensable in alchemy, produces a variety of excellent results, makes the night bright as day, and is as bright as the daytime sun.
“To succeed the first time, the vidyā holder must perform the required activities well and mix the precious substances thoroughly. If he recites the mantra while ritually pure and practices pure conduct, he will succeed. I will now explain [Tiii.30] what firewood should be used for the amogha blaze fire.718 To make the blazing fire evenly bright,719 the vidyā holder should use all these types of fuel together so that the rite will be the best: sandalwood, khadira,720 pataṅga,721 oleander, sticks of giant milkweed, śamī,722 bamboo, śirīṣa,723 karṇakārika,724 bodhi tree, kṣīravṛkṣa,725 wavy-leaf fig tree, sumanas,726 gandha,727 jasmine, and lotus stalks and leaves; the roots, leaves, and flowers of white and blue lotuses and of white water lilies; sticks of wood-apple tree, citron tree, chaste tree,728 champak,729 kāṇī,730 neem tree, vālaka,731 and citraka.732 To perform the rite, the vidyā holder should procure sticks of all these species to use as fuel. [A.35.b]
“The oblation should consist of mustard seeds, ghee, curds, honey, and parched rice. Also necessary are three palas of fine copper, twice as much vermillion, one pala of costus,733 ten palas of white sandalwood, and one pala of realgar. These ingredients should be mixed together with twice as much yellow orpiment. [F.65.a] The vidyā holder should put them in a crucible in the middle of the fire pit and offer one thousand and eight oblations while clear minded and well focused.
“Ritually pure, following pure conduct, wearing clean clothes, bathed, and perfumed with scents and fragrances, the vidyā holder should prepare a bali consisting of foods with various flavors, flowers, and fruits. When he has completed one thousand and eight recitations and oblations,734 he should offer the bali composed of food, along with the flowers, incense, and the offering of argha water for the feet. He should then douse the fire with milk and use the milk to cool the crucible.
He should strike the crucible with mustard seeds while reciting the mantra one thousand and eight times and then consecrate735 it twenty-one times with the Krodharāja mantra. The crucible will blaze with light. The vidyā holder should next make offerings to the crucible and then retrieve the jewel that has formed in the crucible and place it in a copper or silver box. Like a wish-fulfilling gem, this amogha blaze will possess tremendous power. At night, it will display the splendor of the moon, and during the day, the splendor of the sun. When preparing food, all acts of nourishment, baking, and cooking can be accomplished by placing the stone in the cooking area.736 When the vidyā holder is performing a homa, he should place the jewel in the middle of the fire pit and pour in the oblations. A great [Tiii.31] fire will blaze forth. It will accomplish any tasks anywhere that are difficult737 to perform.
“In the case of a brave man entering a great battle or a fight, such a person should be well bathed, wear clean clothes, bind his armor, and fasten this great jewel to the top of his head. He can then enter the battle alone, where he will turn into a single large flame and defeat the enemy. [F.65.b] They will flee into the ten directions, their spirit broken, and they will never again present any danger. Nor there will be any threat from opponents or adversaries.
“With the jewel in his hand, the vidyā holder will be able enter passages and homes. The doors to all the residences will open to him, and all the inhabitants will come out to meet him. If the vidyā holder goes to a nāga dwelling and enters it with the jewel in his hand, water will no longer be found there, and all the nāgas will come before him. They will stand by any promise they make. Falling under his thrall, they will be his servants for as long as they live, carrying out his every command. They will cause all the crops, grass, bushes, and trees to thrive with ease, and any beings who eat these crops or enjoy the flowers or fruits will have a soft and smooth complexion and will be full of energy, mindful, and contented. The nāgas will also perform many other activities.
“Next is the practice of summoning Noble Avalokiteśvara using the radiant amogha gaze. The vidyā holder who wants to behold him in person should be ritually pure, bathe thoroughly, wear clean clothes, and perfume his body with scented water. He should build a fire with the sticks of giant milkweed and offer one thousand and eight oblations of mustard seeds, agarwood, and sandalwood smeared with curds, honey, and ghee. After that, he should offer bdellium twenty-one times while reciting the mantra of Amoghāṅkuśa. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in person [A.36.a] to grant him the boons that fulfill all his wishes and that accord with his cherished desires. [Tiii.32] [F.66.a] The vidyā holder needs only to speak of his cherished desires, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant them all.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the magical eye ointment, he should become ritually pure, bathe thoroughly, and wear clean clothes. After fasting overnight, he should construct a round copper box and fill it with one measure of collyrium mixed with two measures of yellow orpiment. After incanting it one thousand and eight times, he should place it in the middle of the fire pit. Upon this fire made of giant milkweed, he should then cast one thousand and eight oblations of vetiver root, mustard seeds, and sandalwood that has been smeared with curds, honey, and ghee. When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, he should retrieve the ointment and grind it in a stone mortar into a fine powder, adding realgar, camphor, and musk. He should incant the mixture one hundred and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and twenty-one times with the king of vidyās Amoghāṅkuśa. This mixture can always be employed in acts of summoning.738
“He should then consecrate the mixture with the Amogharāja mantra while forming the mudrā of Amoghapāśa seven times. If he then anoints his eyes with this mixture, he will fly up into the sky and become the overlord of all vidyādharas. His hair will turn wavy and curly, and he will live for ten thousand eons. If he uses the mixture to mark a bindi on his forehead, he will become invisible. If he anoints his eyes and enters a royal palace without speaking to anyone, the king, his harem, and his retinue will fall under and remain in his thrall. As a great person, he will be much venerated and will be successful in accumulating great wealth.739
“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes when practicing, or during recitation, he will become invisible to all vighnas, vināyakas, and the deities in the company of Māra. [F.66.b] They will no longer be able to impede him or create obstacles, and he will easily succeed in the ritual procedure.740 If he anoints his eyes and enters a great crowd of people, everyone will fall under his thrall. He will acquire a lot of money, grain, clothes, ornaments, and adornments. If he gazes at a woman without blinking, she will become enthralled, and she will be at his disposal along with her wealth. If he anoints his eyes and enters a great forest, he will not be in any danger from thieves, bandits, robbers, wild animals, or poisonous and nonpoisonous creatures,741 and he will pass through it easily and safely.
“In the event of quarrels, disputes, contests, or squabbles, the vidyā holder should anoint his eyes; [Tiii.33] his claims will be unmatched, and he will be victorious. If, while a war rages, he anoints his eyes and enters into the thick of the battle, he will always be victorious and free from all danger. If he anoints his eyes after being exposed to poison from a bite, the poison will be neutralized. If he anoints his eyes when fever strikes, whether the fever returns every day or every two, three, or four days, he will be cured. If he anoints his eyes after drinking poison, the poison will be neutralized.
“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes when seized by any graha,742 he will be freed from the influence of the eighty-four thousand grahas. If afflicted with eye pain, it will be cleared away the moment he anoints his eyes. If he anoints his eyes when suffering from an acute headache or edema,743 he will be cured immediately. When seized by brahmarākṣasas or apasmāras, he will be released from the seizure the moment he anoints his eyes. Those to be led to their execution for incurring a king’s wrath will be freed the moment they anoint their eyes, and they will have nothing to fear. [A.36.b]
“If the vidyā holder anoints the eyes of an image of Mahākāla, Mahākāla will appear before him in person to grant boons and perform all tasks, [F.67.a] and the entire host of mātṛs will fall under his thrall. If he anoints the eyes of an image of the goddess Śrī and gazes at her without blinking while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja three times,744 the great goddess will appear before him. She will accomplish all his tasks and bestow upon him great wealth.
“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes when he goes to sleep, he will have many wonderful dreams. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before him in person and grant him every boon. He will develop excellent memory and intelligence. If he anoints his eyes and enters a crowd of people, he will be greatly revered. If he anoints the eyes of an image of Noble Avalokiteśvara, he will always receive boons from him and will be able to see him whenever he desires.
“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes with the same eye ointment combined with bovine bezoar and then enters a royal palace, his power and influence will greatly increase, and he will obtain great pleasures and prosperity and accumulate much wealth. [Tiii.34] He will be loved by the king and by his harem and ministers, as well as by their retinues. They will all fall under his thrall.
“If the vidyā holder anoints the eyes of an image of Mahādeva,745 he will become an overlord of all bhūtas. They will all remain under his thrall and serve him by performing all his activities. If he anoints the eyes and forehead of an image of Mahākāla, all yakṣas will fall under his thrall. If he anoints the eyes of a corpse, it will be revived. If he anoints the eyes of any mantra deities, garas, or kākhordas, they will all be done away with and will never trouble him again.
“If the vidyā holder is hungry, he should anoint his eyes and enter a city. He will effortlessly acquire a feast of food and drink. If, as an alms seeker, he anoints his eyes when making his alms rounds, [F.67.b] he will obtain plentiful food of various tastes, as well as plentiful offerings. He will be able to cure all eye diseases, such as bleary eyes, cataracts, partial blindness, eye tumors, night blindness, itching, discharge, foreign objects in the eye, boils, and swelling, and he will regain his health. With his divine sight purified, he will be, like a bird, able to see everything pleasing and will be able to bring it under his control. He will obtain money, grain, and great influence.
“Now I will teach the elaborate homa rite that unfailingly summons the god of fire in order to attract and increase everything, including wealth, grain, clothes, jewelry, adornments, and ornaments. This rite brings the ultimate accomplishment, the instantaneous accomplishment of all goals, and brings supreme happiness to the learned. Through this rite, the vidyā holder will instantly obtain influence, pleasure, and abundance. This should not be doubted, nor should there be uncertainty or ambivalence.
“The material benefits of this supreme homa rite are inconceivably great. It should be performed by a vidyā holder who is ritually pure, thoroughly bathed, and wearing clean clothes. He should procure the root, sticks, leaves, flowers, and fruits of pongamia oil tree746 and kindle the fire using sticks of giant milkweed and white fig tree.747 He should offer into it one thousand and eight oblations of the seven types of seeds, rice, parched rice, sesame, and mustard seeds, all smeared with curds, honey, ghee, and white mustard oil. When he has reached one thousand and eight oblations,748 he should consecrate bdellium and black mustard seeds749 smeared with ghee using the Krodharāja mantra [Tiii.35] and offer the mixture into the fire while reciting the Amoghāṅkuśa, the king of vidyās, one hundred and eight times.750
“Once the vidyā holder has successfully completed all the stages of the rite, he will be able to effortlessly augment his food, drink, furnishings, medicines, [A.37.a] utensils and tools, money, grain, treasury, and storehouse. Various types of clothes, jewelry, [F.68.a] ornaments, adornments, flowers, perfumes, garlands, and unguents will appear effortlessly. He will obtain great power and influence that will last as long as he lives.
“On the eighth day of the bright fortnight, after fasting for one day and one night, the vidyā holder should incant the eye ointment with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ninety times, consecrate it with the Krodharāja mantra, and anoint his eyes while forming the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. He will magically fly up into the sky, where he will become a powerful emperor of the vidyādharas who have mastered the eye ointment. His hair will turn wavy and curly, and his lifespan will increase to ten thousand years.
“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes with the ointment, he will be able to see at night as if it were day. He will have the ability to become invisible and to enter the abodes of all bhūtas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas.751 He will be able to appear at any place at will.752 [B7] If, after applying the ointment to his eyes, he enters a haunt of the mātṛs753 and gazes at the chief deity without blinking while mindfully repeating the Krodharāja one time, all the mātṛ goddesses754 will appear before him, grant him every boon, and serve him for as long as he lives by performing all kinds of activities for him. He will be loved by the host of mātṛs and their retinues, and they will always stand by to guard, protect, and defend him.
“Now I will teach the homa procedure performed with bovine bezoar, a sacred legacy of Amogharāja that delights all vidyādharas and is worshiped by gods and dānavas. It is a proven means to accomplish all goals and is a supreme means to enthrall. It is the best method for sky travel, becoming invisible, gaining entry to enclosures that are difficult to enter, or immediate entry to forests. [F.68.b] This homa procedure also confers magical powers, such as the ability to enter mountain caves, subterranean paradises,755 and the watery abodes of the nāgas and to cross great rivers. [Tiii.36] It removes all dangers, pacifies all diseases, and destroys all evil. It grants victory in battle or in war, and it consistently destroys every enemy. It uproots all families of grahas and cures all fevers.
“This homa procedure removes past obstructions and eradicates wrongdoings. It confers power, grants pleasure, and increases wealth and grain. It pacifies all quarrels, disputes, contests, and disagreements. It breaks open all fetters, shackles, and chains, and it saves those who are to be executed by wicked, violent kings, who will thereafter serve them and speak to them kindly as if they were their royal offspring. In this way they will be entirely released from their predicament. The vidyā holder will be worshiped wherever he goes and will be loved by all creatures. He will always be very dear to the king, his harem, and his retinue, and to renunciants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras. He will be loved by all women, men, boys, and girls.
“The vidyā holder who regularly offers the bezoar homa will always receive boons from Noble Avalokiteśvara. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara will also grant him boons and will stand by him day and night in order to guard and protect him. Many other gods, including powerful nāga kings, bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, kuṣmāṇḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, gandharvas, asuras, and the powerful garuḍa lords will voluntarily stand by day and night and protect him. This supreme homa of divine bezoar is thus very powerful. [F.69.a]
“To perform the rite, the vidyā holder should be ritually clean, thoroughly bathed, and wear clean clothes. [A.37.b] He should procure bezoar and human blood, add some saffron, and put them in a copper pot in front of an image of Amoghapāśa. He should complete one hundred and eight recitations of the mantra and then cover the pot with silk. He should make a fire with sticks from the cutch tree and kindling of giant milkweed and then offer into the fire one thousand and eight oblations of parched rice, mustard seeds, bdellium, rice grains, and sesame, all mixed together and smeared with curds, honey, and ghee.
“When one thousand and eight oblations have been completed and the fire has died down, [Tiii.37] he should take some fine ash that has cooled,756 throw it into the pot, and complete another one hundred and eight mantra recitations. He should then consecrate the pot with the Krodharāja mantra while displaying the mudrā. If he marks the space between his eyebrows with a spot of the mixture from the pot, he will fly up into the sky and become a great vidyādhara emperor—the lord of all vidyādharas. His hair will turn wavy and curly, and his lifespan will extend to ninety-nine thousand years. The doors to every home will always remain open to him.
“If the vidyā holder marks his forehead with a spot of the mixture, he will become invisible, be able to enter any home, and become the master of that house. The doors to the dwellings of every bhūta, yakṣa, and rākṣasa will be open, and all the bhūtas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas will come out together with their retinues and armies. They will remain his servants as long as he lives. If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes with the mixture, he will be able to see at night as if it were day, and he will see hidden treasures. He will watch as the entrances to caves and subterranean paradises open, and he will be able to enter them, perform any activity there, and come out once again.
“If the vidyā holder enters a broad river, he will perceive it as a palatial residence adorned with the seven types of jewels.757 [F.69.b] All beings who live in the water will fall under his thrall, and he will be able to enter and exit the watery abodes of nāgas as if they were his own house. If the vidyā holder smears his entire body with the mixture and enters into the thick of the battle, he will be perceived as wearing protective armor and will achieve a complete victory. If he enters the royal household while holding the mixture in the front of his mouth, the harem and retinue will fall under his thrall. Any instructions he gives will be carried out, all requests will be fulfilled, and every command will be acted on.
“If the vidyā holder applies the mixture to his face, all women, men, boys, and girls will fall under his thrall wherever he goes, and they will put both themselves and their possessions at his disposal. If he anoints his right hand, any person he touches will fall under his thrall. He will hold power over money, grain, and gold, as well as male and female servants, attendants, and underlings. They will come under his control and remain his servants. If the vidyā holder anoints his right forefinger [Tiii.38] and in the midst of a thunderstorm faces the rumbling clouds and points that finger at them, all the cold wind and hail will cease within the radius of one league.
“In the event of excessive rain, the vidyā holder can stop it by displaying his right hand to the cloud. In the event of a drought, he should anoint the palm of his right hand and slap the water of a lake where nāgas live three times. At that moment, the frightened nāga king will release torrents of rain. If he does not send rain immediately, the vidyā holder should slap the water five times. All the nāgas will then release torrents of rain. If they do not, they will all suffer from headaches. [F.70.a] After the vidyā holder slaps the water seven times, all the nāga kings will experience total ruin, and their families will be exiled. [A.38.a]
“If the vidyā holder anoints the eyes of anyone suffering from seizures caused by grahas, all eighty-four thousand grahas will be pacified at that very moment. If the vidyā holder uses the mixture to mark a bindi on the foreheads of those afflicted with fever, all the types of fever—those that return every day or every two, three, or four days—will be pacified. If those afflicted with any disease are bathed in water infused with the mixture, they will be instantaneously cured of every disease. As soon as they are anointed with the mixture they will be cured of all boils, abscesses, fistulas, eczema, and gland inflammations in the neck.
“In the event of a poisonous bite, all the poison will be neutralized as soon as the bite victim is anointed. They will be released from all the effects of the poison as soon as they drink the mixture. The diseases of all those who suffer from abdominal ailments, such as enlargement of the spleen, edema, spleen diseases, flank pain, heart pain, bladder pain, hemorrhoids, dysentery, urinary problems, gastroenteritis, indigestion, and constipation will be permanently cured as soon as they drink the mixture with hot water.
“The vidyā holder should take a pill made from the bezoar mixture and place it on top of his head. If he stands next to a door to a passageway and slaps it with the palm of his right hand smeared with the mixture, all the doors in that passageway will open. He should enter without fear, as he will meet no obstacles. All the inhabitants who live there, enthralled, will come forward and perform every duty with great success. [Tiii.39]
“If the vidyā holder anoints his feet with the mixture and enters a blazing fire, the god of fire will come forward in person and take the vidyā holder by the hand. [F.70.b] He will say, ‘Vidyā holder, enter my palace and command me! I will perform any task for you.’ He will then perform any duties the vidyā holder has. If the vidyā holder anoints his arms, he will have the strength of seven elephants. If he anoints his thighs, he will become an invincible wrestler. If he anoints his calves, he will be able to ford great rivers and reach the other shore. If he anoints his throat and enters a forest passage, the doors within the passage and the doors to dwellings in the forest will fall open. All the medicinal herbs and substances will appear before him in their respective forms so that he can take whichever one he wants.
“If the vidyā holder enters inaccessible mountain valleys or caves758 while keeping the bezoar pill in the front of his mouth and utters three loud cries, all the secret doors to the dwelling there will open. All their inhabitants will come before the vidyā holder in their respective forms and become his servants. Grasses, bushes, trees, minerals, and herbs will appear before him in their respective forms. Those among them that produce excellent sap will ooze it, and the guardian spirits of the sap will appear before the vidyā holder in their respective forms and fall under his thrall. Every need he has will be fulfilled without fear.
“If the vidyā holder marks his chest with a bindi, all his heartfelt hopes, desires, wishes, and needs will be immediately fulfilled. If he marks his abdomen with a bindi, he will obtain all his favorite food and drink. Everything will come to him without any effort on his part.759 If he anoints his sides with the mixture, he will obtain whatever clothes he fancies. If he anoints his spine, he will obtain whatever bed or seat comes to his mind. [F.71.a] If he anoints his ears or other exposed body parts, he will obtain the desired ornaments and adornments. If he smears his tailbone with the mixture, he will obtain a horse-drawn vehicle.
“Every day before dawn, before speaking to anyone else, the vidyā holder should swallow a single bezoar pill while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja. [A.38.b] [Tiii.40] On the first day, he should read and memorize one thousand verses, and he should double the number each consecutive day. On the seventh night760 his learning will greatly increase; after fourteen days his voice will become as beautiful as that of female kinnaras; after twenty-one days he will acquire learning as vast as an ocean, and his voice will be deep and sweet, as melodious as a cuckoo.
“If the vidyā holder wants to obtain a son, he should offer the bezoar pill together with ghee to a woman. Even those women who give birth to only one child, or are barren, will give birth to a son. If the vidyā holder is in jail, he should smear his shackles, fetters, and chains with the mixture. They will break into pieces and vanish as soon as they are smeared.
“On the eighth, fourteenth, or fifteenth lunar day, the vidyā holder should mix the bezoar pill with scented water and bathe in it while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja seven times and then consecrate himself with the Krodharāja mantra.761 The moment he bathes, all his evil deeds and previous obscurations will be removed. After he has bathed for three nights, he will be able to accomplish his practice of mantras and mudrās. He will have no adversaries or enemies, will not encounter evil, wicked people, will be safe from every danger, and will never again be stained by evil.
“If the vidyā holder grinds the bezoar pill with sesame oil, anoints his face with it, and stands before the king, the king will embrace him like his own son. He will win the king’s true affection [F.71.b] and will pacify all fear of incurring the king’s anger. If he smears his entire body with the mixture, no weapon will be able to harm his body, not even if he were sentenced to death. The weapons will shatter before they penetrate his body, and bows will break.762 If the vidyā holder ties the pill to his neck, he will be able to enter forested wilderness and deep mountains that are difficult to gain access to. He will not face any danger from thieves, bandits, robbers, yakṣas, rākṣasas, humans and nonhumans, wild animals, poisonous snakes, or any venomous animals. None of them will be seen.
“If the vidyā holder ties the pill onto his right arm, he will be invincible and highly esteemed by all. His strength, power, and valor will be impossible to overcome. If he ties the pill onto his left arm, he will be loved by all women, men, boys, and girls, who will long to see him. He will be greatly honored and will accumulate much wealth. [Tiii.41] If he ties the pill to his right knee, he will be able to travel one thousand miles without getting tired.
“The vidyā holder should place the bezoar pill in his mouth and take some mustard seeds into his right hand. He should mindfully repeat the summoning mantra of Amoghāṅkuśa without uttering any other words. He should stand at a high place and cast the mustard seeds in the direction of a specific woman, man, boy, or girl, and they will be summoned to him. Even if they are at the distance of one hundred leagues, they are certain to arrive after three days. There can be no doubt about this. If the vidyā holder ties the bezoar pill to his right or left hand, any money, grain, gold, jewels, pearls, conches, śaṅkhaśilā stones, coral, [F.72.a] silver, wrought gold, clothes, or adornments that he touches will all be drawn to him and transferred wherever he wishes.
“If the vidyā holder enters an eating hall and slaps its door with his palm, all the prepared food will be drawn to him and transferred wherever he wishes. If he goes to a perfume shop, all the shop’s contents will be transferred wherever he wishes. If he slaps the door of a tavern, all the containers of alcohol will be transferred wherever he wishes. If he slaps the door of a granary, all the grain will be drawn to him. [A.39.a] If he enters a sweet shop and touches the display, all the sweets, delicacies, and candies will be drawn to him and transferred wherever he wishes. If he slaps the city gate with his hand at sunset, all the residents there will fall asleep.
“If the vidyā holder buries the pill at the door of an enemy, the enemy will be driven out. If he throws the bezoar pill inside an armory, all the weapons and armaments will break and be rendered inoperable. If he buries the pill at the door of the royal palace, all his opponents, adversaries, and other wicked beings will be bound, immobilized, and defeated. If the vidyā holder anoints a conch with the mixture and blows it from a high place, all those who hear the sound will be saved from quarrels, disputes, contests, disagreements, kākhordas, poison, and disease. If he blows it at a city gate, all plagues, calamities, and epidemics will be pacified. [Tiii.42] If he blows it near a cowshed, all the milk will be taken from the cows and will be collected and transferred wherever he wishes. If he blows it near a goat pen, all their milk will be taken and transferred wherever he likes. If he blows it in a midst of a crowd of people, they will all become naked, and the vidyā holder will be able to take all their clothes.
“If the vidyā holder smears a drum with the mixture and places it in a high, open place, all cold, wind, and hail will cease, be dispersed, [F.72.b] and not return. The vidyā holder will be able to stop all hail within the radius of one hundred leagues. If he plays the drum in the cities around the kingdom, all diseases, plagues, calamities, and catastrophes will be pacified and all quarrels, disputes, and discord will cease. All danger from epidemics and famines will pass. The vidyā holder will be also able to perform various other activities and employ them in any context.763
“Now I will explain how to bring peace and prosperity to all beings equally, how to pacify all disease, dispel all evil, pacify all plagues, calamities, famines, and disasters, and destroy all bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, grahas, and apasmāras. The vidyā holder should be ritually pure and well bathed, wear clean, nicely scented clothes, and perfume his body with fragrances. Wholly moved by kindness for all beings, and with great compassion filling his heart, he should perform the homa as follows.
“He should make fire with sticks of giant milkweed, śamī tree,764 kṣīravṛkṣa,765 or bodhi tree and offer one thousand and eight oblations of parched rice, mustard seeds, and the flowers, stalks, and leaves of lotuses smeared with curds, honey, and ghee. Each oblation should be accompanied by a single recitation of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. He should then consecrate it766 one hundred and eight times with the Amoghapāśa-Krodharāja mantra while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa the same number of times. As soon as all the parts of the homa ritual have been completed, all plagues, calamities, catastrophes, epidemics, terrible famines, disasters, [F.73.a] dangers from one’s own or foreign armies, dangers from opponents and adversaries, or dangers from all thieves, bandits, robbers, wild animals, poisonous snakes, or other venomous creatures with poisonous bites will be pacified and not occur again within the radius of one hundred leagues.
“There will be no fever, disease, or ailments. Yakṣas, [Tiii.43] rākṣasas, bhūtas, and grahas will be pacified and no longer appear. There will be no quarrels, disputes, discord, brawls, riots, threats, blockades, imprisonments, or beatings. They will cease, and all the beings will live at ease. Human populations will thrive, with plentiful supplies of food, pleasures, flowers, and food. [A.39.b] There will be an abundance of money, grain, and crops. The crops will taste excellent, ripen fully, and be perfect. The sap, outgrowths, roots, and fruits of all grasses, bushes, herbs, and trees will fully develop.
“Never again, for as long as the vidyā holder lives, will that country be subject to invasion, nor will anyone hear about such attempt.767 All renunciants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras there—the women, men, boys, and girls—will remain free from disease. They will experience comforts and pleasure and will be happy and content. Their thoughts will be suffused with love, and they will practice compassion. They will be well protected by devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, who will always remain within one hundred leagues in order to guard, defend, and protect them. They will grant them protection, [F.73.b] succor, peace, and well-being. The Four Great Kings together with their armies and retinues will be at hand to guard, defend and protect them. They will keep them safe and ward off the wicked. Gods such as Īśvara and Maheśvara will always be there to guard, defend, and protect beings. Indra, the king of gods in the realm of Thirty-Three, and his retinue, as well as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and all the hosts of gods together with their retinues, will guard that country well and suffuse it with vitality. They will support and protect everyone within the radius of one hundred leagues.768 They will be on hand to protect, guard, and defend all the renunciants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras, as well as all women, men, boys, and girls.
“By the power of this homa rite of pacifying, all beings will be freed from every obscuration and evil. All the tathāgatas will fix their attention on that land, and all bodhisattvas [Tiii.44] in the ten directions will gather there with their hosts, appearing with the wish to bring relief to all beings. The moon, the sun, and the host of nakṣatras769 will provide safety to all beings, offering them total protection. Noble Avalokiteśvara will always be present, giving comfort to every woman, man, boy, and girl as if they were his only child. He will protect them, fulfill all their hearts’ desires, and appear to them again and again.
“If the vidyā holder mixes ashes from the homa with scented water and sprinkles it in the four directions, he will create a large protective ring. [F.74.a] If he sprinkles it on anyone afflicted with disease, their diseases will be entirely cured. In the case of fever, he should make a bindi to cure them of all fever. Those who bathe in the ash and scented water will be cleansed of all their evil and obscurations. If he sprinkles the water on the clothes of someone in shackles or in prison, their shackles will break. If he anoints someone bitten by a poisonous animal or affected by poison, the victim will be detoxified.
“Now I will teach a great sovereign rite of Noble Avalokiteśvara that belongs to the great lotus maṇḍala of the lotus family and constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation, the essence of Amoghapāśa. This rite will accomplish hundreds of thousands of activities that would otherwise not be accomplished. On a day when the stars are favorable and auspicious, the vidyā holder should bathe, wear clean clothes, and focus on loving kindness.
“The most beautiful adornment is compassion and love for all beings, and the best accomplishment is one that is won by this rite of Amoghapāśa, the great king of vidyās. [A.40.a] After completing the recitations this rite will, without doubt, accomplish all activities. Padmapāṇi,770 who always grants boons to beings, will cherish the vidyā holder who always keeps the teachers of the world in his heart. The vidyā holder’s store of merit will increase a hundred thousand times, as if he were in the presence of thousands of millions of buddhas equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. He will accumulate the roots of virtue and will accomplish the deeds of the Buddha.
“Learned vidyā holders should fast and remain focused on their recitation. Whether they are a monk or nun, [Tiii.45] or a male or female lay practitioner, they will be able to swiftly travel to Sukhāvatī and be freed from afflictions and unbearable pain and suffering. They will, at all times, be able to see the buddhas and the bodhisattvas. Of this there is no doubt.
“I will now explain the recitation procedure of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa as required for the rite. If the vidyā holder performs the ritual recitation, he will obtain the true accomplishments of a vidyādhara. [F.74.b] Using cow dung, he should build a complete four-sided maṇḍala in front of an image of Amoghapāśa. Using powdered conch and gold,771 he should trace the shapes of the four corners and the four doors and, in the center, another quadrangle with four sides. He should then draw the supreme maṇḍala, a hundred-petaled lotus, out of white sandalwood and scatter saffron on it. In the middle of the lotus’ pericarp he should place a pitcher772 filled with scented water and mustard seeds. Burning incense of agarwood, he should place full jars around the maṇḍala, decorate them with various flowers, and place four bowls773 with the welcome offering of water.
“The vidyā holder should make himself ritually pure, wear clean clothes, and observe the ritual fast. He should live on the three ‘white’ foods and perform three ablutions at the three junctions of the day. He should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times at the three junctions of the day. Seated in a cross-legged position before Noble Avalokiteśvara, he should display the mudrā of recitation while holding a rosary of beads with the index and the middle finger extended. Calm and collected, he should focus his mind on compassion. In a state of meditation, with a balanced body and tranquil gaze, he should recite while refraining from speaking any other words.
“The moment he begins his recitation, the ground will quake violently. He should form the mudrā of Amoghapāśa and bow in greeting,774 after which there will be a great earthquake. He must not be afraid but, with a steady mind, wholly focus on compassion for all beings. He should fix his gaze on the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa and recite the Krodharāja mantra seven times.775 As soon as seven recitations are completed, there will be a violent shaking and roaring. Rays of light will issue from the forehead of Noble Avalokiteśvara and shine everywhere. [F.75.a]
“The vidyā holder, [Tiii.46] his heart filled with tremendous joy, will smile. With goose bumps from rapturous delight, he will look up at the face of the Lord. As soon as he looks up, the right face of the noble lord Avalokiteśvara will say ‘Good!’ as he looks around. As soon as the word ‘good!’ is heard, all the vidyā holder’s obscurations will be purified, and his body will be replete with great purity. He will accumulate roots of virtue equal to that of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, and all bodhisattvas will be willing to see him. His body will be soft, supple, and tender, his hair will become curly, and his speech will be pleasant and sweet. His vision will be purified, as will his body and mind. [A.40.b] His grey hair will disappear. He will also attain the samādhi called the pure perception of all beings. Before dawn, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear in person and give him comfort.
“He will place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head and grant him every boon, including the ability to travel through space, become invisible, possess the divine eye, see buddha fields, attain samādhi, attain dhāraṇī, and find success in the rites connected to the essence of Amoghapāśa. He will also be granted the ability to explain scientific treatises and mantras, to remember what he has heard, and to explain the location of treasure or mineral deposits. He will gain the ability to work magic, visit divine776 realms, enter terrestrial passages and the abodes of nāgas, describe any realm, summon yakṣas or rākṣasas, raise vetālas, [F.75.b] enter inaccessible forests or mountains, enter cities, and identify and use medicinal herbs. He will be able to become a sword vidyādhara, a siddha vidyādhara, or a wheel-turning monarch and to obtain a kingdom, a country, or the position of the governor of a country. He will be able to crush great armies, work as spy,777 or dive deep into the ocean. Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant all of this [Tiii.47] and will help him accomplish every task. He will protect the vidyā holder wherever and in whatever way is required, and he will purify the five acts of immediate retribution. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra continuously, he will attain the samādhi called removing impediments to seeing all beings.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the magical eye ointment, he should place some realgar paste in a copper vessel on the eighth day of the bright fortnight, trace a maṇḍala with sandalwood powder in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara, and place the vessel there. Bathed and wearing clean clothes, he should sit in a cross-legged position facing Noble Avalokiteśvara and recite the mantra. He should create a protective boundary by bringing to mind the Krodharāja mantra seven times while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. He should live on the three ‘white’ foods. Vidyā holders—sons or daughters of the Buddha’s family—should observe the eight limbs of the one-day fast before engaging in mantra recitation.
“As soon as the vidyā holder has completed the recitation, the paste in the vessel will begin to blaze and emit smoke and foam. Once it has heated up and foamed, he should take it and anoint his eyes with it. He will magically ascend into the sky and will see all the buddha fields and all the tathāgatas and buddhas in the ten directions. He will become a great emperor of the vidyādharas. He will see all underground passages and dwellings open wide, and he will see all treasures rise to the surface. He will watch as the gates to all the palaces in the god realms open, and he will be able to enter whichever one he wants. [F.76.a] He will be invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, grahas, and other nonhuman and human beings, as well as to his opponents and adversaries.
“On the eighth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days of the lunar fortnight, he should recite the mantra one thousand and eight times without speaking any other words and while seated in a cross-legged position in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara. As soon as he completes the recitation, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in person in his divine form and place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head. The vidyā holder will then attain the samādhi called the wondrous display of the immaculately arising gaze778 and will obtain the magical power called the splendorous display magically created by the gaze of all the tathāgatas. His lifespan will be extended to one thousand divine eons.
“Having obtained a divine form, the vidyā holder will be able to see all the tathāgatas. The Tathāgata Amitāyus, the worthy, fully realized Buddha, [A.41.a] [Tiii.48] will induct him into the true Dharma.779 All the bodhisattva great beings who dwell in the realm of Sukhāvatī will approach him and attend upon him. He will obtain a divine form, his hair will become wavy and curly, and he will acquire a palatial residence called The Resplendence and Purity of a Lotus.780
“If the vidyā holder wants to have a body with a diamond core, he should fill a pitcher with scented water and incant it with the mantra sixty-two thousand times781 in front of the image of the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara while fasting for one day and one night. He should then perform ablutions with the water from the pitcher. As soon as he does, his body will be as if made from diamond. All the tathāgatas will look upon him, and his lifespan will increase to one thousand divine years. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas,782 and grahas will fall under his thrall. All gods and nāgas will manifest783 and perform all his worldly duties. [F.76.b]
“As soon as the vidyā holder recalls something or has a particular idea, all the grahas and apasmāras will come and tell him everything there is to know: whether something is true or untrue, real or unreal, or proper or improper, whether it has happened or not, whether it can be increased by magic, or whether it will bring comfort and prosperity784—they will tell him all of this. They will perform all these and other necessary duties. Like servants, they are ready to perform any task.
“Now, if the vidyā holder wants to ascend through all the worlds, one by one, and bring all of them under his control; if he wants to liberate all hell beings, animals, and the inhabitants of the realm of Yama; if he wants to attain the samādhi called the magical display of the amogha wisdom; if he wants to accomplish the maṇḍala of liberation; or if he wants to successfully perform the rites of the essence of Amoghapāśa or the great rites of the essence of Amoghapāśa,785 he should make individual images of Noble Avalokiteśvara in his form of Amoghapāśa.
“The figure786 should be adorned with a topknot and a diadem and should wear a garment made from the skin of a black antelope as worn by Paśupati and all ornamentation. The figure should be sitting either in a cross-legged posture or in the manner of the bodhisattva Sudhana, with his right knee raised and his left on the ground. [Tiii.49] It should have the face of Krodharāja, with an upward gaze and the six arms characteristic of his wrathful form. Amitābha should be at the top of its diadem, and it should be adorned with all types of ornaments. All the figures should have relics inside them. They should be placed on a lotus seat on top of a mountain.
“Ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, the vidyā holder should fast for one day and one night, without even drinking. He should sip the five products of the cow, consecrate himself by sprinkling himself with water and mustard seeds, and gaze out with a heart overflowing with compassion. Because the ritual will succeed even if it is only read and not properly performed, [F.77.a] why speak of what will happen if the recitation and ritual actions are complete?
“Vidyā holders—be they a monk or nun, male or female lay practitioner, king or queen—who wants to see and worship the tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas, who are equal in number to the eighty-eight million grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river; who want to plant many roots of virtue for themself and for all beings; and who want to purify all evil787 should follow this procedure:
“The vidyā holder should make, according to his means, a golden figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa [A.41.b] and install it facing east. Using saffron, he should draw a four-sided maṇḍala that is well measured and outlined with vermillion. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should draw a garland of lotuses, in the center of which should be placed a pitcher of water and a rosary.788 He should adorn it with various flowers and place around it four jars that are filled with scented water and decorated with flowers to the extent his means allow. He should add five bowls of offering water, burn agarwood incense in five incense holders, and light sixteen lamps filled with scented oil. He should worship Noble Avalokiteśvara with offerings of flowers, incense, fragrances, and garlands.
“Facing the Lokeśvara,789 the vidyā holder should sit in a cross-legged position, display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa, [Tiii.50] and consecrate himself by bringing the mantra of Krodharāja to mind one time. Imagining the tathāgatas in the ten directions, he should bow to them and mentally pay them homage. Forming the recitation mudrā, he should recite the mantra. [F.77.b] After one hundred and eight repetitions the ground will shake violently, thrilling the vidyā holder, who will then perceive himself blazing with light. All the tathāgatas will reveal their faces to him. Noble Avalokiteśvara’s topknot will blaze with light from within, and the word ‘good!’ will resound.
“After the vidyā holder completes the second round of one hundred and eight recitations, he will witness a sign of his profound accomplishment: Noble Avalokiteśvara will extend his hand and place it on the vidyā holder’s head. The vidyā holder will obtain the samādhi called the direct perception of all the tathāgatas and will become the holder of the vidyā of Amoghapāśa. The tathāgatas will appear to the vidyā holder before dawn and show him all buddha fields. He will plant the roots of virtue of all the tathāgatas.
“After the vidyā holder completes the third round of one hundred and eight recitations, Avalokiteśvara will appear before him in the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara when the sky turns pink before dawn. He will give the vidyā holder a noose called stainless lotus and will grant him every accomplishment. Amitābha, the victorious one, will also applaud him, saying ‘Good!’
“Anyone who sees the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara will plant the roots of virtue equal to those of sixty-four thousand tathāgatas.790 All the gods, headed by Brahmā and including Īśvara and Maheśvara, will always wish to see the vidyā holder. They will free him of all disease, grant him every boon, and always be nearby to guard, protect, and defend him. The vidyā holder will be free from all evil.791 [B8] [F.78.a] [F.78.b]
“Alternatively, the vidyā holder should make a silver figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa just like the previous one and prepare a maṇḍala using white sandalwood powder. In it he should place a vase filled with water scented with white sandalwood and surround it with five dishes with the water offering. He should scatter a variety of flowers and burn incense made of white sandalwood. He should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and light forty-two lamps with scented oil.792 He should arrange four793 incense burners [Tiii.51] and bring to mind the Krodharāja mantra twenty-one times.
“The vidyā holder, ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, should display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa seven times and form the mudrā of recitation. Sitting in a cross-legged posture, he should extend the index finger of his left hand, formed into the shape of a lotus, and count one hundred and eight recitations.794 When one hundred and eight recitations have been completed, the word ‘good!’ will resound from the eastern direction, and the vidyā holder will get goose bumps. The king and all ministers along with their harems [A.42.a] and retinues will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and will come from a thousand leagues away at the mere mention of their names. They will remain in the vidyā holder’s service, eager to perform their assigned tasks and do whatever they are told to do. [F.79.a] The vidyā holder will become a widely venerated, powerful lord.
“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred and eight times for a second time, Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera,795 and other gods will fall under his thrall, follow his commands, and do what is asked of them. The four kings with their retinues of yakṣas and rākṣasas796 will also fall under his thrall. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred and eight times for a third time, the moon and the sun will descend from the sky and come before him. The deities of the night and the deities of space will descend and come before him, eager to carry out his orders. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred and eight times for a fourth time, all nāgas, including all the nāga kings in the ocean headed by Nanda and Upananda, will fall under his thrall.
“Alternatively, the vidyā holder should make a copper figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa and prepare a maṇḍala using red797 sandalwood powder. He should scatter red flowers and place four incense burners around it to offer incense. He should also light fifty-two butter lamps and arrange five dishes with offering water as offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara. He should mindfully repeat the Krodharāja mantra twenty-one times and display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa the same number of times. Sitting cross-legged in front of the cloth painting and [Tiii.52] taking all beings into consideration, he should focus his mind on all the tathāgatas and look to the four directions with loving kindness. He should think about all the hell beings, the beings in the world of Yama, and the asura and preta realms. He should turn his attention to beings in the eight great hells and look upon them with compassion.
“Forming the lotus-shaped mudrā of recitation, he should begin reciting. When he has completed one hundred and eight recitations, the four directions will quake and roar with sound. [F.79.b] All hell beings will be liberated as the gates of all the hells break open, fall away, and are reduced to ash. All hell beings will take favorable rebirths and be entirely free of suffering until their ultimate and final awakening. Their bodies will be adorned with the auspicious marks of a divine being, and any beings who look upon them will be established irreversibly on the path to awakening.
“After the second round of one hundred and eight recitations, all the blind beings living in darkness in the subterranean worlds798 will be freed from that darkness through the power of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and begin to radiate light. All these beings will be liberated and instantly reborn in the realm of Noble Avalokiteśvara, where they will be free from aging and dying until they reach the ultimate, final awakening. The vidyā holder will attain the samādhi called stainlessly pure, arising everywhere majestically, and will live for an eon. Upon his death, he will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī and will remain at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara, completely free from all sorrow until ultimate and final awakening.
“The vidyā holder should grind white sandalwood, musk, camphor, and various other fragrant substances into a fine powder and mix them with olibanum, the sap of sal tree, myrrh, and water. He should then add molasses and mix them well. Using this mixture, he should make a figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara eight fingers799 tall and adorned with all the ornaments. [A.42.b] It should have a diadem on its topknot and be dressed in the skin of the black antelope as worn by Paśupati.800 [Tiii.53] The first of its four hands should hold a lotus; the second, a noose; the third, a spear; and the fourth should display the gesture of comfort. The figure should sit on a lotus seat and radiate a six-foot halo801 of light. A figure of Noble Tārā should be to the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa, and one of Vimalamati802 to the left. Krodharāja should be below the Lokeśvara,803 [F.80.a] and the victorious Amitābha should be above him.
“The vidyā holder should be ritually pure and put on clean clothes. From the eighth day of the lunar fortnight to the fifteenth he should perform ablutions at the three junctions of the day, change his clothes three times a day, and recite the mantra three times a day, one hundred and eight times each. He should smear the maṇḍala with various fragrant substances and draw a boundary with a five-colored line. In the center of the maṇḍala he should paint the vidyā deity Amoghapāśa804 with one knee down on the ground and his gaze directed upward. In the four corners he should paint, respectively, Īśvara, Maheśvara, Yama, and Varuṇa. The maṇḍala should have four gateways.805
“The vidyā holder should place vessels filled with fragrances in the four corners, and at the four gates he should place vessels filled with a bali made of aromatic substances, as well as a bali consisting of the three ‘white’ foods. He should also set up eight dishes with argha water, scatter a variety of flowers, burn incense made of agarwood, light one hundred and twenty-eight lamps with scented oil, and adorn the maṇḍala with banners. Facing east, he should make offerings to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the maṇḍala.806 He should fashion a five-colored cord that is sixteen cubits long and woven with gold at one end and pearls at the other. He should then wind it like a snake and place it in the center of the maṇḍala.
“He should be ritually pure and put on clean clothes. Sitting in a cross-legged posture and facing the maṇḍala, he should display the noose mudrā of Amoghapāśa thirty-two times as a rite of self-protection. He should then bind the maṇḍala and the directions by reciting the Krodharāja mantra one hundred and eight times. Then, with a broad smile on his face, he should form the mudrā of recitation and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times, incanting a single mustard seed with each recitation and casting it upon the cord. He should do this without speaking. [Tiii.54] [F.80.b] When the number one thousand and eight has been reached, the cord will blaze, radiating light of various colors. The word ‘good!’ will issue forth: ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder, that you have accomplished the noose of Amoghapāśa. You will accomplish every activity while holding it. Having won the supreme accomplishment807 of the wish-fulfilling jewel-noose, you will accomplish all worldly and supramundane activities.’
“Noble Avalokiteśvara will then blaze with light, and from the Lokeśvara’s body a great cloud of fragrance will issue out and spread six leagues. Anyone who merely smells this fragrance will be cured of all diseases and freed from all pain, obscurations, kākhordas, and poison.808 They will all disappear after applying the powder.809 Their bodies will become free from all impurity,810 and they will be established irreversibly on the path to awakening.
“The vidyā holder should then pick up this wish-fulfilling jewel-noose, put it in a copper box, and place it at the feet of the image of Noble Avalokiteśvara. Whenever there is a task to perform, the vidyā holder should bathe, make himself ritually pure, and then take the jewel noose and do what is to be done. If the vidyā holder worships the noose every day at each of the three junctions of the day, he will be able to ascend into the sky, where, completely pure in his body and mind, he will play with those who had previously become vidyādharas, who will all fall under his thrall. [A.43.a] His lifespan will increase to one thousand years, and when he dies, he will, as is his destiny, be spontaneously reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī from the pericarp of a lotus flower. Until reaching ultimate and final awakening, he will be a great emperor of all vidyādharas, with a lifespan of one hundred thousand eons. Those beings who merely see this image of Noble Avalokiteśvara will be freed from the results of the five acts of immediate retribution and other such offenses. [F.81.a]
“The vidyā holder should incant jasmine flowers one hundred and eight times and offer them to Noble Avalokiteśvara one at a time and accompanied by a single recitation of the mantra. When he has completed one hundred and eight recitations, the king and all his ministers, along with their harems and retinues, will fall under his thrall. They themselves will become the vidyā holder’s servants, eager to perform tasks for him and serve him with their gold, grain, and male and female servants.
“The vidyā holder should take the jasmine flowers that were discarded after the offering, mix them with mahaleb cherry,811 and grind them into a fine powder together with crepe jasmine, costus812 root, saffron, spikenard, sāmaka,813 fenugreek, nalada,814 myrrh, and mustard seeds. [Tiii.55] A pill made from this powder mixed with rainwater is the best medicine.815 Known as lotus, it primarily brings glory and fame but will also cure all diseases such as fever, skin eruptions, boils, rashes, scabies, leprosy, and festering abscesses. As taught by the sages,816 all these diseases will be easily cured after being anointed with the pill infusion, and all evil will be cleared away after bathing in it. This pill prolongs life and brings prosperity to kings.817
“If the vidyā holder makes a bindi with the infusion and goes into battle, he will always be victorious. The wearer of such a bindi will be delightful to women. This is the ultimate enthrallment. And, as the Lokeśvara has said, all those who apply the powder—whether in the form of a bindi or ointment, or if they eat it or bathe in it—will easily overcome the problems in this world caused by kākhordas, poisons, garas, or the magic involving poisonous powders or mantras. For headache, the pill can be applied as an ointment for the head, and for eye pain, as an ointment for the eyes.818 It can be held in the mouth for toothaches, taken with warm water for abdominal pain, and rubbed in with ghee for pain in the flanks. One should use the ointment mixed with ghee. For aches in the body or limbs, it can be rubbed evenly into the affected area.
“For effecting enthrallment, the vidyā holder should anoint the palm of his hand. In the case of serious illness, he should rub the ointment on his body and then bathe. To destroy yakṣas and grahas, he should burn the pill as incense while holding it in his hand;819 he will then be freed from all grahas.820 [F.81.b] To counter the harmful influence of mudrās,821 he should make a bindi mark on the crown of the head. For diseases of the heart, he should mix the pill with hot water and salt. To pacify grahas,822 he should add three measures823 of parched rice; this will pacify them completely. In each case, the vidyā holder should incant the ingredients with the mantra twenty-one times.
“In the event of any quarrels, disputes, contests, or disagreements, the vidyā holder should draw a maṇḍala with cow dung,824 scatter flowers, and arrange four bowls with scented powders,825 four bowls filled with milk, four bowls with argha water, and four incense burners lit with agarwood and olibanum. He should also burn frankincense that has been incanted twenty-one times. He should then make offerings to a figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara made from fragrant substances.826 Having incanted mustard seeds by reciting the Krodharāja one hundred and eight times, he should cast the seeds in the four directions. He should mindfully repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ninety-one times. He will then emerge victorious in all quarrels, disputes, contests, and squabbles. He will also win all battles and armed conflicts, defeating all four divisions of every army, including his own and the enemy’s. If he can win over Śakra827 together with the asuras, what need is there to mention ordinary humans? [Tiii.56]
“If the vidyā holder wants to summon Śakra, he should incant lotus flowers one hundred and eight times and offer them one by one to the figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara made of fragrant substances while reciting Śakra’s name.828 He should offer one hundred and eight oblations of mustard seeds, bdellium, and ghee, incanting each with the mantra. To do this, he should make fire with the sticks of giant milkweed [A.43.b] and perform this rite on the fourteenth lunar day, before the full moon. When the vidyā holder has completed the recitation procedure, Śakra, the king of gods, will descend with his army and appear before the vidyā holder, ready to carry out his orders. They will all fall under his thrall. Śakra will give him anything he asks for, including the rank of Śakra, without hesitation.829
“Placing his foot on a figure of Brahmā, the vidyā holder should recite the mantra one hundred and eight times. When he has reached this number, Brahmā will appear before him in person and offer any boon, granting whatever the vidyā holder wishes. [F.82.a] To summon Nārāyaṇa, the vidyā holder should incant bdellium ninety times and offer it to Nārāyaṇa as incense, along with water and mustard seeds incanted twenty-one times.830 Nārāyaṇa will appear before the vidyā holder in person and will perform all his tasks. He will grant him a great variety of forms and give him control over Hiraṇyakaśipu.831 The vidyā holder will obtain the powerful force of the great Nārāyaṇa.
“Gazing at the face of a figure of Maheśvara,832 the vidyā holder should incant the figure’s right ear one hundred and eight times with the mantra and sprinkle its head with mustard seeds incanted twenty-one times.833 He should also burn incense of bdellium and offer argha water for washing the feet incanted seven times. At that moment, the figure of Maheśvara will begin to move, and the word ‘good!’ will sound. The god will then appear before the vidyā holder in person, he and his retinue will all fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall, and Maheśvara will fulfill all wishes and grant every boon.
“If the vidyā holder wants to summon Mahākāla, he should burn bdellium incense incanted with the mantra one hundred and eight times and offer blood and wine. He should incant mustard seeds twenty-one times and sprinkle them on top of an image of Mahākāla.834 Mahākāla will then be summoned, and like a servant he will perform all kinds of duties. He will go wherever he is commanded, as will his retinue and followers. [Tiii.57] The vidyā holder will find all the doors to yakṣa dwellings open, and he will be able to do whatever he wants. All the grasses will be well disposed to him,835 and all yakṣas will love him and perform all his tasks.
“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra twenty-one times at the three junctions of the night836 without saying any other words, the deities of the night together with their retinues and followers will all fall under his thrall. This includes beings active during the day or at night, such as devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other nonhuman and human beings. They will perform every task. They will all remain close to the vidyā holder at all times and will provide him with palaces to use for his nightly pleasure. [F.82.b]
“The vidyā holder should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, be thoroughly bathed, speak the truth, cultivate loving thoughts, and always maintain kindness for all beings. Filled with great compassion, he should recite the mantra continually.
“This concludes the section on the recitation procedure.
“Now I will teach the homa rite that accomplishes every activity, both the auspicious activities of pacifying and nourishing and the activities of assault. This rite affords protection, removes all diseases, destroys the kākhordas, and enthralls without fail. If the vidyā holder wants to protect his home, he should smear lotus petals with mustard oil, make fire with the sticks of giant milkweed, and offer one hundred and eight oblations of the lotus petals while reciting the heart mantra one hundred and eight times. When that is complete, the vidyā holder should recite the Krodharāja mantra seven times. This will ensure effective protection of the house. All quarrels, disagreements, contests, and disputes will cease. All adversaries and opponents, all diseases, fevers, [A.44.a] misfortunes, calamities, and catastrophes, as well as all grahas, famines, disasters, pestilences, and plagues, will be completely pacified for every woman, man, boy, and girl. All deities will be on hand to guard, protect, and defend the vidyā holder. Īśvara and Maheśvara will always follow him, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him whenever the vidyā holder wants to see him.
“If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations of ghee, mustard seeds, and bdellium, the entire realm—its cities, towns, villages, and settlements—will enjoy great peace.837 [Tiii.58] If, during the full moon, the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations of fragrant white flowers—such as mahaleb cherry838 or crepe jasmine—smeared with mustard oil while in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the king and his ministers with their harems and retinues will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall, as will the inhabitants of the cities, towns, villages, hamlets, and settlements, and elephants, horses, cattle, and buffalo.
“If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations of white flowers smeared with curds, honey, and ghee into a fire made with sticks of chaff flower,839 [F.83.a] he will obtain one thousand villages. If he offers one thousand and eight oblations of lotus stalks smeared with curds, honey, and ghee840 while in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara, he will obtain one hundred and eight dinars before the night is through. If he makes the fire of cutch wood and offers into it one thousand and eight oblations of white lilies with stalks, roots, and leaves smeared with mustard oil, he will be freed from all the vināyakas.
“On the eighth day of the bright fortnight, the vidyā holder, observing a fast, should make himself ritually pure, bathe, and wear white clothes. He should offer one thousand and eight oblations of sandalwood and beautyberry841 sticks smeared with ghee and mustard oil. At midnight, a yakṣiṇī will arrive and offer five thousand pieces of silver.
“On the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, the vidyā holder, having fasted for one day and one night, should go to the bank of a river that empties into the ocean and make a fire using wood of the wood-apple tree. He should offer one thousand and eight oblations of wood-apple flowers smeared with ghee and honey into the fire until, at midnight, a yakṣa girl arrives, adorned with every ornament and holding a box full of jewels. The vidyā holder should grasp that box without looking at the yakṣiṇī’s face and further recite the mantra one hundred and eight times. She will drop the box at her feet and say, ‘Vidyā holder, I am dying!’ He should then incant the box with the Krodharāja mantra twenty-one times. Subsequently, whenever there is a task to perform, he should recite the mantra at midnight one hundred and eight times. The yakṣiṇī will then arrive and will perform every task. She will go wherever commanded and act as his servant.842
“On the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, the vidyā holder should go to the place where treasure is hidden, recite the mantra one thousand and eight times, and offer a bali according to procedure. He should make offerings to Noble Amogharāja and make one thousand and eight oblations of jasmine flowers, fruits, petals,843 and mustard seeds mixed with ghee. [Tiii.59] [F.83.b] Having incanted water and mustard seeds twenty-one times, he should throw them forcefully to the ground.844 All treasures will then rise to the surface, and the vidyā holder should take them, offering one part to the Three Jewels and keeping the rest for himself.
“If the vidyā holder makes a fire with the wood of beleric myrobalan and offers into it one thousand and eight oblations of sesame and rice smeared with ghee, the king, his harem and retinue, and his entire army with its four divisions will come under the vidyā holder’s control, as will their money, grain, refined gold, and gold bullion. They will remain under his control for as long as he lives. If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations of white mustard, champak flowers,845 and lotus flowers smeared with ghee, all the inhabitants of the realm—women, men, boys, and girls—will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall. [A.44.b] If he offers ninety-one oblations of rice chaff with salt, the people of all four castes will fall under his thrall.
“The vidyā holder should make fire with the wood of hummingbird tree and offer into it one thousand and eight oblations of flowers of giant milkwood smeared with honey and ghee. If he makes offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara, he will obtain one hundred dinars every single day. If he offers one thousand oblations of parched rice into a fire kindled with sticks from a flame-of-the-forest tree,846 he will obtain one thousand pieces of gold.847 Any portion of it that he offers to the Three Jewels will be restored to him.
“On the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, after fasting for a full day and night, the vidyā holder should wade waist deep into the water of a river that flows to the ocean848 and recite the mantra one hundred and eight times. He should then incant mustard seeds twenty-one times and angrily throw them into the water. A girl will emerge from the water and give the vidyā holder many jewels. He should take them and offer one half to the Three Jewels and to Noble Avalokiteśvara.
“On the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, the day of the full moon, the vidyā holder should make offerings to Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara after fasting for a full day and night. [F.84.a] He should then offer one thousand oblations of chaff-flower sticks smeared with honey, ghee, and the resin of the sal tree, and recite the mantra one hundred and eight times while focusing on his own name.849 All his evil deeds and obscurations will be cleared away, all diseases and ailments will be cured, and all his opponents and adversaries will be defeated. [Tiii.60]
“If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations with sticks of giant milkweed, sesame, and rice grains smeared with agarwood and ghee, the rite will effect great pacification. If he offers one hundred and eight oblations of parched rice mixed with milk, mustard seeds, ghee, and white sandalwood, it will be a most excellent and auspicious rite for nourishing. For rites of assault, the vidyā holder should offer, on the fourteenth lunar day of the lunar fortnight, oleander flowers mixed with seven kinds of salt into a fire of thorny sticks smeared with pungent oils.850 At times of drought he should also offer one hundred and eight oblations of lotus, sandalwood, and mustard seeds smeared with ghee that have been incanted twenty-one times with the mantra. Then, after mindfully repeating the Krodharāja mantra seven times, a heavy rain will fall for as long as the vidyā holder demands.
“If the vidyā holder takes some ashes after this homa offering, incants them twenty-one times, and throws them into the air, any excessive rain will stop. If he casts the ashes in the four directions, he will create a great protective boundary. If he casts the ashes in the direction of a cloud, all wind and hail will cease. The vidyā holder can paralyze an army with a homa of sesame and rice. He can repel an enemy army with a homa of using seven kinds of seeds and find terrestrial passages with a homa of pataṅga sandalwood.851 If he offers oblations of the leaves of giant milkweed smeared with ghee, all the doors to such passages will open. If he wants to enter a forest, he should offer oblations of white water lilies, crepe jasmine, and mustard seeds smeared with ghee. All access points into the forest will open, and all the medicinal substances and herbs will come before the vidyā holder in their respective forms.
“If the vidyā holder makes fire with flame-of-the-forest852 wood and offers one thousand and eight oblations of black pepper, [F.84.b] gods such as Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara853 will descend to earth and come before the vidyā holder. If he offers one thousand and eight854 oblations of globe amaranth flowers,855 karnikara flowers,856 and blue lotus flowers, Candra and Sūrya will descend and grant the vidyā holder every boon. He will also be capable of sky travel.857
“If the vidyā holder makes fire with the sticks of rājavṛkṣa858 and at the three junctions of the day over the period of seven days offers twenty-one oblations of dill flowers, wild asparagus flowers, pataṅga sandalwood,859 mustard seeds, and barley grains smeared with ghee, the king, his harem, and his retinue will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall. If the vidyā holder wants to repel all bhūtas, grahas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas, he should offer oblations of rice grains, mustard seeds, and salt. In all these rites he should display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. In each rite he should also employ the mudrā of the lord of wrath and mindfully repeat his mantra.
“This has been the homa procedure. [A.45.a] [Tiii.61]
“I will now teach the painting procedure from the great sovereign ritual,860 the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. Through merely seeing this painting, even someone who has committed five acts of immediate retribution and is bound for rebirth in the depths of the Avīci hell will be purified. The canvas should be two cubits square and have an uncut fringe and no loose threads. It should be compact,861 smooth, clean, and square in shape. The painter should observe a vow of silence and maintain a fast. He should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, subsist on the three ‘white’ foods, and bathe three times a day. He should use uncontaminated paints kept in new containers, and a clean, new brush.
“Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa should be painted either standing, sitting, or sitting in a cross-legged posture. His topknot is adorned with a diadem, and he wears a black antelope skin, is attired like Paśupati, and is adorned with all ornaments. He has sixteen arms and a peaceful countenance, and he smiles with both his mouth and eyes. He is crowned by Amitābha, the victorious one. The face facing south has a crescent moon on its topknot.
“One pair of his hands are raised and display the vajra-añjali gesture in the shape of a lotus. The next, lower pair display the mudrā called facing everywhere. [F.85.a] The third pair of hands display the mudrā of recitation with the right index finger extended. They form the shape of a lotus, within which rests a string of beads. The fourth pair displays the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. The first of the remaining hands holds a trident; the second, a lotus; the third, a volume on Amoghapāśa; the fourth, the unfailing noose itself; the fifth displays the gesture of comfort; the sixth holds a small pot; the seventh holds a casket filled with various jewels; and the eighth holds a vase with various flowers.
“The figure is adorned with a halo of light extending for one fathom,862 and its body is beautified with various flowers of vivid colors. The painter should draw a palace atop Potala Mountain,863 one that is well proportioned, has four corners and four pillars, and shines as a wonder of the world.864 It is inlaid with various colorful jewels, adorned with garlands of lotuses and diamonds, and decorated with a variety of flowers and the fronds of banana trees. A sun should be drawn in the upper right, and a moon in the upper left. The gods of the Pure Abode should be drawn worshiping the Lord with various flowers and streamers of silk in their hands.865
“Potala Mountain should be drawn in the shape of a lotus, including its seed pods and stalk. [Tiii.62] It should be adorned with lotus ponds teeming with fish and lakes full of fantastic sea creatures, swans, cranes, partridges, and ducks. Atop this mountain made of various jewels and gems is a lotus seat flanked by lion seats. Outside the temple-dwelling, on a seat to the right, is Īśvara; on the seat outside and to the left is Maheśvara, adorned with every ornament.
“On the inside, to the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara, is Noble Tārā, her body bowed and exhibiting modesty. To his left is Vimalamati,866 displaying the gesture of giving comfort. She is opulent in appearance and sits on her knees. On the pericarp of the lotus is Krodharāja. He should be drawn in a wrathful form with the four implements in his four hands: [F.85.b] a noose, sword,867 trident, and lotus. He sits in the ardhaparyaṅka posture on a lotus seat, his body bowing slightly.
“Above Noble Avalokiteśvara’s head, to the right and left, are the sages praising him. Below him,868 to the right and left, is Mahāvajraśikhara with a vajra and noose in his hands,869 as well as Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Vāsava, and a host of gods. To the right, in the middle of a lotus lake,870 are Śakra and Brahmā. To the left are the Four Great Kings [A.45.b] wearing armor.
“Below them is a dūtī named Padmakulasundarī, whose hands are raised, as well as Śrī, Sarasvatī, Bhīmā, the deities of the night, the deities of the earth, and the deities of crops. Bhṛkuṭī is next to Īśvara, and Pāṇḍaravāsinī is next to Maheśvara. The rākṣasī Ekajaṭā should be drawn surrounded by dūtīs. Adjacent to the four corners is a mountain871 studded with the seven types of jewels and covered in various trees and vines. It is adorned with flowers and lotus lakes, bestrewn with various flowers, and teeming with lion cubs, tiger cubs, and young kumbhāṇḍas and nāgas.872
“The five great guhyakas should be drawn on the left side of the canvas, and the five great nāga kings873 at the bottom. They should be drawn all around the base of the mountain, holding various flowers and jewels in their hands and looking up at the Lord. The vidyā holder874 should be kneeling at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara, [Tiii.63] holding flowers and an incense burner and looking upward at the face of the Lord. The great sages should be drawn at the top of the canvas: the victor Amitābha, the Lord of the Śākyas, and the Tathāgata Lokendrarāja.
“Through merely seeing this cloth painting, the karma to be reborn in the Avīci hell, accumulated over one hundred thousand births, as well as the karma of the five acts of immediate retribution, will be entirely eradicated. All beings with this karma will be completely released, so what need is there to speak of beings who are pure, [F.86.a] have faith and conviction, and are eager to worship the Three Jewels. In this life they will attain the supreme result and will have great fortune. The vidyā holder will generate the same roots of virtue as he would in the presence of tathāgatas equal in number to the hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. Such roots of virtue will be transferred to him.
“After merely a sincere glance at this cloth painting, which embodies the essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa, Noble Avalokiteśvara will keep the vidyā holder in his heart and appear to him in person. The moment the vidyā holder cries out pitifully, Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa will turn his attention to him and grant him every boon so that the vidyā holder will accomplish the heart dhāraṇī of Amogharāja.875 Any seriously ill person, anyone severely affected by disease, and even someone afflicted by hundreds of thousands of ailments will be freed from every disease, pain, and ailment merely by looking at the painting. They will be free of all obscuration and disease, and even those reborn as animals will be freed from their condition by merely by looking at the painting.
“If the vidyā holder carries this cloth painting adorned with parasols, banners, and flags into a capital city, a royal household, a monastery, a settled community, a house, or a village while accompanied by a large retinue that honors it with many offerings and plays music with tūryas and tāḍāvas,876 then all the quarrels, disputes, contests, disagreements, famines, disasters, pestilences, and all danger from foreign and domestic armies will be completely pacified as soon as the cloth painting is brought in. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, pūtanas, kaṭapūtanas, skandas,877 apasmāras, [F.86.b] and chāyās will be completely pacified. The entire population will experience great comfort, abundance of food, pleasures, [Tiii.64] and happiness. They will be very pleased and content and will pursue the six perfections.
“Anyone who merely beholds this cloth painting will, upon departing this world, be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī; [A.46.a] they will be on course to be reborn in Sukhāvatī.878 They will be able to remember their previous lives, going back seventy thousand eons, and will attain the samādhi never before attained by great bodhisattva beings called the king of purity with the splendor of an immaculate lotus. The vidyā holder who beholds this painting will become the vidyādhara-emperor with the name Standing on a Lotus.
“This concludes the section on the painting procedure. [Tiv.14]
“The vidyā holder should go to a riverbank, a lotus lake, or a flower garden with a lotus pond, fruit orchards, and fine pavilions, find an empty place there, and thoroughly clean an area on the ground.880 The place should be free from clumps of grass and from hair, chaff, ashes, coals, clumps of dirt, gravel, grit, sand, pebbles, bone pieces, skull bones, skeletons, dead bodies, and carcasses. There should be a pond or a stream there, its water flowing from the north. The site should be idyllic and near to water. It should be a bright, pleasant place full of color.
“Once he has found such a place, the vidyā holder should incant water and mustard seeds and cast them around—this is the supreme site purification. By incanting mustard seeds twenty-one times with the Krodharāja mantra and casting them in the four directions, the vidyā holder will bind the directions, bind the sacred area, and create a protective boundary with the radius of one hundred leagues. At that very instant, all the prying intruders, miscreants, vighnas, and vināyakas will disappear, dispersing into the ten directions. [F.87.a] Any wicked being, such as those with wicked intent or any wicked wild animal, will be pacified, and all deities will protect the area.
“At this site, the wise vidyā holder should lay out a square maṇḍala measuring thirty-two cubits square. Its four corners should be regular and symmetrical, and it should have four doors and four gateways. He should draw this maṇḍala using five-colored powders881 and demarcate its sides using five-colored threads and pegs of white sandalwood. He should demarcate and draw this supreme maṇḍala on the auspicious day of the lunar fortnight, the eighth or the fifteenth, during an auspicious asterism. He should draw the white line first, the red line second, the yellow line third, the sky-blue line fourth, and the kohl-black line fifth.
“In the center, the skilled vidyā holder should draw the inner maṇḍala that is well proportioned and symmetrical. He should use a new brush and a new [Tiv.15] container.882 Within this inner maṇḍala he should draw a lotus flower with one thousand petals and a surrounding rim. Around this he should draw a garland of lotuses, using paints with bright and vivid colors.
“In the center of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should place the blessed Buddha, the great sage of the royal Śākya line, as well as Amitābha and the Tathāgata Lokendrarāja. To the right is the lord and protector, the Lokeśvara883 in the garb of Amoghapāśa that conforms with the mantra tradition.884 To the left is Vajrapāṇi holding a yak-tail whisk and a vajra. His eyebrows are knitted and he stands within a halo of flames. Next to Noble Avalokiteśvara are the goddesses Tārā and Vimalamati.885 Beneath Noble Avalokiteśvara are Mahāgaurī, Pāṇḍaravāsinī, and Mahāśvetā, each holding a staff and a water pitcher in their hands. Beneath them, the vidyā holder should draw the rākṣasī Ekajaṭā with a face contorted in anger, with protruding fangs, and wearing garland of human skulls and a snake for a sacred thread. She has four arms: [F.87.b] the upper right holds a vajra, the upper left an axe, and she threatens the asuras and vināyakas with her left forefinger.886
“To the left of the Tathāgata Śākyamuni is Noble Avalokiteśvara, dressed in the garb of Brahmā887 [A.46.b] and adorned with a diadem atop his topknot.888 To his left and right are, respectively, Īśvara and Maheśvara.889 Below Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should draw the goddesses Śrī and Sarasvatī, the deities of the night, the deities of crops, and the deities of fruits and flowers. Beneath them, in a circle, he should draw Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and so forth. He should also add the ṛṣis adorned with diadems in their topknots. In the four corners he should draw the Four Great Kings wearing their cuirasses and coats of mail. In the spaces in between, on the inside,890 there should be a goad, an axe, a vajra, a staff, a noose, and a chain.
“Outside the maṇḍala are Brahmā, Rudra, and the goddess Umā. Brahmā is flanked by Sarasvatī, who is knitting her eyebrows, and there is a staff and a water pitcher between them. In one corner, the vidyā holder should draw a volume of this Dharma treatise, the maṇḍala of liberation that constitutes the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. In another corner he should draw Śiva’s mount.891 In the eastern door is the wrathful Hayagrīva with terrifying eyes.892 In the southern door is a great vajravināyaka named Kelikila who holds a vajra, axe, and noose. In the western door is a dūtī named Padmakulasundarī [Tiv.16] with her hands extended.893 In the northern door is a gaṇa named Mahāvajraśikhara holding a vajra and a noose.
“Then, the vidyā holder should place at the entrance door a jar894 filled with perfumed water and tied with silk. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should place a jar of his liking with a golden cover and [F.88.a] filled with water that has been suffused with sandalwood, saffron, musk, and camphor. He should adorn this jar with all the ornaments, cover it with a fine ‘Chinese cloth,’ adorn it with garlands of flowers, and place on top of it a golden ring.895 Around it he should place four incense burners and burn incense of agarwood.896
“He should then prepare a thread of five-colored silk the same length as a sacred thread and attach it to a golden trident and ring.897 To its other end, he should tie a ‘lotus pot’ inlaid with jewels and pearls. He should then place the coiled thread on top of the jar and make offerings and acts of reverence to it. Incanting mustard seeds898 one thousand and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, he should scatter them on the thread. He should perfume the site with sandalwood, camphor, musk, or scented powders.
“He should then place vessels filled with perfumed water and the three ‘white’ foods at the four doors. These should include thirty-two vessels filled with argha water, and also golden or silver899 vessels, eight of which should be filled with perfumed water, eight with white scented water,900 eight with foods of various flavors and aromas, eight with scented curds and milk, and eight with sixty-four bali articles free of any meat, blood, onions, garlic, food that has spoiled, or wilted flowers. The offerings should be prepared by a pure vidyā holder using pure ingredients. The maṇḍala should be carpeted with various flowers and adorned with a variety of parasols, banners, draperies, and flags. Thirty-two incense burners should be placed around it, and a variety of fine incenses should be burned. The vidyā holder should light one hundred and eight lamps with scented oil and draw a lotus garland around the maṇḍala.
“The vidyā holder should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, [Tiv.17] bathe three times a day, and wear a three-piece garment. While performing the rite of entering the maṇḍala, he should surround himself with assistants who are ritually pure. As soon as he has consecrated himself by means of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, he will be accepted by all the buddhas and blessed by the Lord of the World.901 [F.88.b] He will accomplish the heart of Amoghapāśa, the great maṇḍala of the lotus-holding lord from the lotus family, [A.47.a] will be able to accomplish whatever task he thinks of, and will amogha-enter all samayas. This maṇḍala of liberation is the totality of phenomena;902 it establishes the samaya with the true nature of phenomena.
“He will be free from all karmic obscurations, will be destined to obtain every happiness, and will experience both divine and human splendor. The hosts of devas, asuras, yakṣas, and rākṣasas will become his followers and send him provisions such as clothing and food.903 He will never be beaten, abused, impaled, burned, threatened, thrown, killed, or subdued. Those who try to do any of these things will have their heads and bodies dashed into one hundred thousand pieces, and no one other than the vidyā holder can save them, neither Pratyaṅgirā nor any other śakti goddess.904
“The vidyā holder should position the painting to face the maṇḍala and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times.905 He should also recite the Krodharāja mantra twenty-one times, after which the images of the deities in the maṇḍala906 will emit light of various colors, the jar will blaze with light, and the cloth painting, too, will blaze with rich colors.907 The painting will then shake violently, at which time the vidyā holder should grab hold of it.908 The following words will then resound from the painting: ‘Good! Good, vidyā holder! You have accomplished the essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa, and you have accomplished his noose. This is the supreme accomplishment of the noose that is like a wish-fulfilling jewel. You can now perform all activities. You have won the supreme accomplishment of the extended maṇḍala-procedure.’ [F.89.a]
“The vidyā holder can take the jar full of scented water,909 incant it one hundred and eight times, and bathe in it on an auspicious day of the bright fortnight during the asterism of Puṣya. The moment he does, he will be free of all physical impurities and become completely pure, [Tiv.18] purifying his fivefold bodily existence.910 His five sense faculties, including the five types of hearing, the five types of seeing, the five types of smelling, the five types of tasting, and the five types of consciousness, will be completely purified. Noble Avalokiteśvara will always grant him boons and will always be willing to appear to him. He will be able to clearly perceive all the tathāgatas, and he will always receive the bodhisattvas’ attention.
“All deities will stand by to guard, protect, and defend the vidyā holder, and gods such as Śakra and Brahmā will always attend upon him. The Four Great Kings with their armies and retinues will assemble wherever he is, in order to guard, protect, and defend him at all times. Nārāyaṇa, Maheśvara, and Maṇibhadra, together with many hundreds of thousands of guhyakas, will guard, defend, and protect him and will ensure his peace and well-being. The vidyā holder will also obtain amogha knowledge and amogha insight, as well as amogha learning, discipline, and courage. He will develop amogha generosity and accumulate amogha merit. That is to say, he will fully realize the six perfections.
“The vidyā holder will also develop infinite powers and skills, including magical powers and knowledge.911 He will possess amogha strength, heroism, and enterprise, and he will obtain the wonderful array of qualities of the buddha fields. [F.89.b] He will accumulate and bring to perfect fruition the roots of virtue equal to those of the tathāgatas as numerous as the hundreds of thousands of millions grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. He will be honored and celebrated by all beings, and they will all fall under his thrall. He will be revered to the same degree as sacred relics. [A.47.b]
“This was the maṇḍala procedure.” [B9]
Then the bodhisattva great being Noble Avalokiteśvara got up from his seat, draped his robe over his left shoulder, knelt on his right knee, approached the Blessed One, and circled him clockwise three times.912 He then bowed his head to the feet of the Blessed One [Tiv.19] and said, “Lord, in this great manual of mine that belongs to the lotus family and constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation, there is a great king of vidyās that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. I will now, lord, make it known to this assembly, in front of you.” Looking up at the Blessed One and smiling, Noble Avalokiteśvara pronounced the following heart mantra of Amoghapāśa:913
“Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times! Homage to all the pratyekabuddhas and all the congregations of noble śrāvakas of the past, present, and future! Homage to those who follow the right conduct and to those who have entered the right path! Homage to the great being, Śāradvatīsuta!914 Homage to the supreme congregations of great bodhisattvas headed by Noble Maitreya! Homage to the noble Tathāgata Amitābha, the worthy, fully realized Buddha. Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the bodhisattva great being Noble Avalokiteśvara, who has great compassion! Having saluted you, the supreme and noble congregations of great sages, I will now pass on to you, in the midst of this great assembly, this heart mantra, referred to as Amogharāja, that emerges from the mouth of Noble Avalokiteśvara and is spoken in front of the tathāgatas. [F.90.a] May Śrī,915 the goddess of the three worlds, grant me success in all my endeavors! May I and all beings916 be protected from all dangers! The mantra to recite is:
[167] “Oṁ, cara cara, ciri ciri, curu curu, O greatly compassionate! Viri viri, piri piri, ciri ciri, O supremely compassionate! Siri siri, piri piri, ciri ciri, O great one with the lotus in your hand! Kala kala, kili kili, kulu kulu, O great pure being! Come, come! Awaken, awaken! Cleanse, cleanse! Kaṇa kaṇa, kiṇi kiṇi, kuṇu kuṇu, O supremely pure being! Kara kara, kiri kiri, kuru kuru, you of great tenacity! Cala cala, sañcala sañcala, vicala917 vicala, eṭaṭa eṭaṭa, bhara bhara, bhiri bhiri, bhuru bhuru, come, come, O greatly compassionate! You wear the garb of the great Paśupati, wear, wear, sara sara, cara cara, hara hara! Hā hā hā hā! Hī hī hī hī! Hū hū hū hū!918 You wear the garb of Oṁkāra Brahmā,919 [Tiv.20] wear, wear, dhiri dhiri, dhuru dhuru, tara tara, sara sara, para para, cara cara, vara vara!920 Your body is adorned with hundreds of thousands of beautiful rays of light! Blaze, blaze, heat up, heat up! O lord whose feet are worshiped by Soma, Āditya, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Brahmā, Indra, and the hosts of ṛṣis and gods,921 suru suru, curu curu, puru puru, muru muru! You are the leader of sages and gods such as Sanatkumāra, Rudra, Vāsava, Viṣṇu, and Dhanada! You wear many garbs,922 wear, wear, dhiri dhiri, dhuru dhuru, thara thara, ghara ghara, yara yara, lara lara, hara hara, mara mara, vara vara! You, the great boon-granting lokeśvara lord with panoptic vision, muhu muhu, muru muru, muya muya, liberate, liberate! Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara, [A.48.a] protect me, protect me and all beings923 from all dangers, misfortunes, and disasters, and from all the grahas and diseases! You deliver from all killings, imprisonment, abuses by the kings, thieves, bandits, fires, floods, poisons, and weapons! Kaṇa kaṇa, kiṇi kiṇi, kuṇu kuṇu, cara cara! You teach about the sense faculties, the strengths, the limbs of awakening, and the four truths of the noble ones! Tama tama, dama dama,924 sama sama,925 masa masa! You are the great being who dispels darkness and grants the fulfillment of the six perfections! [F.90.b] Mili mili, taṭa taṭa, ṭhaṭha ṭhaṭha, ṭiṭi ṭiṭi, ṭuṭu ṭuṭu, ṭhiṭhi ṭhiṭhi, ṭhuṭhu ṭhuṭhu! You who wear a sash made from the skin of black antelope, come, come! You who crush Īśvara, Maheśvara, and the hordes of the great bhūtas, act, act, para para, kaṭa kaṭa, maṭa maṭa! You, greatly compassionate, abide in the pure sphere! You wear a white sacred thread, a jewel diadem, and a rosary! Your head is crowned with the omniscient one,926 and the extraordinary palms of your hands are like lotuses! Being unshakeable, you produce meditative absorption, one-pointed concentration, and liberation! You bring the mindstreams of many beings to maturity. Being very compassionate, you purify all the karmic obscurations! You save from all diseases, you fulfill all hopes, and you bring comfort to all beings! Homage be to you! Svāhā!”927
The moment the great bodhisattva being Noble Avalokiteśvara had spoken thus, [Tiv.21] and while he was in the middle of reciting928 the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa in the great assembly, the earth, together with its mountains, forests, and groves, quaked in six different ways, and a great light spread throughout the world. A great rain of divine flowers fell—including blue, pink, and white lotuses, water lilies,929 and mandārava flowers—until they lay on the ground knee deep. Tūrya and tāḍava instruments resounded. Celestial deities rained down adornments and ornaments from the vault of the sky upon the Blessed One.930 All members of the assembly that were gathered there, including devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, kinnaras, mahoragas, and guhyakas, applauded Noble Avalokiteśvara, saying, “Good! It is good, O pure great being! We shall rain a great rain of jewels upon those who recite this heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, this great wish-fulfilling jewel that is extremely difficult to find. We will rain it upon those who recite this great sovereign ritual that grants the supreme accomplishment. The vidyā holder who recites it will therefore accomplish all his activities.”931
“The932 vidyā holder should recite the above mantra at the three times of the day. He should wear clean clothes, bathe three times a day, and subsist on the three ‘white’ foods. He should place an image of the goddess Śrī in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara and make offerings to her. [F.91.a] He should recite the mantra one hundred and eight times, each time incanting a single mustard seed and casting it at the great goddess. From the fourteenth through the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, the divine Śrī will come, purify the results of the five acts of immediate retribution, and grant a vision of Noble Avalokiteśvara. All the vidyā holder’s negativity will be purified.
“To create the protective boundary required for a rite of pacifying, the vidyā holder should burn incense of agalloch and sandalwood and drive a stake made of cutch wood into the ground along with ashes and mustard seeds.933 In the event of any type of fever, he should procure a thread woven by a virgin girl, incant it twenty-one times with the above mantra, and tie it on.934 All fevers will then be cured. In the event of any disease, he should incant ghee and sesame oil and place them in a copper dish along with the stamens, kernels, and flowers of a lotus.935 When these have been prepared, they should be drunk, eaten, or rubbed into the affected limbs.936 If they are incanted twenty-one times, the patient will be cured of all diseases. [A.48.b]
“In order to destroy kākhordas, the vidyā holder should incant a mixture of ghee and honey twenty-one times, smear a protective layer on the body of the affected person, and rub it in well. Then, removing it along with the bodily impurities it absorbed, [Tiv.22] he should make it into an effigy of the kākhorda937 and cut it with a blade incanted seven times. All the mantras of the kākhordas will be broken, the patient will be freed from all diseases, and the kākhordas will perish in great numbers.
“If the vidyā holder incants a protective cord twenty-one times and ties a knot in it, he will ensure great protection. Those who are frightened, fearful, or terrified will no longer be afraid.938 Those suffering from stomachache should be given warm salty water that has been incanted seven times, and the stomachache will disappear. To neutralize poison, the vidyā holder should incant water seven times and give it to the affected person. All poison will be neutralized, and that person will be free from poison. In the event of eye disease, a white cord939 should be tied to the person’s ear, and all their eye diseases will be cured. If someone is given a powerful poison, the vidyā holder should incant clay and apply it as a plaster. That person will then be free from poison. [F.91.b] If someone is suffering from a toothache, the vidyā holder should incant a tooth stick made of oleander, sumana,940 or gulgula941 and let the affected person chew it. The toothache will then go away.
“To create any kind of protective boundary, the vidyā holder should prepare a five-colored thread, incant it twenty-one times, and stretch it between four pegs of cutch wood. If the pegs are planted in the four cardinal directions, a great protective boundary is created. In the event of seizures, the vidyā holder should incant the five-colored thread twenty-one times, and all seizures will be cured. In the event of intestinal worms, abscesses, or asthma attacks, the vidyā holder should prepare and apply a mixture of honey and pepper. He can also rub the same paste into wounds. In the case of asthma, the paste should be applied with hot water; all the sufferers will be cured of asthma and seizures.942
“In the event of eye disease, the patient should be bathed in scented water. The vidyā holder should incant water containing the flowers of flame-of-the-forest943 and the sticks of licorice seven times and bathe the patient in it. All eye diseases will then be cured. In the event of earache, the vidyā holder should cook some dill in oil in a copper pot and fill the ear with it. The earache will then cease. In the event of any quarrels, disputes, contests, disagreements, or slander, the vidyā holder should incant water seven times and rinse his mouth with it.944 He will then win every time.
“In the event that foreign armies invade the realm, or when there are hostile states, adversaries, or opponents, or any battles, the vidyā holder should draw a maṇḍala with cow dung and place four full jars around it. Ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, he should burn incense of agarwood, make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara, [Tiv.23] and worship this sūtra, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. Reciting it aloud will bring great peace. Everyone’s hearts and minds will be suffused with loving kindness, he will bring victory to all, and peace will reign.
“The vidyā holder should sprinkle his entire body with that water and mark his chest with a bindi of sandalwood that has been incanted twenty-one times. Keeping the mantra continually in his mind will exhaust the consequences of all acts of immediate retribution and ensure the complete protection of his house. If he offers a homa with the flowers of lotus, [F.92.a] snake root, and giant milkweed smeared with ghee, this will ensure great protection for the house, securing it against all bhūtas, grahas, and rākṣasas.
“Additionally, if the vidyā holder wants to fashion an amulet that accomplishes all activities, he should procure all the ingredients and separate them into equal portions. Ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, he should recite the heart mantra one hundred and eight times while performing all the necessary preparations. He should grind each of the following into a fine powder: jayā,945 vijayā,946 snake root, gandhanākulī,947 cāriṇī,948 abhayapāṇi, indrapāṇi,949 mahaleb cherry,950 [A.49.a] crepe jasmine, cyperus, mahācakrā,951 ironweed, and snakewood.952 Adding rainwater, he should blend everything with sandalwood and cool saffron water, cleanse it, and recite the mantra one hundred and eight times.953
“The vidyā holder should then fashion the amulet954 in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara and once again incant it twenty-one times while burning agarwood incense. He should then place it at the feet of the Blessed One and let it dry in his shadow, covered with a silken cloth. Picking it up again, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times and the mantra of Krodharāja three times. Then, with the amulet on his head, he should make generous offerings to the king and his harem. They will all fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall, as will all four castes, who will regard him as their sole teacher.
“All deities will transfer their vital energy to him, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will always look after him. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara will always stand by him and continuously grant him boons. His adversaries and opponents will become his steady followers and will fall under his thrall. He will not meet with any wicked beings or kākhordas, and he will not be exposed to venom, poisonous powders,955 or kiraṇas. Instead they will all be destroyed. [Tiv.24] He will always possess the glow of vitality, enjoy prosperity and merit, and possess a store of virtue. [F.92.b]
“All the tathāgatas will watch over him, and they will always appear to him whenever he wishes. He will succeed in everything, all the time, and his good fortune will increase without hindrance. The strength of his arm will equal that of a large elephant, and in battle or war he will be truly victorious, endowed with great strength, courage, and valor. He will master the great and detailed rites of the vidyādharas, and he will be unassailable by yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, grahas, and apasmāras. He will no longer have nightmares, and bad omens will never appear to him.
“When the amulet is placed around the necks of children, they will never be afflicted by seizures, fevers, or diseases, nor will they be abducted by child-stealing demons. Mahākāla and his retinue of mātṛs will join forces to follow the wearer of the amulet and to guard, protect, and defend him, thus ensuring that he lives a long life. If women bathe with it then put on clean clothes and make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara, they will gain prosperity and pacify misfortune. Marital relations will always be harmonious, they will give birth to male children,956 and their children will be numerous.957 Everyone will find these women attractive, they will never again be affected by the faults particular to their gender, and they will not be born as a woman again, unless they wish otherwise. After they die, they will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī.
“Wearing this amulet, one will be universally protected and will not become a victim of poison, weapons, or fire. Poison will fail to act. For the one wearing this amulet, poisons will be neutralized, and the effects will rapidly cease. They will experience no pain, [F.93.a] and any effects will comfortably ease. To stop strong winds and thunderstorms, the vidyā holder should throw water incanted seven times into the sky. All winds and thunderstorms will then stop. To reverse their course, he can use a sprig from a pomegranate or oleander tree, and they will turn back.
“To improve his memory, [A.49.b] [Tiv.25] the vidyā holder should, without speaking, mentally recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times in the presence of Avalokiteśvara, and then throw the amulet along with hot water.958 He will thereby become an ocean-like receptacle of great learning, able to comprehend and recite thousands of verses.959 If the vidyā holder wants to bring the king, harem, and retinue of any kingdom or state under his thrall, he should anoint himself with the water. They will fall under his thrall when he enters. If he anoints his knees, he can cross any large river, the water only reaching his knees as he passes to the other shore.
“If the amulet is mounted on the tip of a banner, the bearer can safely enter any battle or fight, or any group of people. If he holds the amulet up and enters high mountains, impenetrable thickets, valleys, gorges, or forests, he will be able to cross them safely and in comfort and will not face any danger from thieves, rogues, bandits, or wild animals. He will pass unseen.
“If the vidyā holder is bound or imprisoned in any way, he should anoint his restraints with the water, and all the fetters, shackles, and chains will break. If he anoints his body, he will become invisible to weapons.960 If he anoints his eyes at bedtime, he will have great dreams, and anything that he thinks of and requests will appear to him. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him and offer him instruction. He will not suffer from any eye diseases. If the vidyā holder holds the amulet in his mouth, anyone he talks to will fall under his thrall.961 If he anoints the forehead of someone suffering from seizures, the graha962 will leave the sufferer at that instant and tell him everything.963
“If the vidyā holder anoints his palm and touches an elephant, it will fall under his thrall and go wherever he directs it. [F.93.b] If the vidyā holder makes a bindi mark between his eyebrows, he will be greatly honored by everyone in the world. If he anoints his throat to resemble Nīlakaṇṭha,964 all the brahmins will fall under his thrall and serve him as his attendants. If he anoints his eyes with milk and incants them,965 he will be able to see at night as if it were daytime, all the residences of yakṣas and rākṣasas will appear open to him, and all treasure troves will be exposed.966
“If the vidyā holder throws the amulet into a pond inhabited by nāgas, the great nāgas will release torrents of rain. If it rains too much, the vidyā holder should throw the amulet mixed with water toward the sky, and it will stop. If he releases a stream of water in the direction of the cloud, hail will no longer fall.967 If he ties the amulet to his hand, anything he touches will becomes inexhaustible. If he ties the amulet to his calf, he will be able to walk into the midst of a fire without being burned, and he will feel as cool as sandalwood. [Tiv.26] If he anoints his sword and enters battle, his whole body will be engulfed by flame, and the entire enemy army will flee. He will be completely victorious.
“If the vidyā holder gives the powdered preparation to someone whose strength has been sapped by a serious illness, their weakness will fade away. Those who suffer from dysentery or seizures968 should be given hot water, and they will be instantly cured. If it is spread on someone who suffers from pain in the side of their body, the pain will cease. For any disease, the vidyā holder should combine the preparation with melted ghee and oil. It can then be rubbed in, eaten, taken as a beverage, taken through the nose, or smeared on, and any disease will be cured and never recur.
“If the vidyā holder smears the preparation around a secret entrance, recites the heart mantra seven times while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa, and then recites the Krodharāja mantra once, he will be able to enter as if it were his own house. All the locks will break apart, all hostile beings will be restrained, and all the vighnas and vināyakas will disappear. If the vidyā holder holds the amulet in his mouth and mentally recites this heart sūtra of Amoghapāśa once, it will be the same as if he were to recite it one hundred thousand times, [A.50.a] [F.94.a] and he will possess roots of virtue equal to those of all tathāgatas.
“If the vidyā holder anoints the axel of a chariot, he will find victory in any battle. If he sprinkles the preparation on merchandise, he will sell it for a large sum of money. If he sprinkles it onto a girl’s face, he will be able to carry her off. If he marks his chest with a bindi, he will be invisible everywhere he goes. This great amulet completely fulfills all wishes, accomplishes whatever task it is employed for, and protects both oneself and others. When combined with recitation, it will render the vidyā holder unassailable by vighnas and vināyakas. If the vidyā holder incants sesame water seven times, all the vighnas and vināyakas will be pacified.
“To pacify ill luck, the vidyā holder should draw Noble Avalokiteśvara on a round piece of cloth and mentally recite the mantra in front of it one thousand and eight times while making extensive offerings. Ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, he should burn agarwood incense and light lamps with scented oil. As soon as he finishes the recitation, all his ill luck [Tiv.27] will be dispelled. To bring an end to poverty, to ward off failure, and to dispel evil, bad dreams, bad omens, and obscurations, the vidyā holder should fill a golden or silver jar with scented water, incant it one hundred and eight times, and sprinkle the water everywhere. All the above will be removed, and the vidyā holder will experience tremendous worldly affluence.
“To exorcise all the grahas,969 the vidyā holder should offer a homa of sesame and rice. To cure all diseases and ailments, he should incant water and give it to the patient. To prevent untimely death, he should recite the heart mantra one hundred times in full at the three times of the day. This will ward off untimely death. To break any fetters, shackles, or chains, he should recite the heart mantra one hundred and eight times every day. To enthrall a king, he should recite the heart mantra one hundred and eight times on the royal road, and the king and his retinue will become enthralled.
“To paralyze thieves and bandits, the vidyā holder should offer a homa of rājakośātakī970 seeds. [F.94.b] To extinguish a fire, he should incant cutch tree sticks and throw them into the fire. The fire will then be arrested. To stop a flood, the vidyā holder should throw śalyakī971 into the water. The flood will then be arrested. Poison can be neutralized with an incanted peacock feather. To immobilize weapons, the vidyā holder should sprinkle them with the ashes from a tree burned by lightning. Any weapon will then be immobilized.
“To accomplish any type of samādhi, the vidyā holder should display the samādhi mudrā and recite the heart mantra. He will then attain one thousand samādhis. To fully accomplish the six perfections, a vidyā holder who is a monk, a nun, a male lay practitioner, or a female lay practitioner should use cow dung to make a symmetrical maṇḍala with four corners. He972 should worship it with the scents of sandalwood, saffron, musk, and camphor and strew it with various flowers. Noble Avalokiteśvara should be placed facing the vidyā holder and surrounded by four jars full of fragrant water, four dishes with the argha water, and four incense holders. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should place a jar with scented water,973 and on top of this jar, a copy of the blessed Prajñāpāramitā adorned with all ornaments.
“The vidyā holder should then light four scented lamps, lay out abundant offerings, and adorn the maṇḍala with banners. He should sit with legs crossed in front of the maṇḍala974 and recite the heart mantra one thousand and ten times, the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. This will bring the full accomplishment of the six perfections. Noble Prajñāpāramitā will appear, [Tiv.28] enabling the vidyā holder to accumulate the roots of every virtue. [A.50.b] The vidyā holder will be able to guide many hundreds of thousands of beings by reciting the mantra one thousand and eight times on top of a mountain.
“If the vidyā holder wants to destroy all māras and hostile beings, he should incant a vajra or a trident one thousand and eight times. He will cause them to tremble by displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa and bind them using the threatening mudrā of Krodharāja. Angrily incanting the vajra or trident twenty-one times, he should throw it into the sky. [F.95.a] Propelled in such a way, it will crush all wicked beings, the māras and so forth.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish all activities and all mantras, and if he wishes to attain the complete fulfillment of all he desires, he should display the mudrā of Amogharāja and recite the mantra one thousand and twenty times. This will result in great accomplishment. If he wants to be consecrated by all the tathāgatas, he should recite the mantra one thousand and thirty-two times. If he then sprinkles himself with the scented water from the vase, he will be consecrated by all the tathāgatas.
“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra ten thousand times while gazing at a statue of the Tathāgata that contains relics, he will himself become a tathāgata. If he plants the vajra or trident at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara and recites the mantra ten thousand times, he will become like Noble Avalokiteśvara. If he wants to summon Vajrapāṇi, he should plant it at the feet of an image of Vajrapāṇi and recite the mantra one thousand times while burning bdellium incense. Noble Vajrapāṇi will then appear before the vidyā holder in person.
“The mantra of Krodharāja can be mentally recited and the mudrā of Amoghapāśa displayed in any context, and even that which had not previously been accomplished or previously recited will be accomplished. Using them, the practitioner can accomplish innumerable rites. His accomplishment will be indicated by his qualities of compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity, a sense of shame, pity, loving kindness, and insight. He will attain complete success in armor and other rites, and he will shine with his accumulated great merit.
“By first reciting the Krodharāja mantra, the vidyā holder will always create a protection circle and bind the directions, the region, and the maṇḍala.975 This is an exceedingly rare rite of protection, one through which he will be consecrated by all tathāgatas and their heirs and gain the protective armor. Consecrated thus to always succeed in every rite, and knowing the samaya, he will easily obtain the complete accomplishment of Amogharāja and gain comfort and encouragement. The lokeśa976 Padmapāṇi [Tiv.29] will grant him boons. He should therefore always recite the Krodharāja mantra.977 If he desires consecration, all the tathāgata victors who know the truth will consecrate him.978 [F.95.b]
“Now I will teach the mantra of Krodharāja, supreme among the sovereign rites of Amoghapāśa. The vidyā holder should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, and possess insight and realization.979 The following accomplishment and means has been prophesied by all tathāgatas.980
“Homage to all the tathāgatas, and to Noble Avalokiteśvara and Vajradhara!
[168] “Oṁ, cara cara, curu curu, O most compassionate! Ciri ciri, biri biri, O great one with a lotus in your hand! Kala kala, kulu kulu, you of great tenacity! Cara cara, cara cara, O Lord of the creatures of the night! Come, come! Grant accomplishment, grant! Awaken, awaken! Cleanse, cleanse! Kiṇi kiṇi, O supremely pure being! Kara kara, kiri kiri, kuru kuru, O wearer of the garb of the great Paśupati! Hā hā, hī hī, hū hū,981 O wearer of the garb of Oṁkāra Brahmā! Sara sara, vara vara, you with the body adorned with hundreds of thousands of beautiful rays of light! Blaze, blaze, heat up, heat up, O Lord whose feet are worshiped by Soma, Āditya, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Brahmā, Indra, and the hosts of ṛṣis and gods! Suru suru, muru muru, O leader of sages and gods such as Sanatkumāra, Rudra, Viṣṇu, Vāsava, and Dhanada! You wear many garbs! Wear, wear! You, the great boon-granting lokeśvara lord with panoptic vision! Muya muya, save, save, [A.51.a] O savior from killings, imprisonment, beatings, abuses by kings, bandits, fires, floods, poison, and weapons! Kaṇa kaṇa, O teacher of the strengths, the limbs of awakening, and the four truths of the noble ones! Tame, tame! Pacify, pacify, O great pacifier and remover of the darkness of ignorance! Mili mili, O wearer of a sash made from the skin of black antelope! Come, come! Maṭa maṭa, O compassionate one who abides in the pure realm! You wear a white sacred thread, a jewel diadem, and a rosary! Your head is crowned with the omniscient one, and your hands are cupped! You, the unshakeable one, produce meditative absorption, one-pointed concentration, and liberation! You help accomplish the six perfections and bring the mindstreams of many beings to maturity! You crush all the wicked ones, including all māras! You grant every accomplishment and fulfill every hope! Please consecrate me, O Blessed Amogharāja! Grant me the empowerment of all the tathāgatas! Hūṁ phaṭ! Homage be to you! Svāhā!982
“This mantra, employed the same way as the previous one, is suitable for all activities. [Tiv.30] It is called Wrathful Amoghapāśa and is supremely effective in all activities.
“The mantra of summoning:
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the noble Tathāgata Amitābha! [F.96.a] Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion, the one who grants the boons of Amogha, the pure being with the noose in his hand!
[169] “Come, come, O Lord! You, with the lotus in your hand, whose fingers form the boon-granting gesture! You, with the lotus-like arm,983 who wear the garb of the great Paśupati! Please be kind and arrive soon! You move with great speed, adorned with light rays! Laugh, laugh, O pure amogha being! Move, move! Proceed, proceed! Come, come, O Blessed Avalokiteśvara! Accept these fragrant flowers I have gathered! Svāhā to you, Unfailing Accomplishment984 through the truth of the Three Jewels!985
“This mantra effects summoning. The vidyā holder should recite it twenty-one times while burning incense of agarwood. This mantra is for the summoning of Noble Avalokiteśvara, who inhabits every maṇḍala.986
“The mantra of offering fragrances:
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion, perfumed with all fragrances, who grants boons with his amogha arms!
[170] “You are delightfully adorned with fragrant garlands and beautified by the crescent moon on your head. Please accept these fragrances, flowers, and scented unguents from me! Vara vara, O boon987 granter! Svāhā!988
“The fragrances offered should be incanted with this mantra seven times.
“The mantra of offering flowers:
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[171] “Hili hili, mili mili, O great luminous and immaculate one who wears the garb of Brahmā and grants the boon of kind disposition! Turu turu, O one adorned with colorful garlands! Hara hara, mara mara, turu turu! Take delight in the essence of Amogha! Accept from me these fine flowers! Svāhā!989
“The vidyā holder should offer flowers incanted with this mantra seven times.
“The vidyā for calling to mind Noble Avalokiteśvara:
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[172] “You990 grant the boons of the great bodhisattva. Remember, remember the samaya of the Blessed One! You obtain comfort from all tathāgatas. Look at the Blessed One! You watch over all beings. You are endowed with the amogha quality. You with the noose in your hand, you are accomplished, you are! You have accomplished your vow.991 By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, bhuru bhuru! Svāhā to the protector992 of the true samaya!993 [Tiv.31]
“Homage to the Three Jewels! [F.96.b] Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[173] “Dhure dhure, vajradhara [A.51.b] padmajaye vigatavāvarade!994 Vega vega, dhuṭa dhuṭa, sarvabījapriye!995 By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, mili mili! Svāhā!996
“The vidyā holder should offer bali incanted with this mantra seven times.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[174] “O Lord with the indestructible wisdom-body of a tathāgata! Āhara āhara!997 You on a lotus seat, with lotus-like arms, a white body, and white arms, adorned with white garlands! Dhuma dhuma!998 Burn! By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha! Svāhā!999
“The vidyā of lamps should be recited seven times.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[175] “Oṁ, Hero! Hero Padmapāṇi! Come, come! You have accomplished the amogha nature. You are impelled by the rays of light in the sky of all the tathāgatas. You purify all the vidyā holders. You have accomplished the blazing amogha light. Svāhā!1000
“The vidyā holder should incant a jar of scented water with this mantra seven times and then wash himself with it.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[176] “Dhume dhume! O dhudhuma lotus! You are pure like a lotus, pure and immaculate with a golden hue. You are the purity of pure essences, the purity within the pure sphere! O lotus-limbed one! You1001 clothe beings in clothes. Svāhā!1002
“The vidyā of clothing should be recited seven times.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[177] “O bringer of peace, please pacify! Bring me peace, O venerable goddess of the three worlds! Give me protection1003 and well-being! You bring me joy. Please purify all my wrongdoings! You are peaceful, pure, auspicious, and immaculate! You win through peace; yours is the perfect victory! O Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara, move, move! Svāhā!1004
“If the vidyā holder sleeps on a bed or couch incanted with this vidyā, he will not have any bad dreams or see bad omens. [Tiv.32]
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[178] “O divine water, distinguished by the presence of the nāgas! O carrier of water! You purge the water of serpent-demons and remove the danger of rough waters.1005 You are the water in the lotus pond, [F.97.a] pure as lotuses! You are the water for the hands. Please purify the body! Vara vara, O water! Svāhā!1006
“The vidyā of water, used for bathing, drawing, and sprinkling, should always be recited seven times.1007
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion, who benefits all beings, who grants them amogha boons, who gives food and drink to all beings, and who gives food of various flavors to devas, nāgas, and so forth!
[179] “O goddess of the entire world! You purify the world and satiate it, O pure, most eminent one! Svāhā!1008
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[180] “You1010 are worshiped by all gods and asuras! You fill up the space! You are perfumed with every fragrance!1011 You possess the purity of the sky! You are the light of liberation! O victorious goddess of victory, the provider of discarded garlands!1012 You purify the scent of flowers in the discarded garlands; purify it! You are the purity of all the tathāgatas, the lotus-like purifier! [A.52.a] Svāhā!1013
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[181] “You possess the ability to contain and the ability to arrest. Arrest it, arrest, O semen purifier! Marked with a white garland,1015 you are the purifier of semen. O purity of the semen! Svāhā!1016
“If the vidyā holder ties twenty-one knots in a wisp of kuśa grass, a woven thread, or a thread spun by a virgin girl, incanted with this vidyā twenty-one times, the semen will be arrested.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[182] “O blazing blaze!1018 O immaculate blaze! You are like the sun, powerful and pure! Be victorious, O wearer of lotus garlands! Svāhā!1019
“If the vidyā holder incants the ashes left after the fire sacrifice seven times with this vidyā and strews them all around, the vighnas and vināyakas will never come again. [Tiv.33]
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[183] “Water, water! Rich in water! Source of water! The swimming place of nāgas! O divine water! Mili mili! Svāhā!1020 [F.97.b]
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[184] “O captivating one of yellow color!1021 Yellow like piṅgala!1022 Hiri hiri! Stir, O Lord,1023 stir and remain! Protect me, protect!1024 By the truth of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, svāhā!1025
“The vidyā holder should incant the seat of kuśa grass with this vidyā of the seat seven times.
“The vidyā of Padmasundarī:1026
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to all the deities of the maṇḍala! Homage to the vidyā deities who accomplish every rite! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[185] “Come, Blessed Padmasundarī! Great vidyā goddess! Move, move, O swift Padmasundarī! Huru huru! Svāhā!1027
“The vidyā holder should worship Padmasundarī,1028 the rākṣasī Ekajaṭā,1029 and Kṛtyā1030 every day with offerings of flowers, incense, bali, fragrances, and so forth incanted seven times with this vidyā. No vighnas will ever come again.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Krodharāja! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion! Homage to the one who belongs to all the vidyā families!
[186] “You1032 possess the majestic power of the amogha essence! You pacify all vighnas! Bring them over! Bring them together! You sit on a lotus seat, your lotus arms adorned with jewels and gold! Carry across, carry across! Deliver from evil! You are the victorious amogha essence! O three-eyed one with hands that grant boons!1033 Remember, remember the samaya of all the blessed tathāgatas! Wear, wear, bhuru bhuru, O wearer of the garb of Brahmā whose body is adorned! You are the great remover of fear! Look at and watch over them, you who watch over all beings! Vara vara, O boon giver!1034 Svāhā!1035
“This vidyā is suitable for all activities. In particular, it affords protection during sādhana practice by employing the many attendant vidyās dwelling within the maṇḍala.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! [Tiv.34] Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[187] “Para para, mara mara, bind, bind everywhere, you with the unfailing noose in your hand! [A.52.b] Remain, remain! By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, svāhā!1036 [F.98.a]
“The vidyā holder should bind the maṇḍala1037 by scattering the ashes incanted with this vidyā twenty-one times while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[188] “You bind the directions, O unfailing and perfect one! Muru muru, suru suru, turu turu! O destroyer of all vighnas, adorned with lotus ponds! By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, please bind, O unconquerable giver of boons! Svāhā!1038
“The vidyā holder should bind the directions after summoning the deities.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[189] “Hili hili, mili mili, siri siri, piri piri, move, move, move fast, O driver of the best of chariots! Dara dara, go, go to the abode of Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara! Hurry, hurry, O bearer of the amogha lotus! Svāhā!1039
“The vidyā holder should offer whatever flowers are available, held in his folded hands, after incanting them with this vidyā twenty-one times. He should then dismiss the deities.
“Now I will teach a ritual procedure that employs a painting and is easy to practice. I will teach a heart mantra of Amogharāja, the great Krodharāja, that is supremely effective. The Krodharāja mantra accomplished in this rite constitutes the supreme accomplishment. I will now teach this vidyā that brings supreme amogha accomplishment. By merely repeating it, the vidyā holder can accomplish any rite. Able to see perfectly realized beings, he will behold hundreds of thousands of millions of buddhas. He will plant the roots of virtue and accumulate an amount of merit equal to that of hundreds of thousands of millions of buddhas, equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. All his nonvirtue will be pacified, and his strength and courage will increase. He will succeed without fail in all rites and attain true accomplishment.”
As soon as Noble Avalokiteśvara called the mantra to mind,1040 the earth quaked, [F.98.b] as did the heaven of Thirty-Three, the realms of the asuras, the oceans, and the mountains. The nāgas trembled, [Tiv.35] and the yakṣas and rākṣasas fled. The supreme vidyārājas, engaged in the war between the gods and asuras, and Vajrapāṇi and the yakṣas with their mounts and chariots, all trembled and shook, with halos of flames appearing around their bodies. The Four Great Kings and their finest palaces shook too. All of them gathered together and approached the Lokeśvara for refuge, saying, “Protect us, O Blessed Lord whose very nature is compassion!”
The great bodhisattva being Noble Avalokiteśvara then approached the Blessed One and said, “O Lord, I have a king of vidyās that is the essence of Amoghasiddhi.1041 By merely reciting it, one can swiftly accomplish the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. Merely calling it to mind will grant the vision of Noble Avalokiteśvara in his divine nature and will bring every supreme accomplishment. Therefore, O Lord, I will now reveal it in this assembly here before you.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the blessed Tathāgata Amitābha. Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!
[190] “Oṁ, lotus, lotus! Your arms are adorned with the lotuses you hold. O wearer of the garb of Brahmā, wear, wear! You have a bright diadem on your head, and your body is adorned with jewelry, gold, diamonds, and beryl stones. Please ferry us, ferry, O Blessed Lord and Lady! Help us cross to the other shore! Dhūru dhūru, you with the noose of Amogha in your hand! Vara vara, O boon giver with panoptic vision! [A.53.a] O great bodhisattva who grants boons, white as lotus and sitting on a lotus seat! Blaze, blaze! You are consecrated by all the tathāgatas. O most compassionate one! O strength, strength, great strength! O swift one! With your face contorted in anger and fangs protruding, you possess great fiery energy. [F.99.a] Yours is a vast knowledge, O boon giver! Yours is great compassion, O wearer of the garb of the great Paśupati! Move, move! You are the best means of accumulating merit. Endowed with the meditative concentration and samādhi of a sugata, you can see everywhere! You are Īśvara and Maheśvara, the tamer of wicked beings!1042 You are the fierce tamer of the deities of dissolution, the great wearer of the garb of the lord of wrath! Sama sama! You possess great tenacity, and your splendor exceeds that of the moon and the sun. [Tiv.36] Mala mala, you purify all impurities. You are the wearer of the great garb of Maheśvara surrounded by multitudes of gaṇas and ṛṣis. Your topknots are adorned with the victorious Amitābha,1043 your right head with the moon. Crush them, crush, O destroyer of the hordes of all yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas. Ferry across, ferry across, you who are adorned with a multitude of stars1044 and garlanded with constellations! O you whose thoughts are filled with supreme love, who has great compassion, and who is the bringer of ruin upon all the vighnas. Para para, you who comprise the full maṇḍala! Happy and at ease, you fully accomplish the six perfections. Mili mili! O wearer of the tunic made from the skin of a black antelope and an upper garment made of a tiger skin, wear, wear! Your gaze, O three-eyed one, is that of all the tathāgatas. You carry a trident, a blazing vajra, and an unfailing noose in your hand. You assume the forms of Yama, Varuṇa, and Kubera, and also of the nāga kings. Your body is immaculately pure, and you pacify all nonvirtue, purify all obscurations, and remove all evil. You enthrall the three worlds and purify all beings. Blessed by all tathāgatas, you grant the bodhisattva boon of awakening. Oṁ, O pure one adorned with lotuses! Dhiri dhiri! Watch over me! Sama sama, accomplish all my activities! You are the perfect essence of Amoghapāśa. You live in a secret dwelling, O boon giver, hūṁ phaṭ! Homage to you, svāhā!”1045
As soon as these kings1046 of vidyās of Amoghasiddhi were spoken, the hordes of bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, vighnas, and vināyakas fell face down, consumed in one conflagration as their houses burst into flames. Vajrapāṇi, on the other hand, the great yakṣa general, was thrilled and got goose bumps. The hosts of gods, including Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and the Four Great Kings, were all terrified, as were the lesser gods and asuras. The ṛṣis cowered, and so did all the nāga kings who live in the great oceans. [F.99.b] All the nāgas who send rain were shaken. The gods and nāgas who live in water became agitated, as did the gods who live in the great oceans or on the island of Laṅkā.
The vidyādhara emperors, the gods of the Pure Abode, and the deities who live in space, all gathered in the sky and rained upon Potala Mountain divine flowers, including various white, pink, and blue lotuses, as well as water lilies and the celestial mandārava and great mandārava flowers in vivid colors. They also sent showers of divine ornaments and adornments upon [Tiv.37] Potala Mountain. They knelt down to honor the Blessed One and played their celestial instruments in order to worship the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. They uttered loud cries of joy and lavished gifts upon him.1047
This great vidyā was taught by Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara in order to benefit all beings.
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, then approached the great being, the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, [A.53.b] circumambulated him clockwise three times, and honored him by covering him in hundreds of thousands of tiny strings of pearls while saying, “This great vidyā that you taught, Lord, is supreme for all rites. This great vidyā, O great sage and lord of the world, is in essence Amogharāja. Please teach, Lord, the entire rite that brings the supreme amogha accomplishment!1048 Please explain the auspicious accomplishment of all activities!”
Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara replied, “I will now teach the rites of Amoghasiddhi, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, that constitute the practice procedures for the king of vidyās. First is the excellent procedure for painting.
“The vidyā holder should procure a rectangular piece of cloth, symmetrical in shape. It should have an untrimmed fringe and be free of hairs. The painter should be ritually pure and bathed clean, [F.100.a] wear clean clothes, and observe a ritual fast. He should use uncontaminated paints in new containers. In the center of the painting, he should draw the noble lord Avalokiteśvara adorned with the victorious Amitābha as a crest jewel atop his topknots.1049 His right head should also be adorned with the crescent of the new moon. Avalokiteśvara should be drawn wearing a black antelope skin and attired like Paśupati with all his ornaments. He has three heads, three eyes,1050 and four arms. He sits on a lotus seat on top of a mountain.
“His middle face is peaceful and smiling. The face on the right is angry and frowning and is adorned with Amitābha as its crest jewel and with the crescent of the new moon. The face on the left is angry and grimacing with protruding fangs; it has Amitābha above it. In his first hand, Noble Avalokiteśvara holds a lotus, with the second a trident, and with the third the unfailing noose. The Lord’s1051 frowning face1052 looks at the hand holding the unfailing noose,1053 which is raised up to the middle of the body. The fourth hand displays the gesture of giving comfort. He is enveloped by a blaze of light, with the halo extending half of a fathom in all directions. [Tiv.38]
“To the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara is the goddess Tārā. She is modest in her demeanor, her body is slightly bent, and she is looking at the hand displaying the boon-granting mudrā.1054 To the left of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should draw Padmasundarī. She is modest in her demeanor, with an accommodating attitude of respect.1055 She is looking at the hand that holds the unfailing noose.1056
“The rākṣasī Ekajaṭā should be drawn next to the goddess Tārā, and Vimalagati1057 next to Padmasundarī. Bhṛkuṭī should be drawn above Tārā, with Śvetā on the other side1058 holding a lotus in her hand. Kṛtyā should be drawn, in accordance with the mantra tradition, below Padmasundarī. Bhīmī1059 should be drawn below Ekajaṭā. Above Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should draw the gods of the Pure Abode, including Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, all holding various flowers and worshiping the Lord.1060 Below them, he should draw the Four Great Kings. Below Noble Avalokiteśvara, [F.100.b] he should chant the mantra of Amogharājakrodha1061 and draw Noble Vajrapāṇi in his wrathful form that laughs wildly.
“It should be known that by merely looking at this painting, one will behold the true and real Noble Avalokiteśvara, his fine palace, and Potala Mountain with one’s very eyes. [B10] By merely seeing the painting, one will be saved from the eight great hells and the eight great fears. One will also be freed from the results of the five acts of immediate retribution. By merely seeing the painting, someone who had rejected the true Dharma and all the buddhas and bodhisattvas will be completely purified and saved from the imminent rebirth in the Avīci hell that would otherwise occur immediately after their death.
“Those who behold the painting will accumulate an enormous amount of merit and plant hundreds of thousands of roots of virtue. They will obtain all worldly and divine pleasures.1062 At the time of dying, they will see Noble Avalokiteśvara face-to-face and will be comforted by him. After death, [A.54.a] they will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī. Purified of all obscurations, they will recall five hundred thousand former births. Their birth in Sukhāvatī will be their last, and it will continue until they attain final realization. If those who merely see this painting can accumulate so much merit, what need is there to mention those who worship it with great reverence? They will be known to be irreversibly established on the path to supreme awakening.
“If [Tiv.39] any son or daughter of noble family, a monk or a nun, a male or a female lay practitioner, a king, a royal minister, a member of the royal harem, or the first queen mindfully repeats the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa in front of the painting that has been executed according to procedure, honoring thus the noble lord Avalokiteśvara, they should know [F.101.a] that this act will be multiplied one hundred thousand times. It will be the same as if they performed the recitation procedure the same number of times. And if anyone mindfully repeats the mantra of Amoghapāśakrodha three times in front of the Blessed One without saying anything else, and then consecrates themselves, they should know that they receive1063 consecration from all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. They will then retain the dhāraṇī of the great ritual of Amoghasiddhi until the time of final realization.
“Whoever mindfully repeats the dhāraṇī of the great ritual of Amoghasiddhi in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara seven1064 times with folded hands, circumambulates him clockwise seven times, offers him argha water for the feet, food, incense, and flowers, and bows to him should know that doing this is equivalent to mindfully repeating each and every dhāraṇī, one by one, one hundred thousand times, and repeating this Dharma discourse,1065 this great maṇḍala of liberation that is the essence of Amoghapāśa, one hundred thousand times.
“If the vidyā holder displays the mudrā of Amoghapāśa in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara while looking him in the face, if he touches him with his right and left hands and then places his hands on his own heart, this is equivalent to displaying each and every mudrā one hundred thousand times. If, O Lord, a vidyā holder who is a son or daughter of noble family, a monk or a nun, a male or a female lay practitioner, a king or a queen, a member of the royal harem, or a distinguished lady of the royal court1066 wants to perform worship equivalent to reciting this heart dhāraṇī of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa one hundred thousand million times, receiving consecration1067 from hundreds of thousands of millions tathāgatas, fully performing the entire ritual of Amoghapāśa, this maṇḍala of liberation, one hundred thousand million times, and displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa the same number of times, they should do the following. [F.101.b]
“They should consecrate the painting1068 and place it so as to face the viewer, in a place that is clean and free from distractions, such as a house,1069 a walking path, a forest hermitage, a cave, a mountaintop, a monastery, or an ordinary house. He should clean and tidy the place, smear the floor with dung that has been correctly obtained1070 from a tawny cow, [Tiv.40] sprinkle it with the five products of the cow, and anoint it with various fragrant unguents. Using white sandalwood, he should draw a small maṇḍala in front of the painting that is two cubits in diameter, color it with saffron, and offer musk and camphor there.
“Having filled a jar with scented water and added various fragrant substances, the vidyā holder should place it in the very center of the maṇḍala and cover it with cloth. He should place fragrant flowers, incense, a bali offering, and twenty-one flower garlands around it. He should place eight earthenware vessels filled with fragrant water in the four cardinal directions. He should add another eight filled with milk, and in the spaces in between them another eight filled with milk-based sweetmeats such as sesame halva and so forth, as well as rice pudding, curd dishes, [A.54.b] molasses, candies, and ghee. Furthermore, he should add vessels with incense of black agarwood, white sandalwood, camphor, olibanum, pine resin, and flowers. He should then offer a homa of agarwood1071 sticks, decorate the place with various flowers, and light thirty1072 lamps.
“Thoroughly bathed and wearing clean clothes, he should perform the rite on the fourteenth through the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, making offerings in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara. He should recite the Krodharāja mantra seven times and sprinkle himself with the scented water from the jar.1073 He should display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times, and then, sitting cross-legged, he should silently1074 repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa while displaying the mudrā of recitation. He should repeat this mantra one hundred and eight times. After that, he should recite the sovereign vidyā of Amoghasiddhi one thousand and eight times. [F.102.a]
“Seventy1075 rays of light will subsequently issue forth from the painting, illuminating the space around it. They will circumambulate the painting clockwise three times and enter the forehead of Noble Avalokiteśvara through his eyes. As soon as they enter, a great earthquake will be felt. The vidyā holder will experience goose bumps of joyous rapture, and his complexion will become very bright. Divine water will issue forth from the fingers of the hand of Noble Avalokiteśvara that displays the boon-granting mudrā, and milk will flow from his feet. The unfailing noose in his hand will blaze with light, [Tiv.41] the lotus petals on the lotus in his hand will quiver, the trident will blaze with light,1076 and the following words of approval will be heard: ‘Good! Good, O son of noble family! You have accomplished the heart essence of Amoghapāśa! You can perform all activities. You have won the supreme accomplishment of the great sovereign ritual of Amoghasiddhi.’
“Noble Avalokiteśvara will subsequently appear to the vidyā holder in person and grant him every desirable boon. This supreme accomplishment is incomparable. The vidyā holder, even if he is not fully realized himself, will accomplish all activities.1077
“If the vidyā holder wants to perform an act of enthrallment, he should incant a lotus one hundred and eight times and place it in the hand of1078 Noble Avalokiteśvara.1079 The person whose name the vidyā holder pronounces will become enthralled. He can also offer a jasmine flower incanted one hundred and eight times to Noble Avalokiteśvara. Then, having further incanted the same flower mentally seven times, he should retrieve it. The person to whom he gives this flower will become enthralled. If he gives the flower to someone suffering from seizures, the afflicted person will be cured. Likewise, if he gives it to a diseased person, that person will be cured of all disease.
“If the vidyā holder casts the flower at the gate of the royal place, the king, his harem, and his retinue will fall under his thrall. If he casts it upon a funeral pyre, the person being cremated will be saved from hell. If he casts it for the sake of a being who is in the Avīci hell, [F.102.b] that being will be instantly freed. If he places it at the head of the bed, he will have portentous dreams, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him and say pleasant things. Whomever he casts the flower upon, whether a woman or a man, will fall under his thrall and follow him like a shadow.1080 If he casts the flower upon a king, the king will become his servant.1081 If he places the flower near an image of a deity, the deity will be summoned and will perform all the vidyā holder’s tasks.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the rite of eye ointment, he should incant realgar one thousand and eight times in front of the painting. He will observe the following three signs: the mixture will emit light, foam, and then smoke. If he subsequently anoints his eyes with the mixture, he will become invisible. He will see all treasure troves and the dwellings of all yakṣas. If he makes a bindi mark on his forehead, [A.55.a] he will be able to enter all palaces. All doors and [Tiv.42] locks will split. If he anoints his body and limbs, he will rise up into the air. If he marks his head with a bindi, he will always receive boons from Noble Avalokiteśvara. If he anoints his neck,1082 he will always be followed by Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and other gods, who will grant him success in every activity. If he anoints his eyes at night, he will be able to see as he does in daylight, and all treasures will rise up.
“If he positions the target1083 face down,1084 causes him to vomit, and anoints his own body with the vomit, it will function as armor for as long as he lives. He will be invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, and so forth. They will become his assistants, and he will be able to accomplish all activities. His lifespan will increase to one thousand eons. Alternatively, if he extracts the heart and eats it, he will obtain the form of Mahākāla1085 and will be able to assume the form of any deity, appearing in the form of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, the great Viśvarūpa, [F.103.a] or even as Candra or Sūrya.
“The vidyā holder can also procure realgar, bovine bezoar, jujube, saffron, and the flowers of arjun and incant them with the Amoghasiddhi mantra ten thousand times, the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times, and the Krodharāja mantra one hundred and eight times. All these mantras should be recited silently. He should grind these ingredients in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara. On the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, after fasting for one day and one night, he should put on clean clothes, face the painting, and grind the ingredients again into a fine powder while incanting them one hundred and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, the Krodharāja mantra, and the king of vidyās Amoghasiddhi.
“He should then place the powder in the hand of Noble Avalokiteśvara and worship the painting by making many offerings. Having fasted for one day and one night, he should sit cross-legged in front of the painting, display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times, and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa the same number of times. Then, displaying the mudrā of recitation, he should recite the Krodharāja mantra seven times. After that, he should incant the powder with the dhāraṇī of Amoghasiddhi.
“As soon as he applies the powder to his eyes, he will behold Noble Avalokiteśvara in his palace atop Potala Mountain, together with the multitude of bodhisattvas dwelling on Potala Mountain in their own palaces. He will see the realm of Sukhāvatī and the Tathāgata Amitābha teaching the Dharma there, [Tiv.43] and he will hear their Dharma discourses. He will likewise see all the tathāgatas in the ten directions, the hosts of the bodhisattvas, the congregations of the śrāvakas, and their respective buddha fields and palaces. He will hear the words of their Dharma instructions.
“Even if the vidyā holder were to be reborn in a family of untouchables, or destined for the Avīci hell after committing the five acts of immediate retribution, [F.103.b] Noble Avalokiteśvara will help him because of his great compassion and the blessing of all the tathāgatas. He will also appear to the vidyā holder in a dream and will purify all his wrongdoings and obscurations. He will grant him every boon, including the accomplishment of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. The vidyā holder will live a full one thousand celestial years and experience celestial pleasures.
“In the event of any disease, the vidyā holder can pacify all diseases by applying the powder. All fevers will cease, and all poisons will be neutralized as soon as the powder is applied. If he anoints himself while facing any danger, he will become invisible. He will be invisible to all adversaries and opponents, and to all rogues, thieves, and bandits. Even if weapons are raised against him, [A.55.b] he will not be in any danger. If he applies the powder, he will be completely victorious in all disputes, contests, and disagreements; he will gain the upper hand. If he applies the powder when going into battle, he will be victorious in combat. He will survive onslaughts, even by a more powerful force.
“If he applies the powder and enters the royal household, the king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under his thrall. They will all be enthralled. If he silently enters a town, all the inhabitants—women, men, boys, and girls—will fall under his thrall. If he anoints his right eye, the people of all four castes that he sees with this eye will all fall under his thrall. If he anoints his left eye, all promiscuous women1086 will fall under his thrall.
“If the vidyā holder grasps Noble Avalokiteśvara by the right arm, recites the Amoghasiddhi, the king of vidyās, one thousand and eight times and makes offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara, it will be as if he recites all the heart dhāraṇīs of Amoghapāśa, the dhāraṇīs of Krodharāja, and other sovereign dhāraṇīs individually [Tiv.44] one hundred thousand times. The vidyā holder will plant the roots of virtue equal to those of the twelve thousand1087 million tathāgatas, the worthy ones, as if he were by the side of the Buddha, the fully realized one. [F.104.a] All these tathāgatas will know the vidyā holder by name. He will arouse the affection of thousands of tathāgatas and will be able to see sixty-eight1088 thousand of them face-to-face.
“The vidyā holder will be able to accomplish all his worldly tasks. All his obscurations from the past that would otherwise lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell will be completely purified. He will never stray onto an evil path again, and he will be able to retain his memories from one birth to another. All the deities will grant him boons and will always be there to guard, protect, and defend him. If the vidyā holder places his hand on the left arm1089 and recites the mantra one thousand and eight times, all the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and so forth will be summoned as soon as the recitation is complete, and they will all fall under his thrall.
“If there is any task to perform, the vidyā holder should mindfully repeat the king of vidyās Amoghasiddhi seven times. All devas, nāgas, and so forth will then perform his every task and will always be bonded to him. If he presses the navel area1090 and recites the mantra,1091 all nāgas and so forth will send torrents of rain and thus satisfy all of Jambudvīpa. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra into the ear1092 one hundred and eight times, goes to whatever location is on his mind, and asks any woman, man, king, queen, monk, brahmin, or lay practitioner to perform whatever task is on his mind, he will cause them to accomplish any task.
“If he recites the mantra while holding the head,1093 all beings as far as the Brahmaloka will fall under his thrall. They will all obey his commands and remain under his control. The mantra should be recited one thousand and eight times to start with. If the vidyā holder presses on the feet1094 and recites the mantra ten thousand times, all beings as far as the subterranean worlds1095 worlds will fall under his thrall, perform his tasks, and act as his messengers.
“If he incants a lotus one thousand and eight times and throws it into a lotus pond, [F.104.b] there will appear an imperishable lotus that will endure for all time. If he incants a blue lotus one thousand and eight1096 times and throws it into a pond with blue lotuses, there will appear an imperishable blue lotus [Tiv.45] that will bloom at all times and never fade. If the vidyā holder does the same with the flowers of sumanas, fragrant vārṣika, yūthikā, and navamallikā,1097 [A.56.a] they will bloom at all times and never perish. If the vidyā holder incants fruits and flowers one hundred and eight times and casts them into a garden or a forest, these fruits and flowers will become imperishable and will last for all time.
“If the vidyā holder wants to summon the great Śrī, he should make an effigy of this great goddess from beeswax. She should be adorned with all ornaments, be seated in a cross-legged posture with her body slightly bent, and hold a lotus in her hand. She should be fashioned with full breasts and be strewn with fruits and flowers. The vidyā holder should place the effigy in front of the cloth painting and worship it with camphor, musk, and white sandalwood. He should prepare a maṇḍala with white sandalwood according to the procedure as before and offer incense of agarwood to Noble Avalokiteśvara in the painting. The great goddess Śrī should be offered incense of white sandalwood, and both of them should be honored with offerings. The vidyā holder should offer a bali consisting of ‘white’ foods and scented water, and eight1098 bowls with argha water.
“He should maintain ritual purity, bathe three times a day, and wear clean clothes. Sitting in front of the painting in a cross-legged posture, he should display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa seven times and place any available flowers that were discarded after an offering1099 around the head of the great goddess Śrī, having incanted them with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times. He should honor her with an argha offering with flowers, cense her with white sandalwood incanted one hundred and eight times, and then recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times, each time incanting a single mustard seed [F.105.a] and throwing it at the great goddess.
“When the vidyā holder has reached the number one thousand and eight, the great goddess Śrī will blaze with light. Rays of light will likewise radiate from the forehead of Noble Avalokiteśvara, making everything around the maṇḍala glow with golden light. This indicates that the great divine1100 Śrī has been summoned and will not depart for as long as the vidyā holder lives. If he wishes to enjoy divine splendor and prosperity, he should make generous offerings three times a day, placing them in the hands of1101 Noble Avalokiteśvara and the goddess Śrī. [Tiv.46] He should also offer bowls with argha water and make offerings to the Three Jewels. The articles should be offered and then utilized. The vidyā holder should perform meritorious deeds and worship the great goddess Śrī with offerings three times a day.
“If the vidyā holder wants the great goddess Śrī to arrive in person, he should complete the full round of one thousand and eight recitations of the heart mantra of Amoghakrodharāja, each time casting mustard seeds smeared with honey at the effigy of Śrī.1102 When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, the great goddess Śrī will appear in person, adorned with all ornaments and decked in divine adornments of jewels, gold, and pearls. Her face will be bright like a blooming lotus, her eyes as blue as an utpala lotus,1103 and she will hold an open lotus in her hand. Glowing like a lotus1104 and sitting on a lotus seat amid a rain of many jewels, gems, and golden lotuses, her two shining breasts will resemble one hundred thousand jars.1105 She will be surrounded by many hundreds of thousands of celestial and yakṣa girls, all adorned with many divine ornaments, who will stand in front of the vidyā holder with beautiful bodies shining bright.1106 The vidyā holder should not be afraid but remain cheerful while mentally reciting the following:
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great, compassionate bodhisattva being who grants great amogha boons!
[191] “Oṁ, O lotus-eyed lotus lady [A.56.b] sitting on a lotus seat and holding a lotus! O Padmāvatī, fond of lotuses, lotus white with a lotus glow, seated1107 upon a lotus seat! Fond of Avalokiteśvara, you grant boons and facilitate boons. Please be kind and inspire with kindness! [F.105.b] Act, act, O bestower of the boons of Noble Avalokiteśvara! Huru huru, O fine bodied one! Move, move, O lotus lover adorned with flowers! Owner of fine chariots, carry, carry! Bring together! Remember your samaya! You are the same as Noble Avalokiteśvara, O goddess established in the truth who grants amogha boons! Hūṁ! Homage be to you, svāhā!1108
“After this mantra has been repeated seven times, the great goddess Śrī will extend her hand and place it on the vidyā holder’s head, saying, [Tiv.47] ‘Come, O son of noble family, the first-born heart-son!1109 You have accomplished the Krodharāja, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa.1110 Employing the dhāraṇī immaculate amogha Śrī,1111 please visit my dwelling as if it were your home. You will be able to accomplish all activities.’ The vidyā holder, at this moment, should mindfully repeat the following dhāraṇī mantra of the vidyā type three times:
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great compassionate bodhisattva being!
[192] “Oṁ, blessed mother-eyed one! Vara vara, O giver of boons1112 of Avalokiteśvara! Ooze, O milk giver! Mother, mother, you bring wide renown! You have exquisite curves and hold the unfailing noose in your hand, svāhā!1113
“The two breasts of the great goddess Śrī will subsequently release streams of milk, which the vidyā holder should catch in his mouth and drink. As soon as he drinks the milk he will obtain a divine body, one that is delicate like divine lotuses and water lilies. His hair will become curly and wavy, and his eyes will turn blue like an utpala lotus. He will also obtain the gift of eloquence and a voice sounding like that of a kinnara, identical in timbre and sound. He will manifest as a lotus king by the name Amogha-Ocean-Like Immaculate Splendor with the Gaze of the Great Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus. He will accomplish the rites with great success and will live ten thousand years. He will behold the victorious Amitābha chanting the Dharma instructions in chorus with the hosts of bodhisattvas in their fine palaces.
“He will be able to travel magically through the sky and will become a great emperor who carries the unfailing noose and goes by the name One with the Great Gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus. [F.106.a] He will be the emperor and lord of all the vidyādharas. He will become a son of Noble Avalokiteśvara and the celestial son of all the tathāgatas. All devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will regard him as their one and only eldest son. The Four Great Kings, too, will treat him as their only son. He will be invincible, strong, powerful, and valiant in every way. All the profound instructions of the tathāgatas on mudrās, maṇḍalas, kings of vidyās,1114 secret mantras, and secret dhāraṇī mantras, as well as all the sovereign rituals, will be clearly revealed to him.
“All the dwellings of devas, nāgas, and kinnaras, [Tiv.48] as well as all palaces accessible via secret passages, will remain open to the vidyā holder. Likewise, all the residences of yakṣas and rākṣasas will be open for him. All these beings will fall under his thrall and will remain his eager servants. Just like the Lord of the World,1115 the vidyā holder will become a universal teacher and instructor for all the people who honor him with offerings. He will become an accomplished master of all worldly and supramundane mantras and maṇḍalas.
“The great goddess Śrī,1116 together with her retinue, will attend upon him out of motherly love, rendering help and assistance. [A.57.a] She will fulfill all his desires and do all tasks according to his wishes. She will bring him money, grain, wrought gold, gold bullion, jewels, pearls, beryl stones, conch-like stones, coral,1117 silver, and even celestial jewels and gems. She will also provide clothes made of divine silk from Vārāṇasī and divine foods and beverages that taste like ambrosia. Bound to him by her motherly love, she will always follow the vidyā holder wherever he goes. [F.106.b]
“The house of the vidyā holder will become a fine palace, like those in the city of Aḍakavatī. His wealth will increase just as wealth does in the abode of Vaiśravaṇa. He will always be attended by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. The great, vajra-wielding general of the yakṣas will remain standing by with all his vidyādhara followers, each of them joined by a great retinue of yakṣas and guhyakas, in order to guard, protect and defend the vidyā holder. So too will the great goddess Śrī stand by day and night with her retinue, surrounded by tens of millions of Vaiśravaṇa’s yakṣas, in order to guard, protect, and defend him.
“Now I will teach the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa called immaculately pure great Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus who is like an amogha ocean.1118 This mantra will produce accomplishments when recited as part of the sovereign ritual of Amoghapāśa. The vidyā holder will plant roots of virtue equal to the virtue of hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, as numerous as all the atoms or grains of sand in sixty-four Gaṅgā rivers; it will be as if he were in the presence of these tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas. He will thus accumulate a great store of merit.
“Whether the vidyā holder is a son or daughter of noble family, a monk or nun, or a male or female lay practitioner, [Tiv.49] their merit will be the same as if they offered divine jewels and gems, the seven1119 types of great jewels and gems, great gold flowers of beautiful golden color, silver flowers, divine cloth, and divine adornments, as well as divinely fragrant flowers, garlands, and unguents piled as high as the top of Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, and kept offering all these objects every day of the year to each and every tathāgata among the hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas, as numerous as the atoms or grains of sand in sixty-four Gaṅgā rivers. [F.107.a]
“The vidyā holder’s merit will be the same as if he made these offerings and then lit, in front of each and every tathāgata, a lamp filled with fragrant oil as vast as the great ocean. He will thus be equipped with the roots of great virtue. He will obtain this merit if he displays the mudrā of Amoghapāśa seven times1120 and recites the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa called immaculately pure great Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus1121 who is like an amogha ocean. This mantra should be recited one hundred and eight times, and as a result the vidyā holder will obtain many roots of virtue. He will be blessed by all the tathāgatas, who will appear to him and will all prophesy his future awakening.
“The great goddess Śrī, for her part, will grant the vidyā holder every boon. Prosperity1122 will always dwell in his house. Wherever the great goddess Śrī resides, there, [A.57.b] in that very place, hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas—equal in number to the atoms or grains of sand in sixty-four Gaṅgā rivers—will also reside. This is because Śrī is the mother of all tathāgatas. The great goddess Śrī is said to be paramount for the mantra rites, mudrās, and maṇḍalas of all the gods and nāgas and of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. She is also said to be supreme in pacifying, nourishing, assaulting, and various other activities.
“The great goddess Śrī is the universal mother and progenitress.1123 She is the mother of all bodhisattvas, [Tiv.50] and her amogha accomplishment is unfailing. She grants amogha boons and generously distributes his gifts, and she brings the vidyā holder great amogha renown. She possesses the finest amogha palaces in the sky and grants the boon of fame that comes from possessing amogha qualities. The great goddess Śrī is the source of the amogha splendor of the moon and the sun. She is the most eminent being in the thirty-two abodes.1124
“The vidyā holder [F.107.b] should be ritually pure, thoroughly bathed, sprinkled with scented water, and anointed with the five products of the cow. He should wear clean clothes and subsist on pure food, while avoiding alcohol, meat, onions, garlic, red onions, mixed foods, leftover food, food or drink that has gone off, smelly food, or contaminated food. He should avoid associating with wicked beings, people who are bad, deceitful, murderous,1125 malicious, or ungrateful,1126 people who lack compassion and loving kindness, and people who are inconsiderate. He should avoid bad places and dwellings, indigestible food, foul-tasting food, food spoiled by chāyās,1127 shared food, and food left uneaten by others.
“The vidyā holder should silently recite the mantra1128 while burning fragrant incense and cultivating thoughts of loving kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy. He should maintain a happy, joyful, and content frame of mind overflowing with auspicious felicity. That is how he should recite the mantra. He should offer incense of agarwood to Noble Avalokiteśvara, incense of olibanum to all the tathāgatas, and incense of sandalwood to the great goddess Śrī. He should also offer bowls with argha water1129 and seasonal flowers. He should offer all this while reciting this mantra twenty-one times:
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the most compassionate Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being! The mantra proper is:
[193] “Oṁ, fragrant lake where lotuses are seen, reservoir of amogha water, gathering of lotuses! Save us, save, O joyful one! Hūṁ, svāhā!1130
“The vidyā holder should recite this mantra twenty-one times and offer the bowls with argha water, flowers, incense, and fragrances. At the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara he should recite this mantra one thousand and eight times, the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times, and the mantra of Krodharāja three times. [F.108.a] He should burn incense of agarwood, offer flowers as available, and light lamps with scented oil. He should sit in a cross-legged posture at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara and, looking at him, [Tiv.51] recite the heart dhāraṇī one hundred and eight times while displaying the mudrā of recitation.
“As soon as the vidyā holder has done this one thousand times,1131 the image will move, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will emit light from his entire body, causing the vidyā holder to get goose bumps. At dawn, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to the vidyā holder in person, read every thought in his mind, allow him to choose any boons, and grant whatever boons he desires. He will give him comfort and encouragement and fulfill his every wish. In this world, the vidyā holder will become free from all disease, plants roots of virtue, and complete his accumulation of merit. [A.58.a] All his obscurations and wrongdoings will diminish and be completely exhausted. He will be free from all afflictions. All his adversaries and opponents will go away, never to return.
“When he enters the thick of battle, he should incant some mustard seeds with the following king of vidyās twenty-one times and cast them into the fray. All opponents will become paralyzed. The mantras for this are as follows.
“The heart mantra:
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the most compassionate Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being!
[194] “Oṁ, O boon-granting lotus lady, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, blaze, blaze! You, with your lotus arms extended forth! Svāhā!1132
“The auxiliary heart mantra:
[195] “Oṁ, O lady with a lotus gaze and a perfect body! Turu turu! Hūṁ, svāhā!1133
“If this dhāraṇī, immaculately pure Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus who is like the ocean1134 of amogha, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, is recited continually, it will purify the five acts of immediate retribution. The great goddess Śrī will always grant boons to the reciter [F.108.b] and allow him to see Noble Avalokiteśvara whenever he wants to. No poison will ever harm his body, he will be completely free from the eight great fears, and he will never suffer from fever or disease.
“In the event of epileptic seizures, the vidyā holder should incant a five-colored thread twenty-one times, tie twenty-one knots in it, cense it with bdellium, and tie it around the patient’s neck; all seizures will then cease. Even if Mahākāla [Tiv.52] himself is present, or the mātṛs are ‘sealed’ in his body, the patient will be cured of all seizures. If the vidyā holder uses a black thread instead, he will cure quartan fever. If he desires a girl,1135 he should use a white thread, and he will be able to bring her from anywhere.
“In the event of any quarrel, dispute, contest, or disagreement, the vidyā holder should incant bovine bezoar twenty-one times and mark his forehead with a bindi;1136 he will never be defeated by anyone anywhere. If he marks his chest with the bindi, he will become invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, and so forth. If he marks the palm of his hand with the bindi, the men, boys, and girls he touches will fall under his thrall.1137
“If the vidyā holder marks a bindi between his eyebrows, the king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under his thrall. If he marks his neck with the bindi, all vaiśyas will fall under his thrall. If he marks his arms with it, all kṣatriyas will fall under his thrall. If he marks the top of his head with it, all brahmins will fall under his thrall. If he makes the bindi mark in the area of his navel, all śūdras will fall under his thrall. If he marks his feet and calves with it, he will be able to walk one hundred leagues without getting tired, and even walk back again. If he marks the soles of his feet, he will be able to ford broad rivers and even cross over an ocean.
“If the vidyā holder marks his arms with the bindi, he will be invincible at wrestling. If he marks his knees and walks into a fire pit or between the blazing walls of fire, [F.109.a] it will seem as cool as sandalwood or a field of uśīra grass.1138 If he anoints his eyes with the bezoar and adds the milk of a brown cow and human milk,1139 he will be able to see at night as if it were day. All treasure troves will blaze with light and will rise to the surface, even if they had been deposited hundreds of thousands of eons ago. Likewise, if he anoints his belly with the bezoar,1140 he will not crave food or drink for as long as his belly is not washed with water.
“If the vidyā holder anoints his penis, he will be able to retain his semen. If he drinks the bezoar together with the five products of the cow, his body will become immaculately pure. With his body pure, his conduct will also become pure. [A.58.b] All spirits that cause indigestion or cause food to have a foul taste or to spoil,1141 as well as all the effects of evil eye, will not affect him.1142 The vidyā holder will be freed from all fears and from all his wrongdoings and obscurations. All bad dreams, bad omens, and bad feelings1143 will cease. [Tiv.53] All poisons, venoms, and kākhordas will be neutralized. All malicious mantra applications and kiraṇas will disappear.1144 The vidyā holder will be victorious in all quarrels, disputes, contests, and disagreements. He will emerge victorious in every respect, and the dangers from opponents, adversaries, or foreign armies will not arise for him.
“If, before dawn, the vidyā holder blends the bezoar with ghee and honey without speaking and eats it, he will be able to memorize one thousand verses after reciting them. If he repeats this procedure over the period of seven nights, he will be able to accomplish all the mantras for all maṇḍala deities, as well as all the mudrās.1145 If he does the same over the period of one month, he will become an ocean-like receptacle of great learning. If he does the same over the period of one year, his lifespan will increase to one thousand years. He will become a preeminent teacher of all people, beloved to all, and pleasing to hear.
“If the vidyā holder boils the bezoar with oil and smears it on his head, his hair will become wavy and curly. [F.109.b] The circle of his face will resemble a full autumn moon with the hue of lotuses and water lilies. If he smears the same decoction over his entire body, it will become as soft and smooth as freshly churned butter. His hands and feet will look divinely young and fresh. If he anoints his ears with the decoction, they will increase to his preferred size. If he applies the decoction to his nostrils, all diseases of the head will be cured. There will be no excessive phlegm, mucus, or saliva. He will subsequently smell only pleasant odors and no longer be exposed to unpleasant ones. His wrinkles and grey hair will disappear, his broken teeth will become new again, his tongue will become as smooth as a lotus petal, and he will be cured of any throat problems or asthma attacks. If he fills his ear with the same decoction that has been made comfortably warm,1146 he will develop divine hearing and will only hear words that are pleasant and auspicious.
“This concludes the practice of the great bovine bezoar procedures.
“I will now teach the supreme, auspicious, and invincible tejasvatī that brings accomplishment.1147 Tejasvatī brings auspiciousness. The vidyā holder should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times and the mantra of Krodharāja seven times. He should then incant the tejasvatī one thousand and eight times with the dhāraṇī immaculately pure Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus who is like the ocean of amogha, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. He should be ritually pure, [Tiv.54] wear clean clothes, be bathed clean, and subsist on the ‘white’ foods. He should move around with the tejasvatī.1148
“If the vidyā holder holds the tejasvatī1149 in his mouth, he will understand any instructions and be able, according to his wish, to understand, recite, and retain them in his memory. His lotus tongue will become as smooth as a lotus or water lily. The sound, the tone, and the timbre of his voice will be like that of a kinnara. He will utter divine sounds that are universally understood. Whomever he speaks to will become his male and female servants, eager to perform tasks.
“Anyone who smells the tejasvatī’s odor will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall. Even the animals that come near him will be enthralled. On the other hand, any bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, rākṣasīs,1150 pretas, piśācas, and the like, any apasmāras, or any mischievous or wicked nonhuman beings will flee when they smell it. [A.59.a] [F.110.a] They will flee in the four directions as far as one hundred leagues and keep that distance. All his opponents and adversaries, the wicked and the extremely wicked, will go away when they smell this odor. They will, however, fall under his thrall if treated with thoughts of loving kindness.
“If the vidyā holder ties the tejasvatī to his right arm he will be able to knock down an elephant.1151 He will attain great strength, energy, and valor and become an invincible wrestler who displays the same strength as Vajradhara. If he ties the tejasvatī to his neck and enters the thick of battle, he will be able to defeat an army with its four divisions, all by himself, and return unharmed. If he places the tejasvatī on his head and enters a royal household, the king together with his harem, retinue, ministers, brahmin advisers, and priests will fall under his thrall, and they will place him above their heads.1152 No one will be able to stand in his path.
“If the vidyā holder ties the tejasvatī to his hand he will be able to enthrall anyone with his touch. Any money, grain stores, gold bullion, jewels, pearls, or wrought gold will become inexhaustible merely by his touch, as will the seeds and the crops that he sows and reaps. He will become the same as Ratnapāṇi. His store of grain will increase. If he ingests some of the tejasvatī every day, his powers of recollection and his intelligence will greatly increase. He will be cleansed of all his wrongdoings and cured of all disease. All fevers will cease, and all boils, ulcers, abscesses, lesions, skin eruptions, [Tiv.55] scabs, leprosy, rashes, and eczemas will disappear and never recur.
“If the vidyā holder repeats this procedure over the period of one month, he will master all the rites and the multitudes of mantras, mudrās, and maṇḍalas. His body will be protected at all times; no weapons will be raised against him, nor will thieves or bandits approach him. No one will be able to stand in his path. If he makes a decoction of tejasvatī in oil he will be able to cure headaches, earaches, [F.110.b] toothaches, eye ailments,1153 and partial paralysis.1154 As soon as he applies the decoction, cooled to a comfortable temperature,1155 all pain will cease. None of these ailments will recur. If he fumigates any place using ghee mixed with mustard seeds, all the sixty-eight thousand grahas will flee crying. They will disperse in the cardinal and intermediate directions and will never come to the place again. He will also be able to perform other activities, any that he may desire.
“Now I will teach about the incense1156 that can be used to invoke any deity, summon a bodhisattva, arouse any tathāgata, or attain the accomplishment of any vidyādhara. This method completely obliterates all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, grahas, apasmāras, yakṣiṇīs, pretas, piśācas, and skandas, and it destroys all evil māras. It prevents all disease and neutralizes all dangerous toxins, whether they originate from animal bites or other animate or inanimate sources. It produces every inviolable accomplishment and cures all fevers, in particular quartan fever. It causes a bright countenance, is the supreme incense for fumigating clothes, neutralizes all inimical mantras, and brings all kākhordas under control.
“Even when someone has incurred a king’s anger, and the weapons of the executioners are raised, the entire situation can be pacified by burning this incense. All extremely terrifying poisonous creatures such as those who inject the poison through a bite or a sting, the wicked gonāsa snakes, and various other poisonous creatures [A.59.b] such as takṣakas1157 are all rendered harmless by merely being fumigated. The incense perfectly removes all disease and purifies all wrongdoings. [Tiv.56] The fumigated person acquires a lot of merit and comes to be worshiped by all deities.1158
“This incense was burned when Śakra and the gods of the realm of Thirty-Three engaged in war with the asuras, and the asuras were defeated. When Rudra incinerated the three worlds, this king of incense defeated him. When Viṣṇu, in his avatar of Vāmana, bound and defeated Bali [F.111.a] while striding across the world,1159 and when the sun, moon, and celestial bodies were confused by the lord of asuras,1160 Vāmana conquered them all using this special king of incense. He then continually worked miracles and performed hundreds of thousands of magical feats as described in the Mahābhārata.1161 There is no doubt that it was because of the king of incense that Viṣṇu defeated the Pāṇḍavas.1162
“The Guide conquered hundreds of thousands of māras and vast numbers of their servants. He conquered them all by the power of his loving kindness and brought ruin upon the evil among them through the efficacy of the king of incense. When the ocean was stirred, all its inhabitants were rendered naked,1163 cleansed within the three parts of a single vessel.1164 The great, all-accomplishing lord who had lost his wish-fulfilling jewel,1165 and who had defeated the asuras using the incense,1166 then returned home. Keeping the banner of victory constantly aloft, he censed it with the incense, causing a rain of seven types of jewels to fall for seven days and nights. This incense is thus very powerful and can accomplish any activity.
“Enveloped by the smoke of the king of incense, the nāgas Sāgara, Nanda, and Upananda were defeated in the great battle and used for the churning of the great ocean, while Nīlakaṇṭha drank the poison that trickled down Mount Sumeru. The power of the incense neutralized the poison and turned it into ambrosia.1167 There is thus no doubt that the king of incense kills all poison. By the power of the king of incense, Māndhātṛ conquered the four continents, brought Keśa and the ṛṣis to ruin, and shared the throne with Śakra himself.1168 Those who tell lies perish by the power of the king of incense. Because of this, one should speak the truth. As it is an instrument of truth, this incense is famed as the king of truth.
“In short, the king of incense is true speech and true Dharma. It is the totality of loving kindness. It comprises the love, compassion, and sympathetic joy that is ever present throughout the entire world. By burning this incense all weapons are destroyed. [F.111.b] This incense, blessed with truth, was taught by all the tathāgatas. It certainly is a lokeśvara, a protector and sole teacher of the entire world. Taught for the benefit of all beings, and in particular for vidyā holders,1169 it prevents rebirth in the sixteen terrible hells and allays the great fears. [Tiv.57] Pain and suffering inspire great fear. The suffering of the pretas, who are always afflicted with hunger and thirst, is very frightening. They cry ‘Alas! Alas!’ as there is no one to save them, except for those who always regard all beings with compassion and teach the supreme king of incense to save the entire world.
“The person for whose sake this incense is burned while their name is pronounced, whether they are wicked or kind, will succeed in everything that has been wished for them. As an auspicious instruction of Avalokiteśvara, all these wishes will certainly come true once that person’s name is pronounced and the incense burned at the time of the lunar or solar eclipse, when the nakṣatras are inauspicious and the moon and sun have been swallowed by Rāhu.
“People who suffer the pain of mundane existence—kings, queens, ministers, scholarly advisers, brahmin priests, kṣatriyas, brahmins, śūdras, or vaiśyas—or any other group of people affected by calamity or involved in a quarrel or suffering terrible pain, will experience the following the very instant they burn the king of incense: Beings will obtain tasty food and drink, [A.60.a] divine clothes, adornments, fragrant garlands, unguents, garments, vehicles, beds, cushions, and ornaments. This will all manifest instantly if this king of incense is employed correctly. [F.112.a] They will obtain whatever they desire. Whatever wishes they have will all come true because of this instruction of the Lokeśvara.1170 Pretas will obtain food and divine clothes, adornments will manifest by themselves, and the vidyā holder’s own wrongdoings will be purified. All hell beings will be saved from the terrible hells and the sufferings there and will obtain a happy existence full of joy and fun. They will obtain all kinds of happiness and pleasure.
“The vidyā holder who burns this incense will smell an exquisite fragrance. All those who are impure or steeped in darkness will be awakened from such states when they smell the incense. The darkness will be dispelled as it is by the rising of the sun. This king of incense will bring an end to all suffering. It will liberate all denizens of hell, free them from all wickedness and fear, and establish them on the tenth bodhisattva level of the divine path as explained by the Sugata. One should therefore employ the king of incense with every effort and care.” [Tiv.58]
The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, continued to teach the great rites of the great king of incense as follows.
“Any place on earth where this incense is burned in front of the Lord of the World becomes like a reliquary. It becomes an abode of the tathāgatas, continually blessed by all victors. It has been prophesied that a thousand million billion buddhas, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, will reside at places where this incense is burned. Vajradhara, along with hundreds of thousands of millions of vidyādharas, will reside there, as will the Four Great Kings with their armies and chariots. Maṇibhadra and Pāñcika from the lofty peaks of the snowy Himālayas, Pūrṇabhadra, Kelikila,1171 the great yakṣa [F.112.b] known as Naravāhana, the powerful Buddhabala, Mahābala, Gavākṣapātin, Navakūpara, Prabhañjana, Aṭavaka, and Baladeva, together with their armies and chariots, will also remain there at all times, day and night, guarding and protecting the vidyā holder.
“Śrī, the goddess of the three worlds, should always be offered this incense in worship. The place on earth where this incense is burned is a divine place where Vajradhara, the skilled upholder of the Dharma, attended by guhyakas, always offers his protection. Indra with the gods Brahmā and Rudra and all the thirty-two groups of gods1172 will give constant protection there, as will Candra, Sūrya, Rāhu, the nakṣatras, the stellar constellations, and the deities of the night. The goddesses Bhīmā, Śrī, Śaṅkhinī, and Sarasvatī, the earth deities, the water deities, the chief deities of forests and trees, the mountain deities, the river deities, the deities of water reservoirs, the gods headed by Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra, the noble ṛṣis, the male and female deities of the lakes, and the asuras1173 will all give protection there and remain standing by day and night. These deities are always connected to the places where this incense is burned.
“The places on earth where this incense is burned become abodes of gods and are ever blessed by them. The lokeśvara boon-granting protector of the world, the teacher, the guide, and the savior of people, is also continually [Tiv.59] present [A.60.b] where this best of incense is burned. By merely smelling its fragrance, the vidyā holder will swiftly attain buddhahood. [F.113.a]
“For the benefit and well-being of all beings and in order to eradicate all suffering, I will now name its ingredients, so please listen, gods and humans! They are agarwood, crepe jasmine, a handful of sandalwood, fenugreek,1174 bovine bezoar, mahiṣākṣa,1175 olibanum, rasa,1176 white dammar,1177 saffron, nalada,1178 pine resin,1179 yellow myrobalan, sāmaka,1180 spikenard,1181 olibanum,1182 beautyberry,1183 kayasthā, vayasthā,1184 nameru,1185 nut grass,1186 costus,1187 black agarwood, camphor, musk, laṅga,1188 purging cotton, the sap of giant milkweed, the sap of kana,1189 the sap of common milk hedge, kapāla,1190 viṣṇukrānta,1191 purple fleabane, snakeroot, jayā,1192 vijayā,1193 ichneumon plant, gandhanākulī,1194 brahmaputrā,1195 water lily, lotus stalk,1196 honey, white sugar, and molasses syrup. The supreme incense will be produced by combining these ingredients.
“The ingredients should only be combined on either the fifteenth—the day of the full moon—or on the fourteenth, the thirteenth, or the eighth day of the lunar fortnight. The skilled vidyā holder should maintain ritual purity day and night,1197 wear clean clothes, and bathe thoroughly. After combining the ingredients one at a time, he should skillfully employ the mantras, mudrās, and the maṇḍala while making appropriate use of flowers, incense, and fragrances. The skilled vidyā holder should perform the bali ritual as part of the worship procedure. Bowls filled with argha water should be placed in the front, lamps should be lit, and everything should be well arranged for the rite. The rite should be performed in a place that is well hidden and clean, with an attendant who is the vidyā holder’s best disciple.
“The vidyā holder, his body immaculately clean and controlled and his mind singularly focused on thoughts of loving kindness and compassion for all beings, should sit opposite an image of Amoghapāśa, contemplate the buddhas, and recite the mantra with all his heart. [F.113.b] Focusing on all the tathāgatas while facing the Lokeśvara,1198 [Tiv.60] he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa the full one thousand and eight times, the mantra of Krodharāja the full one thousand and eight times, and the mantra of Amoghasiddhi one hundred and eight times. Then, clearly pronouncing the letters and syllables, the vidyā holder should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa called immaculately pure Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus who is like the ocean of amogha the full ten thousand times. When finished, he should recite the following mantra one hundred thousand times:
[196] “Oṁ, you are the gaze of all the tathāgatas, the amogha essence! Move, move, O most compassionate one! Hūṁ! Consecrate me! The holder of the unfailing noose, svāhā!1199
“He should recite this mantra while deeply focused and perform all the parts of the ritual skillfully. As soon as he has finished reciting it, this best of incense will possess the blessing of all the tathāgatas. The king of incense, once it is blessed, will be called great cloud of the widespread light of Amoghapāśa that is as pure as a jewel.1200 This king of incense will also be called noble emperor who grants the boons of Avalokiteśvara and possesses the gaze of each of the tathāgatas. The vidyā holder should first offer the incense to all the tathāgatas while reciting this mantra seven times:
[197] “Oṁ, O great torrent of the gaze of all the tathāgatas! Conquer, conquer! Svāhā!1201
“The vidyā holder should then fumigate himself to obtain a blessing from all the tathāgatas. As soon as he fumigates himself, the great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him and grant him boons. He will appear in the form of a brahmin monk and speak courteously. [A.61.a] Everything he says will come true in reality. Later, at night, he will appear in his real form and grant the vidyā holder every boon. The vidyā holder will obtain amogha knowledge and will be freed from the eight great fears. All his previously accumulated obscurations [F.114.a] and nonvirtue that would otherwise lead to rebirth in hell will diminish and disappear completely.
“All those who see the body of a person who has been fumigated will fall and remain under their thrall as soon as they see it. The kings and their kingdoms that include cities, towns, and villages, as well as their harems, retinues, ministers, brahmin advisers, and priests, will all fall and remain under that person’s thrall. They will all become their servants, eager to follow their orders. [Tiv.61] The people of the four castes will also remain under their thrall.
“On the fourteenth, the fifteenth, or the eighth day of the lunar fortnight, the vidyā holder—thoroughly bathed, wearing clean clothes, and anointed with the five products of the cow—should prepare a maṇḍala in a prominent place,1202 arranging flowers, bowls with argha water, and a bali consisting of ‘white’ foods. He should then bow in the four cardinal directions and burn the king of incense while thinking of all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas. By merely burning the incense, all the hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas—as numerous of the grains of sand in ten1203 Gaṅgā rivers, dwelling in each and every buddha field in the infinity of space in the ten directions where the atoms in each buddha field are in turn filled with tathāgata abodes that are impossible to count—will be worshiped with this incomparably great incense, together with their bodhisattva retinues,1204 and perfumed by its vapor clouds spreading through the sky and filling its expanse with the scent of uragasāra sandalwood, gośīrṣa sandalwood, and tamāla leaves.1205
“All the gods who dwell in the abodes of Thirty-Three, the gods Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, and the gods as far as the realm of Akaniṣṭha will be exhilarated by the scent of the incense, as will the nakṣatras, the multitudes of stars, Sūrya, Candra, and the months. One should not have any doubt about this or give rise to any qualms, but one should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa with a loud voice. [F.114.b] The tathāgatas who dwell in the buddha fields everywhere will say ‘Good!’ and will bestow upon the vidyā holder the blessing of the tathāgatas. They will always keep him in their hearts and will appear to him again and again.
“All the bodhisattvas who dwell in Sukhāvatī, the buddha field of the Tathāgata Amitāyus—among whom the most prominent are the noble bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta—will be overjoyed and will grant the vidyā holder the supreme amogha accomplishment. They will appear to him whenever he wants to see them. All nāgas will be enthralled as soon as the incense reaches them. They will stop excessive rain and send rain in the event of a drought. They will dispel any storm clouds that bring strong winds and hail.
“All grahas will disappear as soon as the incense reaches them, and all vighnas and vināyakas [Tiv.62] will flee one thousand leagues into the ten directions. When a place haunted by mātṛs is fumigated,1206 the hosts of mātṛs headed by Mahākāla will be summoned and fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall. They will all become his servants, eager to carry out orders. If the vidyā holder burns the incense and enters the thick of a battle, [A.61.b] he will defeat the army with its four divisions. By merely burning the incense, he will obtain complete victory. Whatever purpose it is employed for, this incense will bring great success.
“This concludes the incense procedures. [B11]
“Now will I teach, for the benefit of all vidyā holders, the procedures for applying a bindi, a face wash, and a bodily unguent that offer the protection of a coat of mail1207 or cuirass. Please listen, Lord, about this great amogha jewel,1208 the jewel of his vajra noose, which, as soon as it is used, brings the supreme accomplishment. A wise vidyā holder who marks the space between his eyebrows with the bindi while in a group or a crowd of people, in a midst of a gathering, in a congregation of monks, or among scholars versed in the four Vedas will shine1209 like the new autumn moon among the multitude of stars. [F.115.a] The gods will all be filled with wonder at his radiance, which will match the diadem of Rudra or even the diadem of the lord of the world in his form of Dakṣiṇamūrti, whose diadem is the crescent moon.
“The supreme procedure of washing of the face will make it as radiant as the moon. The vidyā holder’s brow, ears, and forehead will become as white and smooth as a lotus, and his eyes will resemble blue water lilies. All beings will enjoy looking at him, and his speech will be pleasant to hear. All those who see him will inevitably fall under his thrall.
“The person anointed with the unguent will always recite the vidyā in a high-minded way.1210 A skilled vidyā holder who always fastens this coat of mail1211 around his body will become unassailable by bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and guhyakas. In all cases he will be invincible in battle because of his great strength and valor.1212 He will always have the strength of Nārāyaṇa or of one thousand elephants. The gods will tremble, and the nāgas in the ocean will be terrified. If the vidyā holder touches Mount Sumeru while reciting the vidyā, it will instantly quake. [Tiv.63] There can be no doubt about this.
“Strong as Nārāyaṇa, the vidyā holder will always possess a similar strength, beauty, and valor. By merely holding this supreme king of jewels in his hand,1213 he will be saved from the consequences of all his wrongdoings, and his negativity will be destroyed. Whoever takes this jewel in their hand will always obtain good fortune and splendor, will be freed from all their obscurations, will be loved by everybody, and will be regarded by all the tathāgatas as their own firstborn. Noble Avalokiteśvara will always stand by to give them comfort and encouragement and to protect the reciter of vidyā. The great lokeśvara sage1214 will always be present in the vidyā holder’s home and grant him boons. [F.115.b]
“The vidyā holder who wears this jewel will accumulate a great amount of merit. He will plant the roots of virtue as if he were in the presence of hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty-four thousand million Gaṅgā rivers. All these tathāgatas will appear to him, give him comfort and encouragement, and stand by him. He will obtain every good fortune and all pleasures. His body, speech, and mind will remain completely pure at all times, he will be uniquely worshiped by all beings, and he will be unassailable by all enemies. Vajradhara will always stand by in order to guard, protect, and defend him, and Padmapāṇi will always grant him every boon.
“This vidyā1215 was taught by all the tathāgatas.1216 All tathāgatas conquered and ultimately defeated all the wicked māras, vighnas, vināyakas, and so forth while wearing this great jewel and then set the Dharma wheel in motion. If a drum is anointed with it, its sound will become the sound of the great Dharma drum that purifies the five acts of immediate retribution and the wrongdoings of all beings the moment it is heard. Even animals, birds, and all other animal-born beings will be liberated. [A.62.a]
“All those who slander the noble ones, oppose the true Dharma, and are destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell will also be liberated. They will be saved from the sixteen great hells and the eight great fears. The wearer of the jewel will face no danger from poison, fire, or weapons, nor will they suffer untimely death or any fever. If a conch smeared with this jewel is played, it will be the same as if the great Dharma conch were played; [Tiv.64] all those who hear its sound will be established irreversibly on the path to awakening. [F.116.a]
“Whether they are women, men, boys, or girls, they will be free from birth, disease, death, grief, and lamentation. Their current birth will be their last, and when they die they will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, with all the blessings that it entails. They will be spontaneously born there from a lotus flower and obtain the full complement of the major and minor marks of a great person. They will be born sitting on a lotus seat in a cross-legged position and be adorned with all ornaments. They will receive Dharma teachings directly from Amitābha until they attain the complete and final awakening.
“This great jewel can be wrapped in white cloth during the bright fortnight and mounted on the tip of a banner. When the banner is raised, the mere sight of the jewel mounted on it will induce the state of a fully realized tathāgata, the turning of the wheel of Dharma, and the crushing of Māra. Seeing it should be regarded as the same as seeing the raising of the vajra.1217 As soon as the banner is raised, all quarrels, disputes, and disagreements will cease, as will all misfortunes, plagues, famines, and calamities. All thieves, rogues, robbers, adversaries, and opponents will disappear. All armies, whether of the enemy or one’s own, and all wicked beings will be pacified. All wicked āśīviṣa snakes, wild animals, birds, gnats, mosquitos, locusts, and creeping animals will disappear, as will all boils, lesions, scabs, festering abscesses, fistulas, incontinence, and asthma attacks.
“There will be no more hail, cold spells, or hurricanes caused by the wicked nāgas. All diseases will likewise cease, and there will be peace, happiness, and affluence for all humanity, whatever the size of the population. There will be a universal desire for Dharma, and people will delight in visiting Dharma groves.1218 There will be abundant harvests of flowers, fruits, and grains and an abundance of tasty and scrumptious food and drink. [F.116.b] All food and drink will taste delicious.
“All wicked yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, ḍākinīs, pretas, apasmāras, pūtas, kaṭapūtanas, skandas, and chāyās, as well as spirits that cause food to taste foul and spoil, cause indigestion, and cause the evil eye, will be pacified and no longer appear. All beings will be filled with mutual love and will remain in a state of supreme contentment. [Tiv.65] Blessed by the great king of jewels, they will possess great qualities and enjoy the benefits thereof.”
The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, now turned to the Blessed One and smiled without blinking. He said to the Lord, “I will now describe, O Blessed One, the power substances for preparing this supreme jewel—substances blessed and taught by all the tathāgatas. This great wish-fulfilling jewel is my own heart essence—a great jewel that brings benefit and happiness to all beings. The vidyā holder should procure gold,1219 spikenard,1220 bovine bezoar, yellow orpiment, realgar, pink and blue lotuses, saffron, nāgapuṣpa,1221 cinnamon, [A.62.b] crepe jasmine, the two types of sandalwood,1222 fenugreek, vālaka,1223 costus,1224 dill, beautyberry,1225 hareṇuka,1226 cardamon, lodhra,1227 jātapatṛ,1228 great flowering jasmine, sāmaka,1229 rasa,1230 resin of the copal tree, and the sap of giant milkweed. These ingredients should be combined using an equal amount of each, except for gold,1231 the quantity of which is double.
“The vidyā holder should perform the rite during an auspicious nakṣatra, on a lunar day that is particularly suitable and auspicious. Thoroughly bathed, wearing clean clothes, and cultivating thoughts of loving kindness day and night, he should grind the ingredients into a fine powder. He should recite the heart dhāraṇī of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times and consecrate himself1232 by reciting the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. [F.117.a]
“He should blend the powder with perfumed rain and that which is called virata and then fumigate it with camphor and musk.1233 He should then form the mixture into jewel pills the size of a lotus seed,1234 pierce them, tie them with a thread of woven silk,1235 and again recite the heart dhāraṇī of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times and the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. This should be performed in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara without speaking. The vidyā holder should leave them to dry in the shade at Avalokiteśvara’s feet and cover one half or a quarter of them with gold.1236
“The pills that are covered with gold are like the wish-fulfilling jewel of Amoghapāśa; they have the power to accomplish great activities, both worldly and supramundane, related to the awakening of a buddha.
“The pills that are not covered with gold have the power to accomplish all worldly activities. They can cure all diseases—all [Tiv.66] seizures, lesions, boils, erysipelas, scabs, festering abscesses, fistulas, leprosy, vitiligo, eye diseases, headache, hemiplegia, asthma attacks, diseases of mouth and nose, earache, toothache, pain in the palate, pain in the tongue, pain in the lips, pain in the chest, pain in the flanks, pain in the abdomen, diseases of the spleen, back pain, polyuria, dysentery, constipation, all types of hemorrhoids, all types of fever including the quartan, and the imbalance of wind, bile, or phlegm or a combination of these. For all internal diseases, the pill should be administered with warm water.1237 All external diseases can be cured by merely applying salves with the jewel. Applied to any body part in whatever way, they will successfully cure anything; there is no doubt about this.
“If a gold-coated jewel pill is tied to the arm, [F.117.b] the wearer will become invulnerable in every respect. He will obtain the strength, energy, and valor similar to that of Padmapāṇi or Vajradhara.
“The threefold application of the jewel—as a bindi, a face wash, or an unguent— will bring, it is said, the supreme accomplishment of all tasks. The vidyā holder will succeed in whatever tasks he needs to accomplish; there is no doubt. He can certainly enthrall a king together with his harem, retinue, and ministers. They will become and remain his servants, always eager to carry orders.
“If the vidyā holder wears the jewel inside his topknot and recites the vidyā, he will be able to accomplish everything without obstacle. If he holds it in his right hand and recites the vidyā, it will be the same as if he recited the vidyā one hundred thousand times. A single recitation is multiplied one hundred thousand times.
“If he is unwashed and ties it around his neck, he will become washed. If he was impure, he will become pure. If he did not observe sexual continence, he will observe it. If he did not keep his vow of silence, he will keep it. If he did not fast, he will fast. If his speech was unpleasant, it will become pleasant and agreeable. [A.63.a] If he was not accomplished, he will become accomplished. If he did not know the samaya, he will come to know it fully. His train of thoughts will become suffused with loving kindness. Whatever he gives in charity, even if it is small, will multiply hundreds of thousands of times, becoming great act of charity. [Tiv.67] He will complete the six perfections.
“If1238 he ties the amulet to the palm of his right hand, whatever he touches will become inexhaustible. So that everything will increase and thrive, he should never disclose this to anyone. If he ties the jewel to his hips, he can step into a deep river and touch the bottom.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the following jewel procedure, he should use silver to fashion a thirty-two-petaled1239 lotus that is in full bloom with kernels in its pericarp and filaments around them. It should be sixteen fingers wide. In the center, he should place the ‘gold jewel.’1240 He should also draw a square maṇḍala, wetting it with cow urine and dyeing it in various colors.1241 [F.118.a] The outer part of the maṇḍala should have the shape of a lotus. In the center where the lotus filaments are, he should place the silver lotus. He should arrange four full jars and four jars for bali around the maṇḍala,1242 strew it with flowers, and paint it in various colors. He should burn incense of agarwood, sandalwood, and olibanum and offer a bali consisting of the ‘white’ foods. He should adorn the maṇḍala with banners in various colors, light thirty-two butter lamps, and arrange various garlands. All these things should be placed opposite an image of Noble Avalokiteśvara.
“The vidyā holder should be ritually pure and wear clean clothes. After fasting for one day and one night, he should perform worship three times a day from the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, through the fourteen and fifteen days of the following fortnight. He should make offerings to the five baskets1243 and to Noble Avalokiteśvara. Seated facing eastward toward the maṇḍala, he should recite the mantra1244 one thousand and eight times, and the mantra of Krodharāja one thousand and eight times. He should sprinkle the maṇḍala1245 with mustard seeds and water and display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times. He should also display the mudrā of Krodharāja. All these acts should be performed without speaking.
“Then, on the fifteenth day,1246 before the dawn breaks, the king of jewels and the lotus will blaze with light, and words will issue forth from the mouth of Noble Avalokiteśvara. The vidyā holder will be thrilled as the word ‘good!’ is heard coming from the canopy of the sky. He will perceive a large form of the Tathāgata, [Tiv.68] at which point he should grasp the blazing lotus with his right hand. As soon as he does, he will ascend into the sky and become an emperor of all vidyādharas—a wheel-turning monarch of golden color by the name of Mahāsudarśana. All wicked beings, his opponents, and his adversaries will flee if he stands before them. [F.118.b] His retinue of vidyādhara kings will number twelve thousand million, and he will live one thousand eons.
“He will attain the samādhi called great jewel of the amogha gaze mounted on the tip of a banner. He will obtain the unfailing noose called beholding the pure burning amogha flame. [A.63.b] Throughout the buddha fields in the ten directions he will see marvelous displays of all the tathāgatas. All these tathāgatas will give him comfort and encouragement. He will obtain a purity of body called splendorous luster of the vajra gaze of the completely pure great jewel. All devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and become his willing servants.
“If the vidyā holder ties the great jewel to his head, he will miraculously move in the western direction and distinctly perceive the entire realm of Sukhāvatī with its palaces and environs beautifully adorned with gardens. He will see hosts of bodhisattvas sitting opposite the tathāgatas, listening to their great Dharma discourses that introduce and elucidate the Dharma. He will see the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara with all his ornaments and his palace.
“If he ties the great jewel to his neck, he will be able to enter all the terrestrial passages and the dwellings they lead to.1247 In all these places, he will become the emperor Jayaprabhurāja, and the gates to sixty-four thousand palaces entered via terrestrial passages will be open for him.1248
“If he ties the jewel to his right arm he will become invisible. Able to disappear at will, he will be the foremost among and the powerful king of hundreds of thousands of millions of those who can likewise disappear at will, equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. If he ties the jewel to his left arm he will become invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and so forth. The doors of all their dwellings will remain open to him.
“If he ties the jewel to his hips, all buried treasure troves will rise to the surface. [F.119.a] If he places the jewel on his knee and ties it to his right thigh,1249 all palatial residences accessible via forest passages [Tiv.69] will open their doors to him. All medicinal substances and herbs will approach him in their respective forms and fall under his thrall.
“If he ties the jewel to his lower calf, he will be able to move with the speed and great power of the wind. With a small step he will be able to travel the distance of ten thousand leagues and come back again. Using the great power, speed, and boldness of the wind, he will be able to travel around the entire thousandfold great trichiliocosm with all its world spheres in a single day and night and will never meet with any harm. He will fully accomplish everything that needs to be accomplished, always achieving a complete success.
“If he ties the jewel to the sole of his foot, he will obtain the magical ability to enter the great subterranean paradise. The doors to the terrestrial passages to all subterranean paradises will remain open to him. He will be able to enter and exit any place that he wants.
“If the vidyā holder keeps the jewel in his mouth every day as he recites one thousand verses, he will gain an ocean-like accumulation of knowledge merely by reading the verses aloud.1250 If he keeps the jewel at the tip of his tongue, his tongue will become as smooth as a lotus or a water lily, and he will also be able to retain in memory anything he hears. If he rubs his hand with the jewel, anyone he touches will become his servant, eager to follow orders. All people—women, men, boys, girls, monks, or brahmins—will fall under his thrall and remain in his service.
“This concludes the practice procedures of the jewel.”
The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, then said to the Blessed One, “I know, O lord, the great practice procedure called supreme pitcher of Amoghasiddhi. This procedure of the great pitcher has the same power, O lord, as is observed in the heart dhāraṇī of Amoghapāśa that is like a great wish-fulfilling jewel. [F.119.b] This procedure will bring success in the practices directed toward inconceivable magical transformations. This procedure is taught for the benefit and happiness of all the vidyā holders and so that they may realize the truth.1251
“The vidyā holder should fashion a pitcher out of gold, silver, copper, or clay. It should have correct measurements, [A.64.a] namely the right circumference, and a top and neck of the right size. Its sides should be fine and smooth, and it should have a pleasant form, be clean, and have decorative motifs consisting of a total of one hundred and eight lotus petals painted all over it with vermillion. Motifs of [Tiv.70] lotus pericarps with stamens surrounded by petals should decorate its neck. The vidyā holder should also paint Noble Avalokiteśvara in his Amoghapāśa forms:1252 on the eastern side of the pitcher he should depict the main form; on the southern side, the form that displays the gesture of protecting from the eight fears; on the northern side, the form that holds the wish-fulfilling jewel; and on the western side, the form that displays the gesture of granting comfort.1253 All four should be adorned with all ornaments and sitting in a cross-legged posture among lotus petals.
“The gods Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, the hosts of ṛṣis, and the gods Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Vāsava, Śakra, and Vajradhara should be depicted along with other gods, such as Agni, Vāyu, Sūrya, and Soma and the goddesses Tārā, Bhṛkuṭī, Śvetā, and Dūtī, as well as the gods Gaṇapati and Kumāra, the Four Great Kings, Rudra, and Viṣṇu. They should be drawn on lotus petals all around the pitcher. The pitcher should be painted in various colors and adorned with golden ornaments of all kinds, and each part should be colorful and beautiful in all respects.1254
“The vidyā holder should then fashion a lotus seat of the correct diameter from deodar wood and place the pitcher on it.1255 He should fill the pitcher with white mustard seeds and adorn it with every ornament. He should tie it with fine white cotton cloth and place mustard seeds, musk, camphor, bovine bezoar, and realgar on top of it. He should then cover the opening of the pitcher with a red cloth and place small fragments of the seven types of jewels on it.
“The vidyā holder, ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, should build a maṇḍala four cubits in diameter1256 with its surface raised half a cubit. It should be skillfully made of clay and cow dung with an impeccable finish. [F.120.a] It should have a symmetrical shape with four equal sides and should be clean. The vidyā holder should smear its surface with every fragrance. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should use white sandalwood to demarcate a smaller maṇḍala with four corners that is one cubit in diameter. He should offer lotus flowers, together with saffron, and draw a thirty-two-petaled lotus with filaments in the middle. He should place the pitcher on this lotus.
“He should adorn it with various statues and banners and place vessels around the inner circle that are filled with various perfumes and unguents. He should arrange bowls with argha water and jars full of offerings, add incense holders filled with incense of many kinds, flowers of various types, and garlands.1257 [Tiv.71]. Outside the maṇḍala, he should skillfully draw four symmetrically arranged doors with lokeśvara marks and a garland of lotuses. Around this he should place arrows and banners, and he should wrap the entire maṇḍala with five-colored thread.
“He should arrange various types of the three ‘white’ foods with various tastes as are available, as well as a variety of fruits and other edibles. He should scatter various flowers and arrange garlands, incense holders, and similar items around the maṇḍala. He should also distribute around the maṇḍala four full jars with four spoons and add four perfume flasks, four water containers, and eight earthenware dishes filled with bali offerings made of ‘white’ foodstuffs of many kinds and various tastes. He should light sixty-one1258 butter-filled lamps and strew the maṇḍala with parched rice and mustard seeds.
“He should avoid alcohol, meat, onions, food containing garlic, [A.64.b] food and drink that have gone bad, and food that is difficult to digest. He should be ritually pure and wear clean clothes. To succeed, he should perform the rite on the day of the full moon. He should begin with the protection rite, including self-protection, tie his hair in a topknot, bind the directions and the maṇḍala elements,1259 and perform the protection for his assistants and everyone else. [F.120.b] He should burn bdellium, mustard seeds, and ghee. Incense consisting of sandalwood, agarwood, frankincense, and olibanum has also been taught. This practice of the pitcher is supreme.
“For the greatest efficacy of the mantra, the vidyā holder should fast for five days and nights.1260 He should make offerings to the pitcher and the Buddha at the three junctions of the day without speaking. Sitting cross-legged in front of the maṇḍala, he should place his right hand on top of the pitcher and recite the Krodharāja mantra one thousand and eight times while sprinkling the pitcher with water and mustard seeds. He should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ten thousand times1261 while generating, with full focus, loving kindness for all beings and giving himself completely over to the feeling of compassion. He should recite the mantra while calling to mind and contemplating the Buddha.
“Then, during the last watch of the fifteenth night, the night of the full moon, at the junction of night and day just before dawn, the golden pitcher will shake violently. The word ‘bravo!’ will be heard loudly, and the great pitcher will blaze, [Tiv.72] radiating light of various colors. The vidyā holder will be thrilled with joy and become immaculately pure without any stains, his complexion will become very clear and white, and his skin will be as smooth as a lotus or water lily. The pitcher will replicate, and each one will radiate light. Now that the vidyā holder has accomplished the practice of the pitcher, he should perform an elaborate pūjā, making bounteous offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara.
“He should then sprinkle the pitcher with mustard seeds and water incanted twenty-one times with the Krodharāja mantra, causing the pitcher to immediately emit the following words: ‘Good! Good, O great vidyā holder! You have accomplished the practice of the auspicious pitcher.1262 Just like the auspicious pot,1263 this auspicious pitcher, the essence of Amoghapāśa, is a great wish-fulfilling jewel. You can, in consequence, enjoy its benefits to your heart’s content. You can accomplish anything you can think of and make any request.’ [F.121.a]
“This auspicious pitcher should be worshiped as if it were a great palace; its rites should be upheld and its worship encouraged. It will produce whatever accomplishment is desired. It will bring mastery of poetry and drama, whether it is belles-lettres or the writings of ancient sages, and proficiency in math, arithmetic, grammar, and the doctrines of ritual and mantra. It will also enhance the ability to discover terrestrial passages1264 and create an elixir of longevity and magical ointment for the eyes.1265 In addition, the vidyā holder will obtain the knowledge of alchemy, mantras, sūtras, songs, Dharma, and the formal rules of discipline.
“All things—food, drink, clothes, adornments, ornaments, minted coins, silver, gold bullion and wrought gold, pearls, conches, khaṇḍika,1266 sapphires, emeralds, karketana stones,1267 quartz crystals, coral,1268 beryl, lapis lazuli, sapphires,1269 fruits, flowers, conveyances, clothes,1270 beds, seats, cushions, palaces, pleasures, amusements, and large palaces fit for a king—will physically manifest as soon as he thinks of them. Magically emanated palaces in all possible forms1271—those created by buddhas, by bodhisattvas, or by Vajradhara,1272 the palaces of nāgas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, gandharvas, and mahoragas, and the palaces of the lords of yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas—will all manifest as he thinks of them.
“The auspicious pitcher can manifest excessive rains, droughts, unseasonal rains, cold spells, hurricanes, [A.65.a] [Tiv.73] hailstorms, or floods. It can manifest anything, including soldiers, armed conflicts, specific places, residences, and royal splendor. The pitcher can manifest all this and other things: whatever the vidyā holder thinks of or requests can be manifested. Money, grain, fruits, flowers, and palaces will manifest for him. He will be successful in anything he can think of. [F.121.b]
“The vidyā holder should take musk, mix it with bovine bezoar and camphor,1273 add the sap of giant milkweed, make it into a pill, and then knead the pill with the milk of a tawny cow. If he then applies it to his forehead as a bindi, he will be able to travel through space with tens of thousands of millions of vidyādharas in his retinue. If he applies the bindi to his chest, he will become invisible. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas, on the other hand, will be visible to him.1274 If he touches the pill to the tip of his tongue, he will be able to read three thousand1275 verses every single day and retain them in memory. If he swallows it, his lifespan will increase to ten thousand years. If he eats the pill with porridge with milk, he will become an ocean-like vessel of great learning. If he eats it with the sap of giant milkweed, he will become an emperor of all vidyādharas, and all rites, mantras, maṇḍalas, and mudrās will be revealed to him.
“If he applies the pill as bindi to his navel, he will be able to descend into a broad river and reach the other shore by walking on the bottom. He will even be able to reach the other shore of an ocean. If he applies the bindi to his head, he will be able to enter the thick of the battle and defeat an entire army with its four divisions. If he eats the pill with ghee, he will obtain the strength of one thousand large elephants. He will be able to fling an elephant with one hand, tossing it into the sky and catching it again. If he rubs his hand with the pill, he will obtain the power of one thousand warriors.
“If he buries the pill at a shrine, all the deities will fall under his thrall, send timely rains, and put an end to all hurricanes, cold spells, storm clouds, and hail. If he buries the pill at the gate of the royal palace, the king, together with his harem, his retinue, and all ministers, advisers, and brahmin priests, will fall under his thrall. If he buries the pill at the gate of a monastery, all the monks will experience comfort and ease [F.122.a] and will always be filled with thoughts of loving kindness. If he buries the pill at a place of honor in the midst of the noble saṅgha, all the monks will obtain delicious food and drink. If a monk places the pill in his alms bowl and does his alms rounds in a city, he will receive lavish gifts of food of great variety and superb tastes, [Tiv.74] without much effort on his part.
“If he buries the pill near a caitya that contains relics and if he makes offerings to the caitya, then for as long as the pill remains near that caitya it will be the same as making large offerings to eight great caityas every single day. If he buries the pill at Noble Avalokiteśvara’s feet within a shrine, makes large offerings to him, and mindfully repeats the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times, it will be the same as making large offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara every single day for as long as the pill remains buried there. If he buries the pill on a highway, all thieves, robbers, and bandits, both human and nonhuman, as well as all wild animals, will be kept at bay and flee in all directions.
“If he buries the pill on a mountaintop, all the medicinal substances and herbs there will blaze with light. All the women, men, boys, girls, cows, grazing animals, buffalo, horses, and so forth that can be seen from the mountain will be completely freed from all fear, [A.65.b] be saved from the sixteen great hells and eight great fears, and be free from all disease. There will be great peace within one hundred leagues, and all diseases will disappear.
“If he wears the pill around his neck, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him whenever wished for and will always keep him in his heart. If he buries the pill near a granary, the store of grain will greatly increase. [F.122.b] If he buries the pill at the entrance to a tavern, the store of wine will greatly increase. If he buries the pill in the middle of a hill, corn will grow there in abundance. If he buries the pill at the entrance to a passage into a mountain, all such passages will be opened for him. If he rubs the pill on an opening to a passage into the ground, all such passages will be opened for him. If he rubs the area around the passages, all the medicinal essences will ooze out.
“If he buries the pill near a passage into a forest, all the forest deities will appear before him in their natural forms and will carry out any task that he wants to accomplish. If he buries the pill in the middle of a lotus pond, a great lotus1276 will appear and will bloom continuously while exuding a divine fragrance. [Tiv.75] If he places the pill at the top of a building, all the women, men, boys, and girls within the range of sight will receive great protection, and a protective boundary against all dangers will be created with the radius of one hundred leagues and spanning the ten directions. Every disease within it will be eradicated, and all injustices, enemies, grahas, and misfortunes will be pacified. All foreign armies will be pacified and will perish from some sort of calamity. If the vidyā holder throws the pill mixed with mustard seeds into the middle of a battle, a great mutual love will arise amid the great battle.
“In the event of severe illness that withers the limbs and shortens life, or if any great obstacles arise, the vidyā holder should put the pill mixture into a jar with scented water, incant it one hundred and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, bathe in the water, and make lavish offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara. As soon as he has finished bathing, he will be free from every illness and disease. He will also be freed from all his wrongdoings and previously accumulated obscurations. Even if he had reached the end of his life, he will regain his original lifespan. His body will take on a divine form, and the defilements of his envy and jealousy will completely disappear.1277
“He will also be able to accomplish hundreds of thousands of other activities. [F.123.a] Employing his intelligence, whatever actions he performs will succeed without fail. He will become a mighty king in all the palaces behind the terrestrial passages. His lifespan will increase to twelve thousand eons, and after he dies he will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower, adorned with all ornaments. His body will be adorned with jewels, gold, silver, diamonds, beryls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and pearls. His hair will become curly and take on the dark-blue color of a bumble bee. His eyes will be as blue as a blue lotus, and his complexion will take on a golden hue. His speech will be soft, pleasant, and sweet.
“Amitābha, the victorious one, will extend his hand and place it on the vidyā holder’s head. Padmapāṇi, with his hand that bestows boons, will comfort the vidyā holder and grant him the best boons. Amitābha will prophesy that the vidyā holder will become a buddha with amogha gaze, sitting on a lotus. The mustard seeds1278 will appear as the bodily relics of the blessed buddhas, the hundreds of thousands of millions tathāgatas,1279 as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. Such relics are of various types, colors, [Tiv.76] and forms and may resemble the seven types of great jewels and gems. [A.66.a] Some relics may be as bright as the sun, radiating light everywhere in the ten directions.
“Each individual relic can manifest magical powers and display miracles. By merely seeing these bodily relics, the beholder will become irreversibly established on the path to unsurpassable perfect awakening. You should not focus your thoughts on other things. If you do not succeed in it,1280 all the tathāgatas will be distressed.1281 The vidyā holder should also make aspiration prayers in front of the relics in his sleep, his thoughts suffused with loving kindness. Having thus formulated his wishes, he should offer worship. As soon as he formulates something in his mind, he will accomplish all of it instantly. [F.123.b] This auspicious pitcher is just like physical relics, and it should be regarded as such. The pitcher and the relics should be seen as equal in terms of their magical and miraculous properties. This should not be doubted or denied.
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni extended his golden arm, stroked Noble Avalokiteśvara’s head, and said, “Good! Good, O great being! This is indeed marvelous! You have passed down this perfect rite for the benefit and happiness of vidyā holders and of the people of the four castes in Jambudvīpa. You have shown how to accomplish this supreme practice of the amogha pitcher. This excellent practice procedure is the supreme act of self-consecration; by its blessing one attains the great miraculous amogha powers and the awakening of a buddha because, in essence, this practice aims at supreme accomplishment.
“This practice leads to the attainment of the great seat of awakening and to the turning of the wheel of Dharma. It confers the great blessing of the tathāgatas. You should establish it for the well-being and happiness of all beings, thus providing relief and comfort to the entire world. I entrust you, Avalokiteśvara, with the mission to fulfill the wishes of all beings. This unexcelled practice that leads to the supreme accomplishment can be accomplished through reading. It always stays with the vidyā holder and always grants him boons and protects him.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, his heart filled with supreme joy, smiled and bowed with folded hands to the Blessed One, touching his feet with his head. He said, “I care, O Blessed One, for all beings in the ten directions, however many there are in the world systems of the great thousand-thousandfold trichiliocosm. I care for all beings endowed with life, including animals and birds. [F.124.a] I embrace them all with the mind of great compassion and exert myself in order to deliver them from all suffering and establish them on the great path to awakening. Because of this, O Blessed One, I want first and foremost to completely liberate them. I am the essence of accomplishment for all the vidyā holders. Lord, I always watch over, think of, and protect the beings who remember me. However, I continually guard over and nourish, as if they were my own children, those beings who are motivated by their exceptional goals to apply themselves to studying, practicing, touching, and worshiping this manual of rites that are the essence of Amoghapāśa. [B12]
“In this way, O Blessed One, I embrace all beings with great compassion, strive to completely liberate them, [Tv.135] grant them boons, [A.66.b] fulfill all their wishes, and keep them in my thoughts. I do not, O Blessed One, become complacent or lapse into feeling satisfaction with what I have achieved. I do this is in order to completely liberate all beings, grant them boons, and protect them, and especially to establish all of them on the supreme path to awakening. O Blessed One, I am always present whenever anyone studiously reads and practices this sovereign ritual1282 with its maṇḍalas and mudrās; whenever anyone upholds, propagates, worships, studies and deeply reflects on it; [F.124.b] whenever anyone listens to it and then whispers it into the cavity of someone’s ear. At that time I will grant all supreme accomplishments and establish such a vidyā holder in various wonderful practices, both worldly and supramundane, including great divine rites that irreversibly establish him on the path to awakening.
“If I can establish animals such as deer or birds irreversibly on the path to awakening by merely whispering the words of this manual into their ear, what need is there to mention, O Blessed One, those beings who, because of their pure minds, always abide in the state of love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity; those who repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and study this great sovereign ritual with its maṇḍalas and mudrās, who uphold it, propagate it, and recollect it at the three junctions of the day and all day long on special days and nights. Such people, O Blessed One, do not have ordinary human bodies but are known to have pure human bodies, to have divine bodies. I nourish such beings, O Blessed One, continually at all times. I remain, O Blessed One, above their heads.
“Since the bodies of holy beings are divine, I am known, O Blessed One, to possess a body that is not human. Because, O Blessed One, I remain in the inner hearts and minds of human beings as the essence of Amoghapāśa,1283 I transform their human bodies into pure, divine bodies through the power derived from the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. Such transformed bodies should be known as divine. They should be known as lokeśvara1284 bodies, [Tv.136] bodies that have become a wish-fulfilling jewel, [F.125.a] tathāgata bodies that are like the great expanse of the ocean, bodies that are the amogha essence, bodies cleansed of the impurities and free of envy and jealousy, and immaculate bodies whose wrongdoings and obscurations have been purified.
“Such bodies are known to be worthy of worship, veneration, and praise by all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other nonhuman and human beings. Their bodies are known to be guarded by the gods of the realm of Thirty-Three. They are known to be endowed with the roots of virtue equal to those planted by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, equal in number to the grains of sand in seventy-two Gaṅgā rivers. They are known to have a limitless lifespan, to be revitalized by all the bodhisattvas, and to be blessed with the vajra of Vajrapāṇi.
“Such bodies should be known to be capable of appearing as a great ocean with its deep waters and curved shorelines, or suddenly becoming as big as the great Mount Sumeru. They can appear as the great expanse of the sky, completely pure, or take on an appearance of a great jewel. They should be known as divine bodies, equal to receptacles of divine relics. [A.67.a] A vidyā holder with such a body will thus possess great power and might. He will be blessed by all the tathāgatas and will receive a prophecy from them about his future awakening. His body will be great indeed.
“However, O Blessed One, beings are difficult to control; it is difficult for them to awaken or to open up. They lack faith, are prone to envy, and are enveloped by evil and vice. Pure and impure at once, they are full of anger and wickedness.1285 For that reason, O Blessed One, sentient beings perpetuate their own nonvirtue, and I am not at fault. [F.125.b] But I will, O Blessed One, think of them and appear to them as soon as they remember, keep in their hearts, read, study, and recite this manual. I keep encouraging them again and again, but these beings, O Blessed One, do not see me. They do not think of me or contemplate me. They do not keep me in mind for even the shortest moment. Their hearts and minds are corrupt, and their inner nature is dominated by their own faults. But as soon as they think of me, remember me, or turn to me, [Tv.137] I will, O Blessed One, stand right in front of them. I will stay with them so that they can see me, speak to me, and make friends with me.1286
“But neither these beings nor the vidyā holders will recognize me, not even by way of premonition, nor will they pay homage to me when I appear in the garb of a renunciant with a shaven head and saffron robe, or the garb of a brahmin or a kṣatriya, or the garb of a well-to-do merchant, caravan leader, or child, or the garb of the Blessed One. I may also appear to them in the form of a king, a minister, an ally, a friend, a relative, a teacher, a master, a preceptor who gives common vows, or a son, daughter, mother, father, or sister.
“Those, however, who have the disposition of a learned man will recognize the signs conveyed by my appearance, form, and the combination of other factors. They will understand the combinations of letters and words in my speech and recognize the things that I say. It will, bit by bit, become clear to them, and they will understand. They will then observe, ‘this is a noble being,’ and they will recognize me. I will approach those who want to see me and, in doing so, [F.126.a] allow them to have a clear view. I will fulfill all their hopes and wishes. When in the midst of merchants, I will do the buying and selling, do the talking, and negotiate bargains. When in the midst of an assembly, I will pursue the topics of the sciences, poetics, the Vedas, the application of mantras, grammar, the sūtras, drama, and song and music.
“Regarding books on the subject of awakening, I will explain the doctrine, the rules of discipline, and the philosophy of Mahāyāna. To brahmins, I will explain the Purāṇas, the Vedas, fire oblation rituals, the Mahābhārata, and the Rāmāyaṇa. To the followers of the mantra path, I will teach mantra recitation, the rituals involving maṇḍalas and mudrās, the recitation of dhāraṇīs, the homa offering, and the rites of pacifying, nourishing, assaulting, and so forth.
“So how does one recognize me when I stand before them in plain sight? I can be recognized in three different ways: (1) I am always distinguished as an excellent speaker, as my sweet speech has the sound that is soft and pleasant, its phonemes are pronounced clearly and distinctly, and with its sentences are complete; (2) the breath coming out of my mouth has the rich fragrance of a blue lotus flower, and my body has the strong scent of musk; and (3) anything that has a loathsome form will blaze in my presence with great splendor. By these signs, the vidyā holder and any person from the four castes can clearly recognize me as Noble Avalokiteśvara. This should not be doubted or denied.
“In dreams, when various forms and colors appear at the four junctions of the night, [Tv.138] I will appear to the vidyā holder and fulfill all his wishes and hopes. [F.126.b] Without any effort on his part, [A.67.b] I will provide everything he needs, creating the right circumstances. I will never act otherwise or abandon him. I will never be negligent, O Blessed One, when granting him boons. If I do not see the vidyā holder gaining accomplishment, or if the gods fail to protect or guard him, then, O Blessed One, providing that he does not object, I will make protecting such an unhappy vidyā holder my priority, and I will become his refuge and support.1287 I will not lack compassion, and I will certainly deliver him from saṃsāra. In the same way, O Blessed One, I will embrace all beings with a mind filled with compassion and deliver them from saṃsāra.1288 I will support them and will certainly sow in them the seed of awakening.”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni and all the tathāgatas in the ten directions applauded Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, saying, “Good! It is good, O great being with supreme compassion, that you, a pure being,1289 embrace all beings with great compassion in order to save them from the great prison of saṃsāra, where they are immersed in and surrounded by killing and humiliation, are afflicted by hunger and thirst, and experience much fear, dread, anxiety, exhaustion, and pain. Because of your compassion for them, the name of this great sovereign ritual1290 with its collection of maṇḍalas and mudrās that are the essence of Amogharāja1291 will fall upon their ears, and its sound will be heard and apprehended. Because of this, they will be saved from their tremendous suffering and freed from all their evil and obscurations. [F.127.a] They will have peace.
“Having heard the name of the sovereign ritual, they will be saved from all dangers and released from the terrors of the great hells. All their karmic obscurations, whether worldly or supramundane, including those that would lead to experiencing all the misfortunes and suffering of hell, will be completely and definitively terminated. They will be blessed and looked after by all the tathāgatas, who will prophesy their future awakening. [Tv.139] They will be liberated if they hear the name of the sovereign ritual merely seven times. They will acquire great, ocean-like accumulations1292 and will receive comfort from the tathāgatas. If the seed of awakening can fully ripen in beings like this, what need is there to mention, O Avalokiteśvara, those beings who hear, study, uphold, propagate, worship, write down, commission copies of, honor, and venerate this heart of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa,1293 complete with its collection of mantras, mudrās, and all its rites. These beings are known to be established irreversibly on the path to awakening. This should not be doubted or denied.
“Furthermore, what will happen if someone were to hold an amogha pill, ointment, or incense in their hand?1294 Such a great being would be purified and would be taken care of by every tathāgata in all ten directions, who will be very pleased with them. It should be known that any son or daughter of good family, a monk or a nun, or a male or a female lay practitioner who performs their worship while displaying the heart mudrā of Krodharāja—the heart essence of Amoghapāśa—while following the fasting ritual that is repeated seven times, and who recites the mantra and performs the consecration, will, O Padmapāṇi,1295 obtain the body of a tathāgata in this earthly life. They will clearly manifest the nature of a tathāgata [F.127.b] and will receive the treasure trove of a tathāgata in their own hand. This should not be doubted. Such a person will be completely free of all animosity and arrogance. They should recite the mantra while visualizing all beings to be near them and embrace them with great compassion.1296 [A.68.a]
“Those who enter the great amogha maṇḍala and see either it or the great cloth painting will enter the buddha fields in all ten directions where all the tathāgatas dwell in numbers equal to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. They will enter the very essence of the great secret samaya of all the tathāgatas and be able to see the body of every tathāgata. By receiving the consecration of Krodharāja, one is consecrated by all the tathāgatas. In this way, one acquires great qualities and benefits and a great store of merit, and one plants the roots of great virtue.
“The procedures contained in this great sovereign ritual thus bring great benefits, great power, and great qualities. [Tv.140] By merely hearing the name or seeing this great sovereign ritual of the great bodhisattva being Avalokiteśvara, one will see in this very existence great miraculous displays and receive blessings from the tathāgatas. Similarly, one who writes in the form of a book this sovereign ritual, with its maṇḍalas, heart mantras, mudrās, and dhāraṇīs, will witness the miracles of Amogharāja. Such a vidyā holder will be able to see hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, worthy, fully realized buddhas equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. [F.128.a] All these tathāgatas will stand by in order to protect him and give him comfort, and they will appear to him. The mere sight of the book thus copied will ensure that the five acts of immediate retribution are completely purified and that all the previously accumulated obscurations will come to a complete and final end.
“The vidyā holder will thus obtain, in this very life, great splendor, good fortune, and glory. After he dies, he will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. The birth in which he sees the book will be his last. Even though his original lifespan was spent, his life will be extended. All his diseases will disappear, as will his obscurations and anger. He will attain a great, supreme accomplishment, become the master of great siddhas and yogins, and be endowed with every good fortune and quality. This book should therefore be known to be equal in status to a tathāgata who abides in the dharmadhātu.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, bowed with folded hands to the Blessed One and, with a smiling face and beating heart, spoke while facing the Blessed One, whose body was shining bright with hundreds of thousands of millions of light rays:
“There is, O lord, in my great lotus maṇḍala, a teaching on the panoptic amogha cloth-painting that constitutes the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. When this amogha painting is being executed, many thousands of deity images of various forms and colors and that bear various insignia, [F.128.b] are surrounded by magical displays, and are generated by the illusion-like samādhi will enter the painting together as a single form and single body. They include the forms of Īśvara, Maheśvara, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara,1297 the great Paśupati, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, the hosts of ṛṣis, Kumāra, the merchant Sārthavāha,1298 the vidyādharas, [Tv.141] Candra, Sūrya, the nakṣatras, and the multitude of stars. By merely beholding this painting, [A.68.b] one can accomplish the great maṇḍalas, samayas, and mudrās and all the great sādhana-rites of Amoghapāśa. One can enter the samayas that lead to accomplishment.
“I will now pronounce the great samaya-dhāraṇī, an amogha heart mantra,1299 so that all beings may attain happiness. I will pronounce it, in front of you, the Blessed One, so that the vidyā holders may attain supreme accomplishment by reciting it, and so that everyone’s wishes will be fulfilled.
“Homage to the tathāgatas of the three times!
[198] “Oṁ, O wrathful one with the amogha lotus noose! Pull them in and make them enter! You wear the garb of the great Paśupati and of Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Brahmā. You are the amogha essence! Hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ, phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā to you, the samaya of the lotus family!”1300
As soon as this heart dhāraṇī-mudrā was pronounced in the great assembly, the earth with its mountains, forests, and groves quaked in six different ways, a great rain of flowers fell, and the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, and gandharvas uttered cries of joy. As soon as this essence of the sovereign rite of Amoghapāśa was spoken, all the wicked yakṣas, rākṣasas, and vināyakas fell face down and were terrified as they were consumed by burning flames. The vighnas and vināyakas made sorrowful expressions as they fled in the ten directions, wailing as they scattered and cowered in confusion. [F.129.a]
Because1301 of this samaya dhāraṇī, the great bodhisattva beings will worship Noble Avalokiteśvara with offerings of various divine adornments and fine fabrics. They will pass on the gift of Dharma.1302 They will worship him with offerings of various flowers and divine fragrances. Devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will approach Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being who sits opposite the Tathāgata, [Tv.142] and make generous offerings with the various flowers, fragrances, garlands, unguents, scented powders, garments, banners, flags, divine fabrics, adornments, ornaments, and decorations they brought. They will make1303 offerings to the blessed lord Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, a great pure being who is extremely difficult to find.
The Blessed Śākyamuni then said to Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Pure being, now teach the full procedure!”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, then gave a detailed explanation of his dhāraṇī, a miraculous amogha manifestation:
“This dhāraṇī, a miraculous amogha manifestation, should be recited by the vidyā holder one thousand and eight times every single day while he is absorbed through the illusion-like samādhi into the heart essence of Amogharāja. [F.129.b] The vidyā holder will subsequently experience visions of various illusory forms that are magical products of his samādhi. He will be able to enter anywhere, always in alignment with the course of his samaya. He will fully understand1304 mudrās, maṇḍalas, mantras, and rites. He will be able to maintain, at all times, the state known as the top of the banner, a magical product of his samādhi. He will be able to trace and fully fathom every mystery of the tathāgatas, thus becoming established in amogha vidyā, the perfection of complete knowledge.
“He will obtain magical amogha powers [A.69.a] and a complete array of amogha forms, complexions, and marks. He will obtain amogha qualities, amogha praise, amogha roots of virtue, and an amogha prophecy from the tathāgatas about his future awakening. The amogha heap of great merit and amogha roots of virtue that he plants will be as great as those of the tathāgatas. He will obtain1305 a direct amogha vision of, and an amogha blessing from, the tathāgatas. He will be amogha-inducted into the tathāgata family, amogha-inducted into the vajra family, amogha-established in the samaya of the lotus family, [Tv.143] amogha-accepted into the samaya of the jewel family, and amogha-accepted into the samaya of the royal family. He will be amogha-established in the magical maṇḍala of all the tathāgatas and will be amogha-established and reside in in the cakravartin family.
“Through amogha consecration, he will be initiated into amogha knowledge.1306 He will receive the amogha consecration [F.130.a] of all the tathāgatas and be amogha-established in the practice of the great mudrā and mantra collections. He will be amogha-established on the path to the final awakening of the tathāgatas and will amogha-turn the wheel of the Dharma of all the tathāgatas. He will become the amogha drummer1307 who beats the drum of Dharma and the amogha conch-blower who blows the conch of Dharma. He will amogha-master the six perfections. His nature will be the amogha nature of the dharmadhātu of all the tathāgatas, and he will obtain the profound dharmadhātu nature through the amogha transmission. He will amogha-enter the noble eightfold path of all the tathāgatas that leads beyond this world. He will amogha-accomplish the worldly practice of the great common Dharma rites and will amogha-enjoy the divine-worldly splendor.1308 He will become the supreme amogha master of all beings and occupy the position of honor above their heads.
“He will accumulate many great qualities and experience the corresponding great benefits, provided that he completes all the practice procedures of this essential Amogharāja ritual with its sets of mudrās and maṇḍalas; that he listens to, upholds, propagates, and makes this manual available; and that he reflects on it deeply, recites the mantras according to procedure, and recollects the Buddha. If he does this, he will purify and exhaust his karma, all his wrongdoings, and all his obscurations in this very life and will be completely free from disease, birth, old age, and death. He will reach the other shore of the ocean of saṃsāra. [F.130.b] If this is so, O Blessed One, what need is there to mention someone who is primarily dedicated to serving sentient beings? It is said that such a being should be known, O Blessed One, as one who never turns back, the same as one who is established on the tenth bodhisattva level.
“If, O Blessed One, a son or a daughter of good family, a monk or a nun, or a male or female lay practitioner draws, on a fine, thoroughly cleaned cotton cloth, the following emblematic maṇḍala from the great sovereign rite that constitutes the heart essence of Amogharāja; [Tv.144] if they draw it with due attention, faith, and respect while wholly intent on supplicating all the tathāgatas; if they draw it or commission a painter who has faith, respect, and a pure mind filled with loving kindness, a painter who uses flawless materials in respectful worship; if they draw this maṇḍala for the sake of all beings, the strong and the weak, such a person should be known as one who is established irreversibly on the path to awakening. [A.69.b] This should not be doubted or denied. All the tathāgatas will regard them like their own firstborn son. Being a product of the Dharma, fashioned by the Dharma, they will be blessed by all the tathāgatas and prophesied to become a supreme being and to fully realize perfect awakening. Because of its great miraculous power, this sovereign rite should therefore be known to be equal to a tathāgata. As such, it is famed to bring great benefits and great qualities.
“I will now describe the practice procedure that leads to the supreme amogha accomplishment.
“The vidyā holder should prepare a square, symmetrical, well-woven canvas that is two cubits wide. It should be new and well pressed. The painter should purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and execute the painting using strong, vividly colored paints that are free of contaminants and kept in new vessels. He should abstain from consuming alcohol, meat, onion, garlic, red onion, or foods containing these ingredients. He should also avoid eating leftovers or food that has gone off. [F.131.a] The form to be painted is that of Noble Avalokiteśvara as Amoghapāśa, who has a gentle expression on his main face, three eyes, hair tied in a topknot and adorned with a diadem, eleven faces, and thirty-two arms. He is adorned with all ornaments and holds in his hands various implements, including the noose. His body color is lotus white, and he wears various garments.
“The face to the right1309 of the main face is that of Maheśvara, and the one to the left, Nārāyaṇa. Above Maheśvara is the face of Yama, and that above Nārāyaṇa is Varuṇa. The face above Yama is Kubera, who frowns, while above Varuṇa is the frowning face of Kumāra. The face of the wrathful Maheśvara with protruding fangs sits above Kubera, and above Kumāra is the face of Īśvara in his wrathful form with protruding fangs. [Tv.145] Above Īśvara is the face of Āditya, and above the wrathful Maheśvara is the face of Soma. Above Avalokiteśvara’s knotted hair is Noble Amitābha with a halo of light extending for one fathom. Amitābha’s right hand is extended in the gesture of giving comfort.
“Vāyu should be drawn inside Amitābha’s hair with his body inclined.1310 The god Agni should be drawn to Amitābha’s right, with half his body showing. His emblems and implements should be drawn as previously mentioned.1311 Noble Krodharāja should be drawn to the right of Avalokiteśvara, with a wrathful form adorned with all the ornaments. To the left is Vidyārāja, adorned with all the ornaments. Krodharāja holds a lotus and a noose,1312 while Vidyārāja holds a wish-fulfilling jewel in hands cupped like the calyx of a flower. Noble Avalokiteśvara’s main face is turned upward,1313 and his body, seated on a lotus, is adorned with lotus garlands. [F.131.b]
“The goddess of the maṇḍala should be drawn below the lotus on which Noble Avalokiteśvara sits. She is in her wrathful form, is laughing loudly, has four arms, and is adorned with every ornament. In her four hands she holds a lotus, a noose, an axe, and a sword. She is sitting on a lotus in the ardhaparyaṅka posture.1314 Behind Krodharāja is Noble Tārā; she holds a white cloth in her hands, her head is slightly inclined, and she is adorned with every ornament. Behind Vidyārāja is Mahāśvetā, who is adorned with every ornament, has her hands in the añjali gesture, and slightly inclines her head.
“The vidyā holder1315 should be drawn on the right side among the maṇḍala deities, kneeling on one knee and looking at the face of Noble Avalokiteśvara while holding a vase with flowers. The blessed buddhas, sitting in cross-legged posture, should be drawn on the four sides of Noble Avalokiteśvara. There are thirty-eight figures in the maṇḍala.1316 In the space above are ṛṣis and devas. The Four Great Kings, wearing cuirasses and coats of mail, are in the four corners. [A.70.a] The three goddesses Sarasvatī, Bhīmā, and Rātri should be drawn below the feet of the goddess Śrī.1317
“When the canvas has been filled in and the painting finely executed and finished, the vidyā holder should set it in a hidden place. He should then use cow dung to demarcate a symmetrical four-cornered maṇḍala in a clean spot. [Tv.146] He should smear the surface with various fragrant oils, strew it with flowers, and arrange full jars and incense holders around it. Burning incense of sandalwood, olibanum, agarwood, frankincense, and bdellium, he should add bowls with argha water for the feet. He should place the painting there in such a way that it faces the maṇḍala.
“He should then purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and be thoroughly bathed. [F.132.a] He should then make offerings to the painting and light sixteen lamps. Facing the painting, he should sit in the cross-legged posture and display the mudrā1318 while reciting the great samaya dhāraṇī, an amogha heart mantra, ten thousand times.1319 He should also recite, at the three junctions of the day, the Krodharāja mantra, the heart essence of Amogharāja, twenty-one times. When he has recited the samaya dhāraṇī ten thousand times, the vidyā holder’s topknot will blaze with light, and the cloth painting will likewise radiate light of various colors.
“When day breaks with a golden glow in the early morning, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in his divine person, just as he was depicted in the cloth painting. He will give comfort to the vidyā holder and say, ‘Tell me, vidyā holder, what boon would you like? Whatever is on your mind, I will grant it in full.’ The vidyā holder can request either of two boons: (1) a worldly accomplishment and (2) the supreme accomplishment of transcendent buddhahood. If he requests the worldly boon, Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant it in full. The vidyā holder will then obtain the ultimate success in the practices as taught in this great sovereign ritual, the maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa. He will attain the ultimate success, a great and vast accomplishment just as he requested in the presence of Noble Avalokiteśvara, and he will obtain supreme success in all worldly activities.
“Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant any worldly boons1320 that the vidyā holder requests, such as the accomplishment of the mantra, the power to work magic, the power of prabhājāla,1321 and the power to assume the form of a deva. He will grant the power to become invisible, travel through space, or to enter terrestrial passages, forests, the palaces of nāgas and kinnarīs, [F.132.b] and the realms of water and space and to move underground.1322 He will confer the knowledge of alchemy, geology, archery,1323 and how to survive a battle. He will grant the power to summon beings, bring rain, stop excessive rain, enthrall beings, drive away yakṣas, [Tv.147] remain unshakable, and cross broad rivers. He will confer knowledge of the stars and of mantras, as well as the ability to extract medicinal substances, to produce the elixir of longevity, to transfer valuable objects and make them appear elsewhere, to obtain grain and clothes,1324 and to enthrall a king. He will be able to successfully accomplish all these worldly practices.
“If, however, the vidyā holder is concerned with the afterlife, Noble Avalokiteśvara will place his right hand on his head. As soon as he does this, the vidyā holder will become free from the danger of untimely death. He will become immaculately pure, his body completely purified. At the time of death he will cast off his body as a snake does its skin, and he will instantaneously proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, as is his destiny. He will be able to recollect hundreds of thousands of millions of his former births, one after another. [A.70.b] He will obtain a prophecy from the Tathāgata Amitāyus about his future buddhahood, and he will never turn back until he attains unsurpassable perfect awakening. His current birth will be his last. He will attain the samādhi called magical amogha display following the removal of all obscurations and hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of other samādhis. All the tathāgatas throughout the ten directions will think of him and applaud him, and all the bodhisattvas will also think of him. All the deities will protect him.
“Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant the vidyā holder these two boons in this very life, with the corresponding success in worldly and supramundane matters. [F.133.a]
“The vidyā holder will also accomplish many other things, such as freedom from epilepsy and spirit possession, expert knowledge of the sūtras, medical knowledge, and assuagement of diseases. All ailments such as boils, blisters, festering abscesses, fistulas,1325 scabs, spotted leprosy, lice, cutaneous eruptions, erysipelas, stomachache, pain in the eyes, headache, hemiplegia, indigestion, insufficiency of digestive juices, toothache, throat ache, pain of the tongue, pain of the palate, diseases of the mouth and nose, earache, pain in the chest, and abdominal pain; pains in the flanks, hands, feet, calves, or around the fingernails; and fevers including those that return every day or every two, three, or four days, and every other type of fever, whether it is a daytime or nighttime fever or a combination of fevers, will cease as soon as the mantra is mindfully recited. All wrongdoings will likewise be purified, [Tv.148] and all wicked beings, opponents, and adversaries will disappear. This heart dhāraṇī is therefore very powerful; it will bring supreme worldly accomplishments.
“If the vidyā holder wants to perform the dhāraṇī rite, he should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, and be thoroughly bathed. By completing the recitation of the great dhāraṇī, an amogha heart mantra, he will attain the following: after eighteen thousand1326 recitations, all his negativity will be pacified, the worldly accomplishments produced by this great vidyā will be obtained, and he will succeed in all his endeavors.
“If, on the other hand, the vidyā holder wants to perform the recitation procedure in order to accomplish supramundane goals, he should, every day, maintain ritual purity, bathe thoroughly, and wear clean clothes. [F.133.b] Starting on the full moon day, he should recite the mantra one thousand and ten times every day.1327 On the eleventh day, and then over the next three days,1328 he should practice day and night, reciting the mantra one thousand five hundred times every day and making offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara. On the fifteenth day, the day of the full moon, he should offer a bali consisting of the three ‘white’ foods and argha water for the feet. Subsisting on the three ‘white’ foods, he should recite the mantra one thousand and eight times on the night of the full moon.
“Noble Avalokiteśvara will arrive during the last watch of that night and say to the vidyā holder, ‘Good! You have fully accomplished the entire rite, the heart essence of Amogharāja that constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation.’ He will then extend his right hand and give the vidyā holder a lotus. As soon as the vidyā holder grasps it, he will magically ascend into the sky and go to whatever buddha field he wants, where he will be comforted by all the tathāgatas.
“If the vidyā holder wants to perform a homa procedure, he should dig a perfectly circular lotus pond.1329 Into it he should offer one thousand and eight lotus seat homas, which consist of lotus stalks and petals smeared with ghee.1330 [A.71.a] To do this, he should build a fire using fragrant wood.1331 When he has repeated the homa one thousand and eight times, the great goddess Śrī will arrive, appearing before the vidyā holder’s very eyes. She should be given a welcome offering of perfumed argha water for the feet.
“The goddess will say, ‘What can I do for you, vidyā holder?’ to which he should reply, ‘Grant me inexhaustible wealth, O goddess! Grant me a treasure trove!’ [Tv.149] She will reply, ‘So it shall be!’ Having thus reassured him, she will disappear. Then, wherever the vidyā holder goes, he will discover great treasure, treasure that will never come close to being exhausted. He should give some of it away, use some for himself, and offer some to the Three Jewels. [F.134.a] He should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and to the great goddess Śrī, offering part of the treasure every single day to either of them.
“The vidyā holder should light a fire using sticks of giant milkweed and offer, in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, blue lotuses sprinkled with sandalwood powder and smeared with freshly churned butter. He should continue with the offering for one fortnight, without counting the homas.1332 When this rite is fully completed, he will obtain every type of enjoyment. If he makes a fire of cedar wood in front of the painting and offers one hundred and eight homas of mustard seeds and lotus petals1333 smeared with asafetida resin and sesame oil three times a day for seven days, he will obtain one hundred villages.
“If he offers one hundred and eight1334 homas of aśoka1335 sticks smeared with ghee three times a day for one fortnight, he will obtain a kingdom. If he offers the sticks one hundred and eight times1336 three times a day for seven days, he will be able to reveal the places where instructions are given.1337 If he offers one thousand and eight homas of jasmine flowers to the image of Noble Avalokiteśvara for twelve days, he will propitiate all the blessed buddhas as well as the gods and nāgas. He will then obtain every boon and accomplish all tasks.
“If the vidyā holder wants to summon Maṇibhadra, he should place his ring finger against his heart and recite the mantra one hundred and eight times1338 at the three junctions of the day for twelve days. When the rite is completed, Maṇibhadra will appear to him. By merely touching the heart area with his finger, the vidyā holder will obtain one hundred dinars every single day. If this amount is spent entirely, Maṇibhadra will give more. Should the vidyā holder hoard any of it, no more will come.
“Standing opposite an image of Noble Avalokiteśvara, a reliquary, or a painting facing west,1339 the vidyā holder should offer one hundred and eight homas1340 of cutch tree sticks, [F.134.b] smeared with curds, honey, and ghee, at the three junctions of the day for seven days. When the rite is completed, he will obtain ten thousand rūpaka coins. These and other enriching1341 rites can be employed for any purpose.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the eye ointment rite, he should remain ritually pure, bathe thoroughly, and maintain the purity of practice. [Tv.150] On the eighth or the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, after fasting for one day and one night, he should place some realgar in a copper container and sit down facing the cloth painting in a cross-legged position. He should cover the container with four leaves from a bodhi tree and recite the mantra until one of the three signs of accomplishment appears—the realgar gets hot, emits smoke, or bursts into flames.
“If the realgar gets hot, anyone who sees the vidyā holder who anointed his eyes with it will fall under his thrall. He will thus obtain whatever he asks for and be venerated by the entire world. He will be worshiped, venerated, and honored by the king, the royal ministers, and the king’s harem and retinue, who will all place him above their heads. If the realgar emits smoke, the vidyā holder who anoints his eyes with it will be able to walk one thousand leagues and back again without touching the ground; he will remain ten fingers above the ground. He will also be able to hear sounds from a distance of one thousand leagues [A.71.b] and see things at the same distance. He will live thirteen thousand years, will never have to follow anyone’s orders, will always be happy, and will enjoy the position of a respected teacher. All the tathāgatas will always look after him. If the realgar bursts into flames, the vidyā holder will fly up into space in the company of Noble Avalokiteśvara and live ten thousand years.
“The vidyā holder who performs rites involving realgar can, in addition, perform other practices both worldly and supramundane. He should procure oleander flowers and realgar by honest means,1342 purify them, and mix them with the five products of the cow. After fasting for three days, [F.135.a] he should make large offerings to the Blessed One and to Noble Avalokiteśvara1343 on the day of the full moon.1344 He should place the realgar upon four lotus leaves, cover it with another three, and recite the mantra until one of the three signs of accomplishment appears—the realgar gets hot, emits smoke, or bursts into flames.
“He should then use the realgar to mark a bindi between his eyebrows. If he does this with realgar that became hot, all the beings he sees or who see him will fall under his thrall, even animals. Their lifespan will double.1345 If he makes a bindi with the realgar that emits smoke, the people of all four castes will fall under his thrall. He will be able to walk with his feet off the ground at the height of a man, see objects at a distance of three thousand leagues, and hear sounds from the same distance. He will live twelve thousand years. If he makes a bindi with the realgar that emits flames, he will be able to travel through space, [Tv.151] flying with a retinue of twenty.1346 He will become the king of all those who mastered the magic of realgar. He will ascend to a height of three thousand leagues and will live eighty thousand years.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish rites involving bovine bezoar, he should purify the bezoar with the ghee from a tawny cow. On the eighth or the fifteenth day of the bright fortnight, after fasting for three days, he should make large offerings to the Blessed One and to Noble Avalokiteśvara.1347 He should place the bezoar on the palm of his right hand and, propping it up, recite the mantra until one of the three signs of accomplishment appears.1348
“If he marks his forehead with the bezoar that has become hot, he will bring under his control1349 yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, piśācas, and bhūtas, who will provide for him anything he seeks. He will live, from that day onward, another five thousand years. If he marks his forehead with the bezoar that emits smoke, he will become the king of all who are able to become invisible, and he will be able to travel upon still air1350 for a distance of twenty thousand leagues and come back again. [F.135.b] His lifespan will increase to sixty thousand years, and he will see objects at the distance of sixty thousand leagues. If he marks his forehead with the bezoar that emits flames, he will travel through space, flying with the personal retinue of one hundred.1351 He will become the king of all those who mastered the magic of bezoar. He will live ten million years and become, after death, a king ruling over the four continents.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the rite that will give his body a golden hue, he should complete the following recitation procedure within six fortnights. Maintaining ritual purity, wearing clean clothes, and bathing thoroughly, he should procure the following medicinal substances and flowers:1352 realgar, yellow orpiment, honey, sakī,1353 costus,1354 saffron, bovine bezoar, aśoka blossoms,1355 the ‘white’ substance,1356 powdered thorn apple,1357 cow’s milk, the sap of giant milkweed, the sap of suvarṇakṣīra,1358 the sap of common milk hedge,1359 the sap of bodhi tree, and the sap of viṣṇukrama.1360 Taking an equal part of each, he should combine them together, place them in a copper vessel, and shake them. Within a fortnight, the mixture will turn into cow’s milk; there is no doubt about this.1361
“He should place the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara in a forest, monastery, walking ground, or clean area, arranging it in such a way that it faces the viewer. [A.72.a] [Tv.152] Filled with great love and compassion, contemplating the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, protected by the great armor, armed with determination, energy, and valor, feeling supreme devotion and the highest respect for Noble Avalokiteśvara, and ardently desiring awakening, he should make large offerings according to his means every single day. First he should recite the mantra for six fortnights, and then, when this recitation is completed, he should dry the best of herbs,1362 grind them into a fine powder, place them in a copper vessel, and incant them one thousand and eight times with the heart mantra of Amogharāja. [F.136.a] He should also recite the Krodharāja one thousand and eight times.
“Then, on the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, after he has fasted for three days, the vidyā holder should offer the blessed Buddha and Noble Avalokiteśvara a large pūjā and a sumptuous bali of food articles to the recipients in the four directions. He should blend the excellent herbs with quicksilver, white sugar, and honey. After reciting the mantra a further ten thousand times in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the mixture in the copper vessel will either blaze with light, get hot, or radiate light of various colors. The body of the vidyā holder will also radiate light, and the earth will quake. Thrilled with joy, the vidyā holder should remain fully alert.
“If the mixture blazes with light, he should blend it with brahmaputraka1363 and sesame oil1364 and anoint his body with it. As soon as he does this, the complexion of his body will become golden, and his body will turn adamantine in essence, becoming unbreakable and indestructible. The vidyā holder will ascend into the sky with the retinue of one hundred thousand. If he smears his hair with the mixture, his head and body hair will become golden. If he smears his fingernails, they will become golden. If he smears his teeth, they will become golden. Any part of the human body that is smeared with the mixture will become golden in color.
“If sesame oil is not excluded from the recipe, the mixture can also be used as an excellent alchemical elixir1365 that can transform1366 one thousand palas of copper into gold. If a copper plate is smeared with the elixir that has been suffused with sesame oil and heated over a fire, one pala of the elixir can produce ten palas of gold. The vidyā holder should combine equal parts of the excellent elixir and ghee and cook it in cow’s milk over a low fire. When he knows that the elixir is ready, he should take it off the fire.
“He should then purify himself ritually, take a good bath, put on clean clothes, and sprinkle himself with the five products of the cow. Then he should drink the supreme elixir with warm water. [Tv.153] After applying this remedy for seven days, [F.136.b] his body will become pure. All his wrongdoings will be instantly purified, and all his afflictions will be burned away. All his diseases will instantly disappear, and all poisons will be arrested. Poison will not affect him again, weapons will not harm him, and water will not carry him away. He will never again be burned by fire or experience other dreadful calamities, such as poisoning and so forth.
“After applying the remedy for fourteen days, all his ailments will cease completely, his complexion will clear up, and his wrinkles and grey hair will disappear. After applying the same remedy for twenty-one days, he will become like a ten-year-old child with a body as white as a lotus and as soft as the petals of a lotus or water lily. His eyes will turn divine blue like a blue lotus, and his voice will become as beautiful as a kinnara’s. His hair will become curly and wavy and of the divine color of a bumble bee.1367 After applying the remedy for one month, his lifespan will increase to ten thousand years. He will be invisible to all enemies, including yakṣas, rākṣasas, gaṇas, and bhūtas; neither they nor any other evildoers will be able to see him. If he applies the remedy for an entire year, he will be able to frolic with gods; he will continually revel in the enjoyment of divine pleasures just as the gods do in their palaces. [A.72.b]
“If the elixir gets hot,1368 he should ingest it with honey so that his lifespan will increase to twelve thousand years. He will be able to travel in space. One pala of this supreme elixir is sufficient for treating1369 one thousand palas of copper. First the vidyā holder should treat ten palas of silver,1370 combine it with copper,1371 and smelt it. He will thus obtain one thousand palas of silver with this supreme elixir. He can then transform one hundred palas of wrought copper with one pala of the elixir.1372
“If the elixir emits light of various colors, the vidyā holder will be able to produce various colors. If he smelts silver and gold together, he will obtain jewels of various forms and colors. If he boils the elixir in sesame oil and smears his head with the infusion, his hair will assume various colors as soon as it is smeared. If he smears his body, it will emit light of various colors. If he anoints his eyes, he will be able to travel throughout the sky. [F.137.a] The doors to all palaces will be open for him, and in all these residences he will be treated like a king and master. If he makes a bindi on his forehead with the infusion, he will become invisible. If he speaks while holding the infusion in his mouth, the person spoken to will fall under his control and serve him physically [Tv.154] and with their wealth.
“Optionally, the vidyā holder should procure ghee, freshly churned butter, and milk from a tawny cow and boil them together with the supreme elixir that emitted light. When the preparation is well cooked and resembles white sugar, he should take it off the fire, incant it with the mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times,1373 and anoint his body with it. By doing so, he will become the emperor of all the vidyādharas and live for ten great eons. He will behold the blessed Buddha of each intermediary eon1374 and receive from him the prophecy of his future attainment of the seat of awakening. If instead he uses the preparation to mark his forehead with a bindi, he will fly up into the sky. With the sound oṁ, he will cause Brahmā to come out of his palace. He will be able to go as far as Akaniṣṭha and come back again in the snap of a finger. After he dies, he will be reborn in the world sphere of Sukhāvatī. That birth will be his last, after which he will be completely liberated from all confines of the place of habitation.1375
“Now I will teach the rite of the amogha pill. To accomplish this practice in reality, the vidyā holder should put on clean clothes and procure lotus flowers, malachite, the blossom of cobra’s saffron,1376 bovine bezoar, the root of śatāvarī,1377 collyrium, and agarwood. He should take an equal part of each, combine them, and grind them into a fine powder. He should then add white sugar, make the mixture into a pill, wrap it in gold, silver, and copper, and place it in a box made from white sandalwood.
“Then, on either the eighth or the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight, after fasting for one day and one night, he should take the box, hold it in his cupped hands in front of the cloth painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times and the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. [F.137.b] When he has recited the first mantra one thousand and eight times, the pill will begin to vibrate. If he then places it in his mouth, he will become invisible, and his lifespan will increase to one thousand years. Moving four fingers above the ground, he will be able to travel for one hundred leagues and come back again without touching the ground. He will become an emperor of vidyādharas of the lotus family and possess a body that exudes the scent of water lilies and lotuses.
“The skilled vidyā holder should procure an equal amount of blue lotus, champak,1378 and screw pine flowers, blend them together, and mix them with honey. He should then make a pill out of this and enclose it in gold, silver, and copper. Then, on either the eighth, fourteenth, [Tv.155] or fifteenth day of the bright fortnight,1379 after fasting for three days, he should purify himself ritually, take a bath, put on clean clothes, and make large offerings to the blessed Buddha in front of the cloth painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara. He should place the pill in a box made of bodhi wood and recite the mantra while holding the box in his cupped hands in front of the painting. [A.73.a] He should keep reciting until the pill starts vibrating,1380 at which time it will possess magical power.
“If he puts the pill in his mouth, he will be able to travel three thousand1381 leagues and back again without ever touching the ground, his feet remaining eight fingers above the ground. His lifespan will increase to ten thousand years, his eyes will turn blue, and the scent of blue lotuses will waft from his mouth. His face will be round like the full moon, its complexion resembling a lotus, and his body will exude the scent of champak flowers.1382 He will become an emperor-king of all the sky-dwelling vidyādharas.
“The vidyā holder should take equal parts powdered sandalwood, powdered agarwood, crepe jasmine, black myrobalan,1383 and pāṇi1384 and grind them into a fine powder. Adding olibanum oil, he should make a pill, wrap it with the three metals,1385 and place it in a sandalwood box. Then, on the full moon day, after fasting for three days,1386 [F.138.a] he should make large offerings to the blessed Buddha in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, including a sumptuous bali offering. Holding the box in his hands, he should sit on darbha grass and incant the pill with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times. He should further recite the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times.
“Subsequently, the pill will start revolving, the sign of success that indicates to the vidyā holder that the pill has acquired magical power. He should then make large offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and, when the golden sun of dawn turns the sky orange in the morning, eat some food. He should bow to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas and think about all beings with love. He should give each of his attendants a pill, and he should also put one in his mouth; he will become invisible as soon as his hand places it in his mouth. He will be able to travel through space, traveling the distance of five thousand leagues and back without ever getting tired. He will become a wheel-turning monarch of the vidyādharas who accomplished the magical pill, and his lifespan will increase to five thousand years. [Tv.156] He will walk without touching the ground, with his feet at the height of one cubit.
“If the vidyā holder wants to excavate treasure, he should use cow dung to demarcate a maṇḍala in the place where the treasure is supposed to be, strew the area with flowers, and burn incense of bdellium. He should offer the threefold bali: (1) the bali of ‘white’ foods, (2) the bali of meat and blood, and (3) the bali of saktuphalā1387 and lotuses. He should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and recite the mantra ten thousand times. When he has completed ten thousand recitations, the guardian of the treasure will rise from the place where the treasure is, and the treasure will rise to the surface. The vidyā holder should offer a bali and argha water to the guardian, who will subsequently remain his servant for the rest of the vidyā holder’s life, going wherever he is sent and carrying out all the tasks he is asked to. [F.138.b]
“If the vidyā holder incants ashes and mustard seeds1388 seven times with the heart mantra of Amogharāja and casts them in the four directions, all the vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas1389 will be bound, and a great protective boundary will be created. If the vidyā holder wants to destroy vināyakas, he should make a fire with oleander sticks and offer one hundred and eight homas of white mustard, yellow mustard, bdellium, datura seeds, and sea salt mixed with honey at the three junctions of the day for three days. This will bring all the families of vināyakas to ruin. They will perish.
“If the vidyā holder wants to paralyze an army, he should make a fire with neem sticks and, facing the army, offer homas of mustard seeds, viśarājikā,1390 and saptabījaka1391 mixed with honey. [A.73.b] The army will be paralyzed after the first one hundred and eight recitations; after the second, the soldiers will be beset with serious diseases;1392 after the third, all of them will perish and never return.
“If the vidyā holder wants to perform the rite of the rod, he should use cutch wood to fashion a rod two cubits long that is like Yama’s rod. Subsisting on the three ‘white’ foods, he should recite the mantra in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara ten thousand times. Then, on the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, after fasting for one day and one night, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one hundred and eight times and the mantra of Krodharāja the same number of times. The rod will blaze with light, the sign by which the vidyā holder will know that the practice has been accomplished. [Tv.157] He will hear the words ‘amogha rod’ spoken. He should make large offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara.
“Taking hold of the rod, the vidyā holder should rotate it in a circle seven times and then strike the earth. He should use the rod to measure out a square area on the ground; a great residential mansion will appear in each of its four corners, and a celestial palace fully provided with all kinds of amenities will appear in the center. [F.139.a] It will be crowded with women, men, boys, and girls. A celestial woman—one who is adorned with every ornament and is beautiful, graceful, and pleasing to look at—will come forward, and while standing in the doorway she will hold out a full jar made of the seven types of jewels. The celestial woman will say, ‘Enter, O vidyā holder! This palace is your own!’ He should reply, ‘What would I do in this worthless palatial dwelling?’ She will say, ‘Accept this vessel! It will bring you great prosperity.’ He should then curse her angrily, which will cause the woman to cry and shed tears as big as drops of heavy rainfall. The vidyā holder should scoop up some of the tears and wipe them on his body. As soon as he does, his body will become the color of the gold from the Jambu river and will exude the scent of the uragasāra and gośīrṣa sandalwood.1393 If he puts some of the tears into his mouth, his breath will have the divine smell of blue lotuses. If he anoints his eyes with them, they will turn blue like blue lotuses and take on a divine appearance. If he rubs some into his hair, it will take on the colors of peacock feathers and become wavy and curly. If he places the tears in his ears, he will develop divine hearing. He will be able to hear1394 and see objects at the distance of three thousand leagues.
“If he drinks the tears, his lifespan will increase to ten thousand eons. He will be able to recall his former births as far back as one thousand eons. He will obtain direct insight into all the worldly and celestial dramas, works on grammar, scientific treatises, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa, the Purāṇas, works on polity, works on monastic rules, the birth stories of the Buddha, works on poetics, works on the Vaiśeṣika philosophy, all ritual works on maṇḍalas, mudrās, mantras, and dhāraṇīs, the sūtras, the Abhidharma, and all the Mahāyāna works. He will follow a distinguished career in every respect. [F.139.b]
“The woman will again say, ‘Please enter, dear friend! This is your house!’ The vidyā holder should reply, and he should enter step by step. When she exposes her breasts, [Tv.158] the vidyā holder should grasp and squeeze them, causing milk to flow. He should scoop it up and drink it. If he smears some on his feet, he will immediately ascend into the sky in the company of the celestial woman and her thousandfold retinue. First, he will be borne by a mass of air, and then he will become a king and emperor of the eighty-four thousand vidyādharas. He will enter the realm of Sukhāvatī as the chief vidyādhara.
“There is also the following worldly procedure: the vidyā holder should grasp the rod with his right hand while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times and rotating the rod seven times. [A.74.a] Any wish that comes to his mind, any request, will be fully realized in an instant. Whomever the vidyā holder attempts to bring into his presence will be summoned and stand in front of him. If he wants to summon a yakṣa and a yakṣiṇī, he should draw them with red chalk, incant the rod with the Amogharāja mantra seven times, and swing the rod above the yakṣa1395 and yakṣiṇī. He should burn incense of bdellium and offer a dish with a bali offering of ‘white’ foods. As soon as he swings the rod, both the yakṣa and the yakṣiṇī will appear in front of him and follow his orders. They will do whatever task he commands them to do, and they will accomplish everything perfectly. They will procure money, grain, gold, jewels, pearls, silver, wrought gold, clothes, beds, seats, adornments, ornaments, jewelry, and so forth. Whatever else he asks them to procure, they will procure it all. [F.140.a]
“If the vidyā holder swings the rod before an image of Śrī, she will bestow upon him a great quantity of the finest riches. She will appear before him in person and grant him whatever he asks for. If he strikes Vaiśravaṇa’s feet with the rod seven times and mindfully repeats the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times, Vaiśravaṇa will come running and will stand directly before him. He will give abundant wealth and do whatever he is asked to do. If the vidyā holder silently incants the rod twenty-one times and swings it at the gate of the royal household seven times, the king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall [Tv.159] and serve him with their bodies and wealth.
“If the vidyā holder swings the rod at the gates to a city, all its citizens—women, men, boys, and girls—will fall under his thrall. He will be their sole object of veneration, and they will all become his followers and male and female servants. If he swings the rod in a temple before an image of a deity while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja, that deity will appear before him in person to do whatever it is asked to do and give whatever it is asked to give. If he swings the rod facing the rising sun while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja, he will cause the god Sūrya to descend to earth and grant all the boons he desires. If he swings the rod while facing the full moon and recites the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, he will cause the god Candra, the nakṣatras, and the multitude of stars to descend to earth and grant him all the boons he desires.
“If the vidyā holder circumambulates a reliquary clockwise while reciting the Amogharāja mantra and swings the rod, the reliquary will blaze with light and a voice will be heard. The reliquary will answer in full whatever question the vidyā holder asks and will give everything he requests it to give. If he swings the rod while circumambulating an image of a tathāgata clockwise while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja, all the tathāgatas will appear to him and give him comfort. [F.140.b] They will fulfill his every hope and grant his every wish. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him in person in the last watch of the night, grant all the boons the vidyā holder desires, and help him accomplish all his aims. The vidyā holder will become an emperor of the vidyādharas who have accomplished the amogha rod.
“If during a drought the vidyā holder goes to a place inhabited by nāgas and swings the rod while mindfully repeating the heart mantra of Amogharāja, the nāgas will send a heavy rain the very moment he swings the rod. They will send as much rain as he wishes. If there is too much rain, [A.74.b] the vidyā holder should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa in a loud voice on top of his house and swing the rod. This will stop excessive rain. If it hails, the vidyā holder should stand facing the cloud and angrily recite the mantra of Krodharāja in a loud voice while waving the rod with anger. Subsequently, there will be no cold, wind, or hail, and a great protective boundary will be created for a radius of one league. [Tv.160]
“In the event of epileptic seizures, the vidyā holder should repeat the mantra of Krodharāja seven times while displaying the rod. All grahas1396 will flee, crying. All such spirits, including apasmāras, will flee at the mere sight of the rod. In the event of any fever, he should cleanse the patient by rubbing him with the rod while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja. As soon as he rubs the patient, all the jvaras will depart. The jvaras of quartan fever will flee, crying. If the vidyā holder enters the thick of battle while angrily reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja and swinging the rod, all the soldiers’ weapons and armaments will disappear. The enemy army will flee, uttering cries of woe.
“When entering a forest or wilderness in the company of fellow travelers, the vidyā holder should mindfully repeat the Amogharāja mantra and swing the rod. All thieves, bandits, [F.141.a] robbers, lions, tigers, bears, wolves, venomous snakes, small predators, elephants, buffalo, and venomous creatures will disappear. The travelers will each return to their homes in safety and comfort. In the event of any calamities, cattle plagues, horse plagues, the dying of livestock, or deadly pestilences that affect women, men, boys, and girls, the vidyā holder should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja and the mantra of Krodharāja in a loud voice while swinging the rod at each of the four gates of the affected city. As soon as he swings the rod, all calamities, misfortunes, disasters, catastrophes, quarrels, disputes, and disagreements will be pacified, and everyone will be freed from fear.
“If the vidyā holder wants to bring a specific woman or man into his presence, he should stand at an elevated spot and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times in a loud voice while swinging the rod. He should focus on the name of the person targeted by the rite, and they will come, even from one hundred leagues away. They will fall under his thrall and serve him physically and with their wealth, and they will continue to do so for as long as they live.
“If the vidyā holder wants to summon Maṇibhadra, he should fast for one day and one night and then, on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, incant the rod with the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times. He should then place the rod against the belly of Maṇibhadra and recite the mantra of Krodharāja until Maṇibhadra appears before the vidyā holder in person during the last watch of the night and gives him ten thousand dinars. [Tv.161] A part of this amount should be offered to the Three Jewels. The vidyā holder should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and offer argha water to Maṇibhadra. If he offers the argha water to him every single day, Maṇibhadra will give the vidyā holder one thousand dinars every day for as long as he lives. [F.141.b] The vidyā holder should spend half of it and give the other half away, thus accumulating merit and pleasing Maṇibhadra.
“If the vidyā holder finds himself in a forest or a desert without water, he should incant the rod with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times, swing the rod, and strike the ground at a grassy spot seven times while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja in a loud voice seven times. He should then call out to Noble Avalokiteśvara, and a lotus pond will appear at the place that was struck. [A.75.a] It will contain divine water that is neither too cold nor too hot and that tastes sweet. The vidyā holder should incant the rod with the Krodharāja mantra seven times and strike the water in the middle of the pond. A brown man will instantly emerge, stand before the vidyā holder with folded hands, and say, ‘Tell me, vidyā holder, what do you need?’ The vidyā holder should reply, ‘I need food. Please give it to me!’ and bid farewell to the man, who will subsequently reenter the water of the pond.
“After a short while, the man will bring various kinds of dainty food and drink and offer them to the vidyā holder in quantities sufficient for one hundred thousand people. He will also give him an assortment of other useful things. If the vidyā holder does not make the pond disappear again, it will remain forever without disappearing, and all kinds of useful things in impeccable condition will appear in it for all travelers and all beings.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the amogha circle,1397 he should bathe in perfumed water incanted twenty-one times and tie his hair in a topknot without saying anything. [Tv.162] He should incant the amogha rod one hundred and eight times and swing it in the midst of an assembly. [F.142.a] The most prominent members of the assembly will subsequently become confused1398 and befuddled. If the vidyā holder swings the rod again, he will be able to manifest any form exactly as he imagines it and able to produce showers of fruits and flowers and various magical displays.
“If the vidyā holder wants to cause a vetāla to possess a dead body, he should purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, put on clean clothes, and go to a charnel ground. There, he should incant the amogha rod seven times with the heart mantra of Amogharāja and seven times with the mantra of Krodharāja. By swinging the rod in the middle of the charnel ground, he will create a protected area extending one league in all directions, and he will bind all the vighnas and wicked yakṣas and rākṣasas there. He should then take the dead body, wash it, and clean it with the five products of the cow.
“He should use cow dung to mark out a symmetrical maṇḍala with four corners, and then drive four pegs made of cutch wood, twelve fingers long, into each corner. He should surround the maṇḍala with five-colored thread stretched around the pegs. He should wrap the dead body in a white shroud, place it in the center of the maṇḍala, and strew the maṇḍala with flowers. He should offer a bali of three ‘white’ foods, offer argha water for the feet, and burn incense of bdellium. He should then sit down facing the east, hold the amogha rod in his right hand, repeat the king of vidyās,1399 and mindfully repeat the mantra of Krodharāja sixty times. He should stroke the right side of the corpse and hit its right arm with the rod. The corpse will move and tremble, get up, and look in the ten directions. When the vidyā holder places the rod on the vetāla’s head, it will start speaking.
“The vidyā holder should mindfully repeat the mantra and think of the things he wants to know. The vetāla will tell him everything—things that happened in the past, [F.142.b] that will happen in the future, or that are happening now. When the vidyā holder places the rod on the corpse’s heart, [A.75.b] blood will spurt out, and the vidyā holder should use it to mark a bindi on his forehead. [Tv.163] This will allow him to pass through any door unobstructed. The doors to all the palaces will thus be open for him, and all the women, men, boys, and girls dwelling there will fall under his thrall.
“If the vidyā holder presses harder with the rod, the corpse will vomit its heart.1400 The vidyā holder should take it and eat it whole. As soon as he does, he will ascend into the sky, become a great lord of bhūtas like Maheśvara, and live thousands of celestial years. Alternatively, if he presses the rod while pronouncing the syllable oṁ and threatening the corpse, its tongue will stick out. The vidyā holder should chop it off and hold it. As soon as does, he will ascend into the sky, become an emperor of all sword vidyādharas, and live ten thousand years. His retinue of vidyādharas will number eighteen.
“By striking the corpse on the head with the rod, the vidyā holder will release the vetāla.1401 The dead body will then become a single piece of solid gold, which the vidyā holder should take. He will be able to use that one pala to turn one thousand palas of copper into gold. This procedure is for accomplishing worldly purposes.”
The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara further said to the Blessed One, “My instructions for accomplishing worldly purposes are, O lord, an expression of my compassionate concern for all beings.”
The Tathāgata Śākyamuni replied, “O great being, out of compassion for all beings, please now teach the most secret heart maṇḍala1402 through which beings can attain mental stability and fearlessness and by which all vidyā holders reach the supreme accomplishment in their practice. [F.143.a] This maṇḍala, when memorized through study and successfully performed, brings this accomplishment in full. It is a great fulfiller of wishes. The vidyā holder will thus obtain all the best and greatest accomplishments. All his desires will be fulfilled, and all his hopes will come true.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, encouraged by the Blessed One, was overjoyed when he heard this request for instructions. He got up from his seat, put his robe over one shoulder, and, placing his right knee on the ground, bowed toward the Blessed One with folded hands and touched the Blessed One’s feet with his head. He made large offerings to him that included a variety of flowers, incense, fragrances, garlands, scented oils, scented powders, monk’s robes, parasols, banners, flags, and various garments, adornments, and ornaments. [Tv.164]
Having thus worshiped the Blessed One with offerings, Noble Avalokiteśvara made offerings to the great assembly—to the great bodhisattva beings, to the gods present in the gathering, to the siddhas and vidyādharas, to the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas who were established in the samaya of the great maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa, and to the beings who dwell on Potala Mountain. He gave them all various flowers, incense, fragrances, garlands, and scented oils of superior quality, as well as various garments, adornments, ornaments, and jewelry.
Having thus honored them with offerings, the exhilarated Noble Avalokiteśvara circumambulated the Blessed One clockwise hundreds of thousands of times, [F.143.b] paid respect to the circle of the assembly, and bowed with folded hands toward the Blessed One. Facing him, he spoke to the Blessed One without blinking and in the sweetest of voices:
“I have, O Blessed One, a maṇḍala of liberation that is wonderful to behold. It is a miraculous amogha manifestation, the heart essence of all the tathāgatas, [A.76.a] a magical display of the wondrous reality of all the tathāgatas, a maṇḍala of the great samaya that is blessed by Vairocana. It is the heart of Amoghavilokitapāśa and the very essence of the accomplishment of the study and practice of the supramundane. It leads to the ultimate supramundane accomplishment. Taught by all the tathāgatas, it possesses their blessing.
“Lord, with your blessing I will now present this maṇḍala of liberation in your presence for the sake of the ultimate accomplishment of all vidyā holders.1403 I will present it to save all beings and to prevent rebirth in any of the hells, the realm of animals,1404 or the world of Yama. I present it to remove all previously accumulated obscurations, nonvirtue, and wrongdoings, to block all unhappy destinies, and to incinerate all worldly and supramundane negativities and obscurations. By merely listening to, seeing, training in, dwelling in, teaching, or elucidating this maṇḍala of liberation, beings will completely exhaust all the consequences of the five acts of immediate retribution and of denying the realization of the Buddha, opposing realized beings, offending the noble saṅgha, or opposing any śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, or bodhisattvas—acts that would otherwise lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell. By merely seeing me, beings will exhaust and cast off all their negativity. They will then be free from all fever and disease. All their stains [F.144.a] of envy and jealousy will be cleansed, they will be free from all afflictions and obscurations, and all their suffering, mundane and transcendent, will depart. [Tv.165] They will leave behind birth, old age, disease, death, grief, lamentation, pain, and despair. All quarrels, scuffles, riots, beatings, threats, blockades, disputes, chains and fetters, discords, imprisonments, and the dangers from thieves, robbers, bandits, lions, elephants, and buffalo will cease. All disease, decrepitude, edema, spotted leprosy, scabs, skin eruptions, dadrū leprosy, itching, headaches, and hemiplegia will be cured. There will be no danger from bears, wolves, yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, piśācas, apasmāras, king’s poisoners, āśīviṣa snakes, cobras, gonāsa snakes, and any other venomous creatures. There will be no danger from fire, water, poison, weapons, falling,1405 slipping in a house, cold, wind, heat, hail, and rats.1406
“All these calamities will disappear by merely reading, memorizing, or teaching1407 this maṇḍala of liberation. They will disperse and cease. Beings will be freed from them instantaneously. This should not be questioned, denied, or disbelieved, nor should any doubt arise in the mind. Instead, O Blessed One, the vidyā holder should continually visualize me in front of him, continually think of me, and be aware of my presence. He should repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and the heart mantra of Krodharāja. He should also, at all times, keep this maṇḍala of liberation in mind. It is wonderful to behold, a miraculous amogha manifestation, the heart essence and magical display of all the tathāgatas, [F.144.b] the maṇḍala of the great samaya blessed by Vairocana, and the heart essence of Amoghavilokitapāśa. He should always repeat it mentally and verbally with uninterrupted mindfulness.
“By merely recollecting this maṇḍala of liberation, the vidya holder will acquire a complete range of good qualities both worldly and supramundane. It is called the maṇḍala of non-returning because the vidyā holder will be irreversibly established on the path to awakening. All the tathāgatas will keep him in their thoughts, grant him a prophecy of his future attainment of buddhahood, and bless him. How much more this is true for someone who not only recollects but sees, reads, and studies this maṇḍala of liberation, who beholds, worships, and recollects Noble Avalokiteśvara, and who makes offerings, pays homage to, and lucidly reflects on him three times a day. [A.76.b] Such a being should be known to be like me, with a body blessed by the Lokeśvara. [Tv.166] He should be known as a recipient of all the tathāgatas’ blessings and of their prophecy of his future awakening. What about someone who does even more than this? Such a being should be known as having the very nature of a tathāgata. I myself will always be close to them, appear to them continually, fulfill all their hopes, and grant all their wishes. May I include all beings in the great turning of the wheel of Dharma that will take them to the seat of awakening in the shortest possible time! I have made a firm vow, O Blessed One, and girded myself up to deliver all beings, [F.145.a] fulfill all their hopes, and grant them every boon.”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni applauded Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, saying, “Good! Good, O supremely pure being! This supramundane procedure is extremely difficult to find. If beings can be liberated by merely accepting it, how much more so if they look at it, read it, practice it, observe the ritual fast, and train in the procedure? Such beings will become irreversibly established on the path to perfect awakening. Please teach, O pure being, this maṇḍala of liberation, if you think the time is right.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, looked up at the Blessed One’s face, smiled, and pronounced the heart mantra of Amoghavilokitapāśa:
“Homage to all the tathāgatas successively established throughout the three times! Homage to all the pratyekabuddhas and the congregation of noble śrāvakas! Homage to the eminent hosts of the great bodhisattvas headed by Maitreya! Homage to the deities in the maṇḍala of Noble Vajradhara! Homage to Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and the hosts of eminent ṛṣis! Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being with great compassion!
[199] “Oṁ, the heart essence of the noose gaze of all the tathāgatas, blaze, blaze! Born from the dharmadhātu, move, move! O great one with lotus arms, carry, carry! O bearer of the great noose, hold captive, hold! With your body adorned with hundreds of thousands of beautiful light rays, pass through, pass! You are endowed with the great fiery energy, bear,1408 bear! You fulfill the six perfections, kala kala! O wearer of the great garb of Brahmā, mala mala! [Tv.167] You remove all evil, [F.145.b] obscurations, and nonvirtue, dhuru dhuru! O pure bodhisattva being, bhuru bhuru! O beloved great being! You are revered by Yama, Varuṇa, and Kubera, huru huru! You are revered and adored by the gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Kumāra, Nandikeśvara, Īśvara, and Maheśvara! You wear various jewels in your diadem, which is crowned with the victorious Amitābha! Your body is adorned with divine jewels, gold, diamonds, beryls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and divine pearls! You are invested with the white sacred thread! Your topknot is adorned with a diadem and a new moon! You hold a lotus, sit on a lotus seat, and have lotus arms. O three-eyed one with a trident and a noose! You are consecrated by all the tathāgatas, sara sara! You pacify all evil! O most compassionate one, turu turu! You grant every boon! O bodhi, bodhi! Yours is the gaze of all the tathāgatas, the gaze that is the essence of awakening! [A.77.a] O great lord of the world, holder of the wish-fulfilling jewel, one that assumes all forms! With a sweet expression on your face and great compassion, maintain your wakefulness, maintain! Awaken them, awaken! O Blessed Lord, you are the essence of all the tathāgatas’ enlightenment (āloka). You possess great merit and great brilliance! You bring the most excellent accomplishment! You remove every disease!1409 Loving care for all beings is your highest commitment! You release them from all suffering, O most compassionate one! Homage be to you, svāhā!1410
“This dhāraṇī, O Blessed One, is my heart essence, the heart essence of the extraordinary noose-gaze,1411 the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. This dhāraṇī is a maṇḍala of liberation; it is my heart dhāraṇī intended for supramundane purposes; it is the omnifarious1412 great essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara. It is a magical transformation—one that has a thousand arms and a thousand heads and gazes with one thousand eyes—that is born of the illusion-like samādhi. It is empowered with one thousand mudrās, leads to hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of samaya maṇḍalas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, introduces the vidyā holder to the secret nature of all the tathāgatas, and lets him enter all buddha fields.
“This dhāraṇī causes the vidyā holder to attain the seat of awakening, turn the wheel of Dharma, [F.146.a] and become a blazing torch of the Dharma. It will allow him to crush all māras and other such beings including the evil Māra himself, to blow the conch of Dharma, to raise the banner of Dharma, and to block rebirth in any of the hells. It grants the accomplishment of all rites [Tv.168] and is the ultimate cure for every disease.1413 It is a great means for establishing beings on the ten bodhisattva levels, and it irreversibly establishes them on the path to awakening. It is blessed and empowered by all the tathāgatas and amogha-produces supremely auspicious circumstances. It is a magical amogha transformation and a condensed ocean of amogha mind; it plants amogha seeds of goodness and causes the vidyā holder to partake in the amogha displays of the bodhisattvas.1414
“This dhāraṇī is a proclamation of miraculous amogha transformations of all the tathāgatas.1415 It sends forth amogha clouds1416 of offerings to all the tathāgatas and conjures up amogha acts of service.1417 It causes all beings to enter the amogha city of fearlessness. It fulfills the six perfections as a great amogha gift. It brings the amogha rain of various divine flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, scented oils and powders, monk’s robes, parasols, banners, flags, garments, adornments, ornaments, and the seven types of jewels. It grants amogha rebirth in various beautifully adorned buddha fields, where the vidyā holder will see all the tathāgatas. It produces a great accumulation of amogha merit and plants amogha roots of great virtue.1418
“This dhāraṇī facilitates an amogha appearance of all the tathāgatas and an amogha demonstration of their magical powers, manifestations, and displays; it grants lordly amogha power; it allows an amogha insight into the maṇḍalas of the vidyās, the collections of mudrās, and the rites; [F.146.b] it shows amogha accomplishments and amogha treasure troves;1419 it amogha-increases the lifespan; it brings amogha fame and renown; it amogha-rescues from saṃsāra and amogha-saves from birth, old age, and death; it grants amogha boons; it amogha-accomplishes mantra recitation procedures; it grants amogha powers of recollection and plants amogha roots of virtue.
“This dhāraṇī is an amogha guide to becoming an emperor of vidyādharas; it secures an amogha entry to the palaces and celestial chariots of the devas, including the thirty-two palaces,1420 and an amogha entry to the realm of Tuṣita, the abode of Akaniṣṭha,1421 and the palaces in the realm of Thirty-Three, which are ruled by Śakra, the king of gods. This dhāraṇī allows the vidyā holder to amogha-move the great Mount Sumeru single-handedly; it exhibits magical amogha powers; [A.77.b] it teaches how to become invisible; it causes the amogha power to grow; [Tv.169] and it is an amogha guide to becoming an emperor who rules over the four continents.
“This dhāraṇī is a wish-fulfilling jewel that brings an amogha rain of various jewels, grain, and pieces of clothing. It conjures up an amogha rain of adornments, jewelry, various gems,1422 pearl necklaces, earrings, golden strings, bracelets, and armlets; it brings an amogha rain of the best foodstuffs of a hundred different flavors; it amogha-shows the way to completely liberate different types of beings; it grants amogha insight into various scientific treatises, aphorisms, works on polity, manuals on monastic rules, works on grammar, the epics, udāna literature,1423 nidāna literature,1424 stories of the past events,1425 the jātakas, the vaipulya sūtras, the ‘marvels,’1426 Dharma instructions, the Abhidharma, and various narratives.
“This dhāraṇī amogha-shows the depths of the great ocean of Mahāyāna in its diversity and causes the vidyā holder to submerge himself in it. [F.147.a] It amogha-demonstrates the suppression, killing, and eradication of all wicked yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, pretas, kumbhāṇḍas, apasmāras,1427 vighnas, and vināyakas. In this way, O Blessed One, this dhāraṇī brings great benefits. It pacifies all evil,1428 shows one how to be fearless in every situation, shows the exalted, supramundane path, shows the path to nirvāṇa, irreversibly establishes beings on the path to awakening, and grants buddhahood. This great dhāraṇī, O Blessed One, is the heart essence of Amoghāvalokitapāśa. It is the heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara. It is praised for its special qualities and abides as the secret heart essence of all the tathāgatas.”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni said to Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Good! It is good, O great being, that you have taught this heart dhāraṇī that is so difficult to obtain. This dhāraṇī is a magical display of the supramundane, praised as the secret essence of the qualities, powers, and miraculous transformations of all tathāgatas and bodhisattvas.1429 This dhāraṇī is the supreme path to be followed by all beings. It is famed as the secret heart-dhāraṇī, exceedingly difficult to obtain and supreme among the best, that any being can use to cross to the other shore of the great ocean of saṃsāra with its flood-like waters and leave the ocean of existence.
“Any son or daughter who belongs to the family of Noble Avalokiteśvara, any monk or nun, any male or female lay practitioner, any ascetic brahmin, kṣatriya, [F.147.b] vaiśya, or śūdra, or any other being will plant the roots of great merit merely by learning the name of this dhāraṇī, which is the heart essence of the amogha gaze, the heart essence of the wondrous amogha gaze, [Tv.173]1430 the maṇḍala of liberation of all the tathāgatas, a magical transformation of the extraordinary nature of all the tathāgatas, and the maṇḍala of the great samaya blessed by Vairocana. They will create and obtain a great amount of merit. They will directly behold ninety-two times four hundred thousand million billion tathāgatas, tathāgatas equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. They will hear their voices directly and will learn the Dharma directly from them. They will also hear, directly from them, the prophecy of their own future awakening. Such a great person will consequently obtain a great amount of merit and plant roots of great virtue.
“Any son or daughter of good family who merely hears the name of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala rite,1431 recites it, or sees it displayed will accumulate great merit and plants roots of great virtue. What would this merit be equivalent to in terms of difficult or rare achievements? It would be the same as the achievement of seeing and listening to a tathāgata.
“And what if someone were to apply effort, strength, energy, and valor for the sake of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala? What if they wrote it, read it, or recited it according to procedure? [A.79.a]1432 What if they practiced this maṇḍala as prescribed, made a genuine effort, and underwent great austerities for its sake? What would their achievement be equivalent to? It would be equivalent to the hardships undergone by the Tathāgata Śākyamuni, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha, over the period of the three immeasurable eons it took him to attain buddhahood and then turn the wheel of Dharma. [F.148.a]
“Any son or daughter of good family, any monk or nun, any male or female lay practitioner, any ascetic, brahmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra, or any other being who makes genuine effort and applies great strength, energy, and courage in performing the procedure of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala is known to follow the supramundane method. Such a person will make a pledge to write, read, study, recite according to procedure, and gaze at this maṇḍala. They will take up the samaya, employ the mudrās,1433 and listen to, uphold, propagate, study, deeply reflect on, and contemplate this dhāraṇī. They will, at the three junctions of the day, [Tv.174] mentally repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, consecrate themselves with the mantra of Krodharāja, and mindfully repeat the dhāraṇī twenty-one times while following the recitation procedure. Their heart will be filled with love and compassion, and they will be wholly motivated by feelings of pity for all sentient beings.
“In acting like this, they will have performed great austerities that are not just equal to but actually exceed the austerities undergone by the Buddha over three immeasurable eons. They will obtain great supramundane results in their current birth and will become established in buddhahood. [B13] They will plant the roots of virtue and accumulate a great amount of merit. The Lokeśvara,1434 to whom they will always remain close, is certain to place his right hand on their head and grant them boons. The Lokeśvara will always appear to them directly. [F.148.b]
“This procedure, the seal of the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala, is thus a source of great qualities. It is extremely difficult to find. Those who merely hear this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala recited seven times into their ear are destined to be reborn in the world sphere of Sukhāvatī immediately after they leave their body. They will be born there, adorned with all ornaments, from a lotus, at the feet and in the immediate presence of Amitābha. The sūtras, the rites, the maṇḍalas, and the mudrās that were taught by all the tathāgatas will remain at the tip of their tongue. They will be able to remember their successive rebirths, their six senses will be completely pure, and they will obtain the five superknowledges. From the moment of their birth, they will have a divine form and complexion and perfect bodily proportions.
“In view of this, all beings, whether they are weak or strong,1435 should embrace this dhāraṇī and request, read, and study it. They should eradicate the stains of jealousy and envy and cultivate compassion, love, pity, and so forth for all beings, making these sentiments their chief preoccupation. They should teach, explain, and cause others to practice the procedure of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala, the value of which is inestimable. It should be practiced with great resolve in the final time of the final period. This supramundane practice procedure is supreme. What more should I say here? This procedure should be learned without competitive feelings.”
In the same, brief moment that Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, pronounced the dhāraṇī, [Tv.175] Potala Mountain turned into the seven types of jewels, as did all the trees there that bear blossoms and fruit. [A.79.b] [F.149.a] A palatial temple appeared, followed by ninety-nine hundred thousand million billion similar temples—as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river—adorned with various colorful flowers and divine fruits. Each temple was decorated with a variety of beautiful nettings and complete with tiny bells, golden bells, silk streamers, canopies, and draperies arranged in cascades above a divine lion seat located in the center of the temple. As there was such a seat in each temple, ninety-nine hundred thousand lion seats magically appeared. On the seats, arrayed everywhere in the ten directions, sat the assembled tathāgatas. Each of them extended his golden right arm, placed his hand on the head of the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and celebrated him, saying, “Good! It is good, Avalokiteśvara! The supramundane path that you have shown in order to help all beings cross to the other shore is very special. If beings who merely hear it enter the most distinguished supramundane path to buddhahood, what need is there to mention those beings who, in addition to hearing it, undertake to recite it, write it, read it, and see its maṇḍala.1436 Such beings will follow their samaya and will, in their current birth, awaken to their inner nature as a tathāgata.”
Lotuses then appeared in the abode of Potala Mountain, where all the grasses, bushes, herbs, and trees are human sized. Each lotus was the size of a cartwheel, was made of seven precious jewels, and had petals in various colors, beryl stalks the color of gold from the river Jambu, [F.149.b] round pericarps made of red pearl, and stamens made of celestial pearls. On the lotuses sat great bodhisattva beings, all of whom knelt down before Noble Avalokiteśvara,1437 the great bodhisattva being, and out of respect for the Dharma bedecked him with pearl necklaces worth hundreds of thousands, in return for his teaching and demonstrating the seal of this dhāraṇī-mandala.1438 A great earthquake rattled the great trichiliocosm whose world systems, blessed by the dhāraṇī, turned into diamond. A great rain of divine flowers fell to convey offerings to all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas and to make supreme, extensive offerings to the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala.
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, smiling and waving his vajra, approached the Blessed One, saluted him by touching his feet with his head, and said, “It is very difficult, O Blessed One, to obtain the supramundane procedure of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala, one that can produce a display of magical powers and miracles such as we are seeing. One can observe the arising of a tathāgata and the turning of the wheel of Dharma—this dhāraṇī should be regarded to be the same as a tathāgata. Such a supremely great power, one that is difficult to find, can be found in Jambudvīpa, O Blessed One. This power will accomplish the work of the tathāgatas and the work of the Buddha in the final time of the final period. By merely recollecting this dhāraṇī, one will obtain the benefit of the qualities that are described. This dhāraṇī1439 alone will become a beacon of light for the world. There is no savior of any being other than the Lokeśvara, the great bodhisattva being, who is present here.”1440 [Tv.170]1441 [F.150.a]
The Blessed One replied, “It is just as you said, Vajrapāṇi! All the beings in Jambudvīpa who are born to mothers and fathers, O Vajrapāṇi, constitute this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala.1442 And here is Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being who is wholly dedicated to protecting, fulfilling the hopes of, and providing refuge to all beings, both on the worldly and supramundane levels, until all these beings—each and every woman, man, boy, and girl—are established in buddhahood. The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, who possesses strength, energy, and courage, arose in former times to bring benefit to beings.”
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, then took a great gem called bright as the sun and innately pure, walked up to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, bowed down, touched his head to the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and offered him the gem as a gift.1443 He then went to his seat, which had been bestrewn with various divine flowers as an act of worship, and sat down. [A.78.a]1444
At that time, the blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha, entered the samādhi called immaculately pure amogha radiance. While the Blessed One was in samādhi, a palatial temple shaped like a parasol appeared at his fontanelle. Light of various colors radiated from this temple, [F.150.b] and amid this effulgence of multicolored light a wonderful sight of various magical, miraculous displays appeared in the canopy of the sky. The body of the Tathāgata could be seen in each individual ray of light, altogether equaling hundreds of millions of billions of bodies as numerous as grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers.1445 All these bodies of the Tathāgata applauded Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, saying, “Good! It is good, O great being! You have spoken this seal of the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala that is extremely difficult to find, the seal that constitutes the special supramundane path leading to the seat of awakening, to the turning of the wheel of Dharma, [Tv.171] to blazing magical Dharma displays, to the raising of the banner of Dharma, to the blowing of the conch of Dharma, to victory over the cycle of the four māras, to the obtainment of the ten strengths of a tathāgata, to the obtainment of the eighteen special qualities of a buddha, to the development of the four types of confidence, to the attainment of the ultimate reality of thatness, and to the mastery of the ten perfections. This dhāraṇī promotes the eightfold path of the noble ones. It brings those who have strayed from the path back onto it and gives them purpose. It purifies the hearts of those who whose hearts are corrupt. It leads those who are destined for unhappy rebirths to happy rebirths instead. It reveals the seed and the fruition of the great seat1446 of awakening.”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni said to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Please teach, O pure being, this expressly supramundane maṇḍala of liberation, [F.151.a] the practice procedure of the supramundane maṇḍala that is a magical amogha transformation.”
Hearing the Blessed One’s request to teach, Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, faced the Blessed One and taught the supramundane procedure of the formal practice of the maṇḍala:
“The vidyā holder should find a nice place in a suitable location where the ground is clean, verdant with grass, and abounding in flowers, fruits, and trees covered in blossom and vines. The place should have a smooth, clean surface and be close to a flowing stream. It should be bright and pleasant, pleasing to the mind, and with much open space. It should be pure and free from anything defiling, such as skeletal remains, gravel, feces, and vomit.1447 The ground should be completely clean and entirely pure. There he should skillfully delimit a symmetrical enclosure that is the width of a boat and is clean, soft, and smooth. If he sets up the maṇḍala and sits there, he will attain the supreme awakening of the Buddha. Such a unique place is supramundane and blessed by all the tathāgatas.
“The vidyā holder should excavate an area on the ground to the depth of a human head1448 and color1449 it red or saffron. It should be smoothed over with white powder and soft like freshly churned butter. Such special ground is praised by all the tathāgatas—it is the ground of awakening,1450 and it is equal to a reliquary or a caitya. The learned vidyā holder should fill it with dust from the earth. When the cavity is filled to the level of the ground, it serves as a true maṇḍala. If it is not filled enough or is filled too much, [A.78.b] [Tv.172] it is not perfect and will not bring accomplishment. [F.151.b]
“Using thread, the wise vidyā holder should carefully delimit a square maṇḍala either thirty-two, sixteen, or five1451 cubits in diameter. It should be smeared with a mixture of clay and cow dung, have a smooth finish,1452 and be pliable and soft. It should be surrounded on the outside by thread, and its various parts should have different colors. The four doors should be adorned with arched gateways. Inside the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should use colored thread to delimit a square area that is either three or four cubits across. He should draw an inner line of tridents brightly adorned with jewels and gems,1453 an intermediate line [Tv.176]1454 of vajras and lotuses, and, along the outer line, a railing of vajra shapes made from various jewels.1455
“In the center he should place a temple-palace with lotuses inside it.1456 In its center he should place the sage Vairocana on a lotus, Amitābha to the left, and the Tathāgata, the king of the Śākyas, to the right. Opposite Lord Śākyamuni should be the lokeśvara Amogharāja, standing up and bowing with folded hands. He should be drawn with four arms, two of which hold various flowers, and be adorned with all ornaments. Krodharāja should be drawn opposite Amitābha; he should have four arms and be standing up and bowing with two of his hands folded, while the other pair hold various divine flowers. He is adorned with various ornaments. The area in the center1457 should be decorated with silk streamers and divine ornaments and adorned with a lotus seat. Upon the seat should be the great mudrā of Amoghapāśa surrounded by blazing light. [F.152.a]
“He should draw the four goddesses, skillfully placed halfway between the corners1458 and aligned with the four quarters. He should draw the goddess Tārā seated in the eastern quarter and adorned with ornaments; Pāṇḍaravāsinī is seated in the southern quarter and adorned with ornaments, the goddess Śvetā is seated in the western quarter and adorned with ornaments, and the goddess Padmasundarī is seated in the northern quarter and adorned with ornaments. The corners of the outer circle should house the Four Great Kings. On the inside,1459 the wild Ekajaṭā should be in the east, [A.80.a]1460 Dūtī with a contorted face is in the west, Vajraśaṅkalī with protruding fangs is in the south, and Rākṣasī with knitted brows is in the north. All of them should portrayed surrounded by flames and fearless.
“Outside of this inner maṇḍala, he should draw additional concentric lines of lotuses, vajras, and tridents, all surrounded by a garland of flames. In the outer ring he should draw the emblems and insignia of the deities Īśvara, Maheśvara, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara,1461 Yama, Varuṇa, Indra, Kumāra1462, and the gods of the Vaśavartin, Tuṣita, and other realms as far as Akaniṣṭha. He should also draw the various emblems of the gods from the realm of Thirty-Three, each upon a lotus seat. These emblems1463 are a dharma wheel, [Tv.177] vajra, five-pointed vajra, noose, axe, discus, trident, three-pointed spear, tiryagdaṇḍa,1464 hammer, vajra discus, garland of lotuses, discus, conch, mace, sword, javelin, full jar, mirror, purse,1465 lotus, blue lotus, banner, parasol, jewel staff, vajra-square marked with vajras,1466 jewel vajra, and axe vajra, the four seals, a nandikāvarta,1467 khara,1468 pot, and vase, and the skin of a black antelope, [F.152.b] a sacred thread, and a paṭala.1469 Further out, he should draw the nakṣatras, the moon, and the sun, all blazing with light and distinguished by their different colors.1470
“At the eastern gate, the wise vidyā holder should skillfully draw the fearless Vajrapāṇi, looking fierce and standing with his feet apart. He holds a vajra and is surrounded with light. At the southern gate, he should draw the terrible Kelikila, at the western gate Vajrapiṅgala, and at the northern gate the fierce looking Nisumbha. He should draw a garland of pink and blue lotuses surrounding the outside the maṇḍala, with the four lordly elephants1471 in the four corners. He should draw the four gatekeepers—Maṇibhadra, Pūrṇabhadra, Baladeva, and Pāñcika—standing next to the gates, as well as the four great rivers, Gaṅgā, Sītā, Vakṣā, and Candrabhāgā. Inside the garland he should draw the goddesses Śrī, Vāsantī, Anaupamyā, the earth deity, the deity of crops and herbs, Sarasvatī, Bhīmā, the fire deity, Hārītī, Śaṅkhinī, Caṇḍinī, and Puṣpadantī, all in a circle.
“The painting should be executed using uncontaminated paints in clean containers by a vidyā holder who is a good artist, is ritually pure, subsists on the three ‘white’ foods prepared the right way, and avoids any food that is improper, in particular wine,1472 meat, onions, garlic, red onions, or any combinations thereof. These are the precautions necessary to prevent the vināyakas from causing harm. He should purify himself ritually, bathe, and put on clean clothes. He should brightly adorn the maṇḍala in various ways with an assortment of banners and arrows, hang divine silk streamers, and raise banners. He should surround everything with a five-colored thread.
“The vidyā holder should then procure four copper lotuses, each four fingers wide and adorned with petals, and stick them in the ground at the four corners. [Tv.178] [F.153.a] He should add another eight lotuses, four of them golden and four silver, and surround them with strings of coral, pearls, and gold.1473 He should place various jewels all around it. Inside, within concentric zones, he should arrange rows with four golden dishes, four silver dishes, [A.80.b] four jars filled with silver that are decorated with copper, silver, and golden flowers, and four jars filled with gold that are decorated with pearls, corals, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and silver and golden flowers.
“He should fill the golden dishes with musk, camphor, saffron, and divine sandalwood powder. On the silver dishes he should place golden flowers, silver flowers, and copper flowers adorned with pearls and encrusted with various jewels. He should install four crest banners and1474 four jewel banners and hang red and multicolored silk streamers. He should add four silver incense holders and burn incense of sandalwood, musk, camphor, and saffron. He should prepare a clay pot with a gold covering and fill it with water suffused with various strong fragrances, also adding the seven types of jewels. He should tie a piece of clean, pure1475 cloth around the pot, decorate it with various adornments, put it on a copper lotus,1476 and place it upon a lotus,1477 at the center of the maṇḍala.
“All along the outer circle of the maṇḍala, he should place sixty-four silver and copper dishes with various fragrant powders, oils, and flowers, sixty-four full jars made of iron and filled with with various flowers and vines, [F.153.b] and sixty-four incense holders in which burn various types of incense. At the four gates he should place iron and copper jars full of scented water and adorned with ornaments and silk streamers. He should erect, upon golden rings, sixty-four arrows and banners of various bright colors. He should further adorn the outer circumference of the maṇḍala with many kinds of jewels strung upon threads.1478
“Then, outside the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should prepare an outer zone1479 made of clay and cow dung and daubed on the surface with perfumed water and five-colored chaff. He should demarcate four doors using a cord [Tv.179] and then drive sixty-four stakes of cutch wood, twelve fingers long, into the ground. By stretching a five-colored thread around them, he should thus demarcate the outer periphery. He should place sixty-four pots, jars, and pitchers there,1480 as well as sixty-four earthenware bowls and water jars,1481 all filled with various bali offerings. In each of the sixty-four vessels in each group of sixty-four, he should place bali articles of various kinds.1482 The groups of sixty-four vessels should be of five different colors1483 and be filled completely. The vidyā holder should offer various white bali foods arranged according to their types.1484
“The bali should be complete with all the required paraphernalia and consist of various flavors. The area should be strewn with various fruits and flowers. The vidyā holder should place one hundred and twenty-one garlands in the area around the bali: sixty-four in the outlying area1485 and thirty-two in the inner area. He should light four lanterns in the inner area and one hundred and sixty-four lamps throughout the bali area.1486 He should avoid offering alcohol, meat, onions, garlic, red onions, unripe vegetables, or roots and instead offer a bali of various other ingredients.
“He should read aloud the Amoghapāśa Sūtra1487 at each of the four corners outside the maṇḍala and read the blessed Prajñāpāramitā at each of the doors. Each time, he should prepare a seat that is well adorned and covered in divine cloth. [F.154.a] Ritually pure and thoroughly bathed, he should speak according to the Dharma, perfume himself with various fragrances, and wear clean new clothes.1488 He should sit down on the divine seat and read each text in a voice as sweet and soft as can be.
In the western quarter, [A.81.a] on a raised circular dais, he should erect, facing the maṇḍala, an image of the magically arrayed realm of Sukhāvatī. It should include an image of Amitābha, Noble Avalokiteśvara, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta. In the eastern quarter, on a raised quadrangular dais, he should erect a cloth painting with an image of Śākyamuni that faces the maṇḍala of liberation.1489 The painting should also include Noble Vajradhara and the wrathful form of Amoghapāśa. In the southern quarter, on a raised dais shaped like a mountain, he should erect a cloth painting of Amoghapāśa that faces the maṇḍala. The painting should also include the Tathāgata Lokendrarāja, Mañjuśrī, and [Tv.180] Sarvanivaraṇaviṣkambhin. In the northern quarter, he should erect a painting of Krodharāja that faces the maṇḍala. The painting should also include the Tathāgata Vairocana, Maitreya, and Kṣitigarbha. They should all be upon daises shaped as described, seated on seats decorated with silk streamers and garlands,1490 and adorned with all ornaments.
“He should place a full jar in front of each of the paintings and prepare a perfumed area around them. He should offer ‘white’1491 food and drink, of various types, that have been prepared according to various recipes and are of various superb flavors, and he should include various fruits and piles of alms food. In front of each painting he should burn incense consisting of a mixture of sandalwood, agarwood, olibanum, camphor, musk, and saffron. He should bathe at the three junctions of the day, changing his clothes each time. He should recite the mantra and offer homa according to procedure at the three junctions of the day, [F.154.b] from the eighth to the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon.1492
“He should recite the mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times, consecrate himself with the mantra of Krodharāja twenty-one times,1493 recite the mantra of Amoghapāśāṅkuśa twenty-one times, and recite the heart mantra of Amoghavilokitapāśa, which produces supramundane results, twenty-one times. He should recite the maṇḍala of liberation that is revered by all the bodhisattvas1494 one thousand and eight times and recite the heart mantra of the noose-like maṇḍala of liberation the same number of times.1495 He should restrict his diet to the three ‘white’ foods up until the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon.
“On the fifteenth day, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa all day and all night without counting. He should recite all night, ignoring fatigue and physical exhaustion. While reciting, he should harbor the heartfelt sentiment of love and compassion. When he has completed the recitation procedure, he should perform the rites associated with the maṇḍala: namely, the rites for creating the boundary, binding the directions, self-protection, protection of others, and binding the maṇḍala. He should then cause his assistants to enter the samaya maṇḍala. When the rites of entering the maṇḍala are completed, he should make offerings. After completing the offerings’ procedure, he should recite the mantra.
“Facing the maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa,1496 he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times and then consecrate the painting twenty-one times with the mantra of Krodharāja. Once consecrated by reciting the mantra, the entire surface of the cloth maṇḍala1497 will blaze with light, and light of various colors will radiate in all directions. The word ‘good!’ will be heard, [Tv.181] the vidyā holder will be thrilled with joy, and his body will emit light. Noble Avalokiteśvara will emerge from the center of the maṇḍala in his natural form, blazing with a light brighter [F.155.a] than a hundred thousand suns.1498 He will appear in his great form of Amoghapāśa, look at the entire maṇḍala—both its main and the intermediate quarters—and applaud the vidyā holder. Extending his right arm, he will place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head and say, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! This maṇḍala is most beautiful; it is well adorned and beautifully decorated. It is a maṇḍala of liberation [A.81.b] that constitutes a miraculous manifestation of Amoghapāśa, and it is blessed by all tathāgatas and revered by all bodhisattvas. It is the secret maṇḍala of all tathāgatas and bodhisattvas, and it is the samaya maṇḍala of all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and rākṣasas. It is a maṇḍala that ensures victory over all māras, destroys all vighnas and vināyakas, and pulls all beings—women, men, boys, girls, monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas1499, vaiśyas, and śūdras, all the way down to animals and birds—out of the wasteland of saṃsāra. This maṇḍala delivers you from all evil, obscurations, and the sufferings of hell,1500 disease, birth, old age, and death, and it ensures entry into the city of fearlessness.
“ ‘This great maṇḍala and its heart mantra bring salvation. For this reason, vidyā holder, it is called the maṇḍala of liberation revered by all bodhisattvas. If someone who merely recollects it, sees it, hears it, or learns its name can reach the distant shore of saṃsāra, [F.155.b] reach the point of no return on the path to awakening, progress toward the tenth bodhisattva level, and attain perfect awakening, what need is there to mention someone who looks directly at this great maṇḍala, recites the supramundane mantra-words of this dhāraṇī of liberation, studies them, memorizes them, and explains them, or someone who gazes at it during a fast, even for a brief moment. Such a person is equal to me. I can say he is exactly the same as me. I hold him in the high esteem that is due to a tathāgata,1501 and I nurture him in both a worldly and supramundane way. Accept, O vidyā holder, any boon you choose! I will grant whatever wishes [Tv.182] or desires you may have.’
“At that point, the vidyā holder should announce whatever wishes he has, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant them all. The vidyā holder will obtain the samādhi called the pure, liberating display of amogha knowledge, as well as hundreds of thousands of other samādhis as numerous as the grains of sand in ten million Gaṅgā rivers. He will be able to travel through space using his magical power.
“All those who enter this maṇḍala and gain an understanding of its samaya will be established on the ten bodhisattva levels and reach the point of no return, as their prophesied unsurpassable perfect awakening cannot be undone. Their current birth will be their last birth from a womb, and they will never again be stained by sojourning in the womb. After they leave their present body, they will be born spontaneously from a lotus flower in the realm of Sukhāvatī and be adorned with every ornament. They will carry their memories with them from birth to birth, and they will be directly introduced to this fortunate blessing of Amogharāja, [F.156.a] the great sovereign ritual, the maṇḍala of liberation, the great samaya that leads to the seat of awakening of all the tathāgatas, and to the turning of the wheel of Dharma.
“Such beings will behold all the tathāgatas in the ten directions sitting on their seats of awakening in their respective buddha fields. From each of these tathāgatas they will hear the words of celebration: ‘Good! It is good, O son of good family! You have obtained a good birth and have now been established in the unsurpassable perfect awakening, from which you cannot lapse.’ Subsequently, all the tathāgatas, the blessed buddhas in the ten directions, blazing with a hundred thousand light rays and adorned with merit, will extend their golden arm and place their hand upon these beings’ head, giving them comfort and encouragement. These beings will hear the full Dharma teachings directly from the tathāgatas until they attain the ultimate and final liberation.
“If any beings hear the sounds of musical instruments—wind, stringed, or percussion instruments, or conches, kettle drums, [A.82.a] or tambourines—played in the maṇḍala, even if the sound merely reaches their ears, they will reach a point of no return on the path to, and subsequently become established in, unsurpassable perfect awakening. Even birds and animals who hear these sounds will reach the point of no return. [Tv.183] This liberation-maṇḍala procedure is attended by great marvels and miracles and has great magical power.
“Any son or daughter of good family, a monk or nun, a male or female lay practitioner, or any other being—whether they are an ascetic, brahmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra—who proclaims this liberation-maṇḍala procedure in the midst of a great assembly, and any beings who hear this proclamation, [F.156.b] who experience its sound falling on their ears, will have all their obscurations and nonvirtue purified. They will be completely freed from their previously accumulated obscurations and evil, and they will reach the point of no return. They will all be known as children of the tathāgatas.1502 They will have a bond with Noble Avalokiteśvara, who will always encourage and protect them until their final realization of awakening.
“Even those beings who only approach the entrance to this maṇḍala and merely behold its ground will reach the point of no return. Their afflictions will burn away, and they will be freed from all obscurations. When dust from this maṇḍala, carried on the wind, lands on the bodies of beings, they will all reach the point of no return and be freed from all their evil, even if they are wicked. Noble Avalokiteśvara will always appear to them, all the tathāgatas will think of them, all the bodhisattvas will give them courage and comfort, and all deities will protect them. Such beings will obtain a great amount of merit and plant many roots of virtue. Thus, great results will be obtained merely by hearing about this maṇḍala and learning its name. [Tvi.181]
“Now I will teach a homa procedure, a maṇḍala of liberation whereby the vidyā holder can incinerate all his evil and obscurations. He will consequently be freed from all suffering, cross the ocean of saṃsāra with its vices and its dreadful afflictions, and reach the point of no return. [F.157.a] He will be comforted by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, perceive their supreme supramundane path, and perceive the buddhas and bodhisattvas themselves. He will reach the deities in an instant through the mere performance of homa; there is no doubt. Brahmā,1503 Indra, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Īśvara, Maheśvara,1504 Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra will all arrive instantly as soon as this homa is performed; there is no doubt.
“In the same instant, the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, rākṣasas, bhūtas,1505 and kumbhāṇḍas will arrive and will all bow down at the vidyā holder’s feet. They will protect him continually, day and night, in every way. The Four Great Kings of noble nature, Vajrapāṇi and so forth, and the ten great yakṣa lords who guard the ten directions, will keep evil people and wicked beings away from him, will prevent the terrible terrors of hell, and will stop injustice.1506 [A.82.b] From then on, all the wicked beings will be kept away from him, and he will accumulate a great heap of merit as big as Mount Sumeru.
“For this homa rite he should always use twenty palas of sandalwood, five palas of agarwood, seven palas of olibanum, a quarter pala of camphor and musk,1507 one pala of saffron, five palas of frankincense, and seven palas of bdellium. Having ground the ingredients into a homogenous powder, the vidyā holder should mix it with white sugar and honey and make one thousand and eight pills, each the size of a die.1508 He should combine the pills with mustard seeds and parched rice, daub them in ghee, and offer them as one thousand and eight homas. He should kindle the fire with śamī sticks1509 and use the sticks of surabhi1510 and giant milkweed as fuel.
“As he then offers the one thousand and eight homas according to procedure, [Tvi.182] [F.157.b] his evil, obscurations, and wrongdoings will all diminish proportionally, and he will become free from all disease. Concurrently, all the obscurations and evil of all beings in Jambudvīpa—the women, men, boys, girls, monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras—will gradually disappear. All fears, disasters, misfortunes, calamities, epileptic fits, quarrels, disputes, and disagreements, all dangers from marauding armies, whether one’s own or the enemy’s, all dangers that originate from one’s adversaries and opponents, and all dangers from thieves, rogues, bandits, and wild animals will be pacified. All affected beings will become free from fear.
“All beings who smell the fragrance of the homa—women, men, boys, girls, monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras—will reach the point of no return and progress toward unsurpassable perfect awakening. When they take a new birth, it will be in the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. Likewise, all animals who smell the fragrance, whether two- or four-footed,1511 will certainly reach the point of no return through merely smelling it. They will fully awaken to perfect buddhahood, from which they cannot lapse.
“As the vidyā holder progresses with the homa, his body will become increasingly pure and free of stain. [F.158.a] When he has reached one thousand and eight homas, his body will blaze with light, and he will see the body of a buddha in each of the directions. Each of these tathāgatas will applaud the vidyā holder, saying, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! This supramundane homa procedure constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation, the supreme secret of all the tathāgatas. This great homa procedure crushes all māras, eliminates yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, vighnas, vināyakas, and apasmāras, brings one toward the seat of awakening, and leads to the turning of the wheel of Dharma.1512 It constitutes the supreme path to awakening.’ Each tathāgata will then extend his golden right arm and place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head.
“Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in person. He will be adorned with every ornament, wear the Brahmā attire of Amoghapāśa, wear his hair in a topknot adorned with a diadem, and hold a lotus, a trident, and a noose in his hands. He will say to the vidyā holder, ‘Good! Good it is, O vidyā holder! You have accomplished [Tvi.183] the supramundane homa procedure, a maṇḍala of liberation that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa.1513 You may choose a boon, and I will grant whatever you wish for in full.’ The vidyā holder should then state his desired boons, and he will obtain them all.
“Noble Avalokiteśvara will then extend his arm and place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head. As soon as he places it there, the vidyā holder will ascend into the sky [F.158.b] and visit the buddha fields in the ten directions, where he will meet all the tathāgatas face-to-face. [A.83.a] He will reach the point of not turning back and become established in the state from which he cannot lapse. He will obtain a prophecy of his future realization from all the tathāgatas in all buddha fields. Having traveled around all the buddha fields, he will visit the realm of Sukhāvatī. There he will sit opposite the Tathāgata Amitābha and his retinue and hear Dharma teachings from him until the attainment of final, ultimate realization.
“Now I will teach how to prepare a pit that will serve as the location for the supramundane homa. The vidyā holder should draw a fully blooming lotus that is three cubits wide and daub it with a mixture of clay and cow dung. In the center, among the lotus filaments,1514 he should dig a hole one cubit in diameter and arrange sixteen petals lying horizontally in a circle inside it.1515 The lotus should be painted with various colors. He should then demarcate a square maṇḍala that surrounds the lotus and skillfully arrange various fragrant substances there. He should distribute four full jars around the maṇḍala, four silver dishes filled with argha water for the feet, and four golden dishes filled with water perfumed with various fragrances.1516
“Around the maṇḍala he should arrange a bali of various flavors that consists of different preparations of the three ‘white’ foods and includes an assortment of fruits. He should then scatter flowers over them1517 and add garlands of various kinds, along with arrows adorned with five colors of banners. At each of the four doors he should place a nicely adorned jar filled with perfumed water and read the Prajñāpāramitā while seated on a well-adorned seat fit for a Dharma teacher. [Tvi.184] In the four corners he should read the Amoghapāśa Sūtra1518 aloud while seated upon a well-adorned Dharma seat fit for a Dharma teacher. He should offer golden, silver, and copper flowers, as well as the seven precious jewels. [F.159.a]
“Then, ritually pure, thoroughly bathed, dressed in clean clothes, and perfumed with pleasing fragrances, he should incant one thousand and eight pills one hundred and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, consecrate the pills1519 with the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times, and recite the heart mantra of Amoghavilokita one hundred and eight times. After that, he should offer one thousand and eight pills into the fire while reciting, without saying anything else, the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa called the liberating maṇḍala of fire1520 as he generates a loving mind and a compassionate and kind heart.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great compassionate being!
[201]1521 “Oṁ, Padmapāṇi! Hold, hold, O lotus-armed one! Blaze, blaze, O oblation eater! Flicker, flicker! Your arms grant liberation. Burn, burn all the impurities! Your hand displays the amogha boon-granting gesture, hūṁ hūṁ! Burn all evil! Pacify, O pacifier who saves the world! O boon granter, immersed in light, make haste, make haste! Your amogha accomplishment is awesome. Oṁ bhūr bhuva!1522 Homage to you! Svāhā!1523
“This heart dhāraṇī of Mahāpāśa, the liberating maṇḍala of fire, is the supreme method for performing the supramundane homa. The vidyā holder can use the ashes left after this homa to perform any wonderful or miraculous activity. Anyone whose body comes into contact with these ashes will be freed from all their obscurations and cleansed of all evil. If he applies the ashes to his forehead as a bindi, he will be instantly cured of a quartan fever, a fever that recurs every two days or every three days, a fever that lasts one day and one night, a fever that recurs every midnight or every midday, or one that recurs annually, monthly, [A.83.b] or weekly. He will no longer experience cold fever, as the jvaras will flee as far as one hundred leagues.1524
“If he marks the top of his head with the bindi, he will be released from all eighty-four thousand grahas; [F.159.b] they will flee in the ten directions as far as one thousand leagues. [Tvi.185] If he casts the ashes against the wind,1525 the places where the ashes fall will be free of yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, pretas, kumbhāṇḍas, apasmāras, vighnas, and vināyakas. They will all flee and will be unable to return to the same place again. If he marks his chest with the bindi, all his diseases will disappear. If he marks his navel with it, all his abdominal ailments will disappear instantly. If he sprinkles the ashes onto a poisonous bite, the poison will abate. If he administers the ashes to someone delirious due to poisoning, the poison will be neutralized.
“If he bathes in water suffused with the ashes, all kākhordas, kiraṇas, curses, and garas will perish. If he mixes the ashes with warm water and rubs them into skin affected by white leprosy, boils, scabs, abscesses, festering ulcers, or leprous eruptions, and then smears these places with ghee incanted seven times with the mantra, all these diseases will instantly depart. If he casts the ashes in the direction of a rain cloud, this will put a stop to cold waves, wind,1526 and hail. If he casts the ashes against the wind, the wind will stop. If he casts the ashes in the four directions, he will create a great protective boundary. If he sprinkles the ashes around in a circle, all flowers, fruits, crops, flowering trees, vegetable gardens, parks, groves, mountains, grasses, bushes, herbs, and forest trees will be well protected by a great protective circle that will extend as far as one hundred leagues.
“If he sprinkles the ashes at the four gates of a city, all beings who enter or leave through them—women, men, boys, girls, monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, [F.160.a] two- or four-legged animals, deer, and birds—will be freed from their obscurations and evil. All their diseases and suffering will disappear as soon as they pass through it. They will be free from disease. When they take a new birth, it will be in the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they will reach the point from which they cannot regress, and they will remain in Sukhāvatī until buddhahood.
“If he sprinkles the ashes in a charnel ground, or upon a corpse lying on a funeral pyre, any deceased beings, even those who have fallen into hell, will instantly leave the hell realm and be reborn in the realm of Abhirati or Sukhāvatī. If he sprinkles the ashes in a town, a monastery, a temple, [Tvi.186] a village, a house, or a forest hermitage, he will create a great protective boundary by sprinkling the ashes in a circle around them.1527 If he sprinkles the ashes at the gate of a royal household, the king and his harem and retinue will be well protected from all enemies. If he sprinkles the ashes in the middle of a large crowd, all the people will be purified of obscurations and evil and freed from disease and vice. The vidyā holder will be able to perform hundreds of thousands of other activities, but he should always apply his judgement and intelligence.
“I will now teach about a supramundane painting that constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. [A.84.a] The vidyā holder should procure a piece of cloth, either cotton or Chinese silk, that is well woven and clean and is two, three, or four cubits in length. In the center, he should draw the lokeśvara Amoghapāśa wearing his garb of Brahmā and with his topknot adorned with a diadem. On top of the diadem is the victorious Amitābha with the crescent of the new moon to his right. The four-armed Amoghapāśa is adorned with all the ornaments and sits in a cross-legged posture.
“The vidyā holder should draw Potala Mountain covered in various flowers, vines, and jewels. [F.160.b] Upon it he should draw a lion throne adorned with all the ornaments, and upon the throne a lotus seat. The beautifully formed Noble Avalokiteśvara is seated there, holding a lotus,1528 a trident, and a noose and displaying the gesture of giving comfort.1529 Above his head is a palatial structure encrusted with various divine jewels and furnished with a terrace. On that terrace he should draw the seven tathāgatas adorned with all ornaments and sitting on lotus seats, each drawn to scale. Above the seven tathāgatas, and inside the palatial structure, he should draw the three tathāgatas Vairocana, Amitābha, and Avalokiteśvaraprabha, each adorned with every ornament and seated in a cross-legged posture.
“Surrounding Noble Avalokiteśvara,1530 at the distance of one fathom, is a circle of the thirty-two tathāgatas. The circle is filled with multicolored light and has, beyond its circumference, a garland of tridents. The vidyā holder should draw the thirty-two deities surrounding this.1531 In the center, at the top, is the wrathful Vajradhara, [Tvi.187] his face contorted, wielding a vajra. Next to him are Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. Further, there are the divine sons Īśvara, Maheśvara,1532 and Indra, the lord of the realm of Thirty-Three. The vidyā holder should also draw the gods from the realms of Akaniṣṭha, Tuṣita, and Nirmita, the divine sons Candra and Sūrya, the Four Great Kings, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Kumāra, Agni, Mahākāla,1533 Nandikeśvara, Nanda, Upananda,1534 Baladeva, Pūrṇabhadra, Maṇibhadra, the gods from the realms of the Pure Abode and the Heaven of Thirty-Three, and the divine sons from the Paranirmitavaśavartin heaven.1535 [F.161.a]
“Around the circle of deities, the vidyā holder should draw a ring of lotuses surrounded by vajras and tridents. [B14] Outside the circle of lotuses, he should draw a circle of outward-pointing hands that hold various flowers, jewels, gems, and other kinds of implements. Outside all this he should paint a halo of light.1536
“To the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara is Noble Tārā, sitting with one leg extended as she gazes up at the face of Noble Avalokiteśvara. She holds a blue lotus and a jewel and is adorned with every ornament. Behind her is Bhṛkuṭī, holding various flowers and adorned with every ornament. To the left of Noble Avalokiteśvara is Śvetā, sitting with one leg extended as she gazes at Noble Avalokiteśvara. She holds in her hands a white water-lily and a jewel, and she is adorned with various ornaments. Behind Śvetā is Padmasundarī, holding various flowers and adorned with every ornament. Below the goddesses Tārā and Śvetā, the vidyā holder should draw the ten Pāramitās, all of them standing with their head slightly bowed, dressed in white, and adorned with every ornament.
“To the right, the vidyā holder should draw the fierce rākṣasī Ekajaṭā, who has four arms, sits with one leg extended, holds in her four hands a noose, axe, sword, and vajra, [A.84.b] and gazes at Noble Avalokiteśvara. To the left, he should draw Dūtī with fangs protruding from her mouth and adorned with every ornament. Four armed, in her four hands she holds a vajra, axe, noose, [Tvi.188] and trident. She sits with one leg extended as she gazes at the Lokeśvara, and she is surrounded by a halo of flames. Inside Potala Mountain he should draw the nāga kings Nanda and Upananda in their palace, together with nāginīs. They should be depicted casting various kinds of flowers up toward the blessed Lokeśvara.
“Below Potala Mountain he should draw the goddesses Anaupamyā, Vāsantī, Pṛthivī, [F.161.b] Śrī, Bhīmā, Sarasvatī, Saṅkalā, and Śaṅkhinī, each adorned with their respective ornaments and holding various flowers, jewels, and gems. Above the palatial structure he should draw the eight great caityas1537 in a straight row, adorned with all the ornaments particular to caityas. On the right side, below the caityas, he should draw the Blessed One approaching the seat of awakening, with the Lokeśvara facing him and making offerings. He should also draw Noble Vajradhara with a yak-tail whisk in his hand. Below them he should draw ṛṣis and devas offering various kinds of flowers to the Blessed One. On the left side, below the caityas, he should draw the Blessed One turning the wheel of Dharma, and Ānanda and Vajradhara with yak-tail whisks in their hands,1538 facing him and fanning him.
“To the right, the vidyā holder should draw Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa worshiping the Blessed One, and to the left, Krodharāja worshiping the Blessed One.1539 Below each of them are hosts of ṛṣis and devas worshiping the respective Blessed One. On the left and right margins of the canvas he should draw to scale the figures of one hundred and eight tathāgatas, each sitting in a cross-legged posture upon lotus seats and adorned with all ornaments. He should draw himself at the base of the lotus1540 that supports the lion throne of Noble Avalokiteśvara, kneeling down and facing Noble Avalokiteśvara, with flowers, an incense holder, and a rosary in his hands.
“He should maintain ritual purity, bathe thoroughly, wear clean clothes, and subsist on the three ‘white’ foods prepared in various flavors. He should execute the painting using uncontaminated paints kept in clean containers. He should avoid inappropriate foods and inappropriate clothing;1541 [F.162.a] in particular he should avoid wine, meat, onions, garlic, red onions, or any combinations thereof. [Tvi.189] He should sprinkle himself, every day, with the five products of the cow, and he should be free from the defilements and envy and jealousy. Instead, he should cultivate loving kindness and compassion and, above all, have faith in the Three Jewels.
“He should execute the painting on canvas of fine cotton using paints of various colors perfumed with camphor and musk. He should be undistracted, avoid crowds, and be free from sloth and apathy. If he paints in this way his work will turn out well. He should not begin painting during the dark fortnight but rather the bright fortnight when the stars are auspicious, specifically on the auspicious lunar day during the lunar asterism of Puṣya, which is praised by all the tathāgatas and blessed by all the bodhisattvas. All the deities will then be favorably disposed.
“Any son or daughter of good family, monk or nun, male or female lay practitioner, [A.85.a] or ascetic, any brahmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra, and any woman, man, boy, or girl who sees this great cloth painting—the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, honored by all bodhisattvas, consecrated by the gaze of all tathāgatas, the great secret maṇḍala of awakening, the great secret maṇḍala of liberation—will be purged of all their negativity and obscurations as soon as they see it. Even those who have committed the five acts of immediate retribution and are destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell, those who reject the Dharma or revile the noble ones, and those who reject all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas will eliminate all their evil [F.162.b] and be liberated. They will develop great moral restraint.
“Seeing this painting is known to be the same as seeing tathāgatas1542 equal in number to the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers multiplied by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions. It is known to be the same as proceeding to the seat of awakening and subsequently turning the wheel of Dharma. Seeing this cloth painting is the same as seeing Noble Avalokiteśvara face-to-face in his palace on Potala Mountain, surrounded by his retinue. This should not be doubted or questioned. A single moment of faith will result in a great accumulation of merit and the planting of the roots of great virtue. [Tvi.190]
“Anyone who sees this painting will be in Noble Avalokiteśvara’s thoughts and receive boons from him. They will be accepted by all the tathāgatas, and their mind and body will be completely purified, as will all their sense faculties. Their defilements of envy and jealousy will disappear, and everyone will love them and regard them as their teacher. They will have a long life that is free from all disease, and after leaving their body they will go, as is their destiny, to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower with the memory of their previous birth. They will become irreversibly established on the path to awakening as soon as they behold the Tathāgata Amitābha.1543
“Anyone who makes offerings to this cloth painting worships every tathāgata in the ten directions. Their current birth will be their last birth from a womb, and they will never again fall into the darkness of ignorance. They will be equal to those without equal. This supramundane procedure of the cloth painting is the best method of practice.
“Now I will teach a mantra method that produces supramundane results. Through merely recollecting this mantra, [F.163.a] all the tathāgatas will appear directly before vidyā holder, and the doors to all the buddha fields in the ten directions will be open to him. He will be able to see all the bodhisattvas directly, and all the deities of the maṇḍala will remain close to him in order to protect, guard, and defend him. All the ritual methods based on the maṇḍalas, mudrās, and heart mantras will be revealed to him directly, and his progress on the supramundane path will be unimpeded.
“Homage to all the tathāgatas established throughout the three times, to the great bodhisattvas, and to the hosts of the noble ones! Homage to Noble Vajradhara, to all the deities of the maṇḍala, and to all the kings of vidyās.1544 The mantra to recite is:
[202] “Oṁ, O great lotus maṇḍala of the amogha gaze!1545 You are honored by all the bodhisattvas. Keep it, keep! You can see everywhere, O amogha wearer of the great garb of Brahmā! Wear it, wear, O most compassionate one! Awaken them, awaken, O great awakener! O awakening, awakening! O lotus awakener, [A.85.b] you pacify all the darkness produced by evil. You block all unhappy destinies, O most compassionate one! [Tvi.191] You take on many appearances and yet retain the essence of a tathāgata. Huru huru, O amogha essence! Turu turu, O Amoghapāśa with a noose in your hand! Muru muru, you whose arms grant liberation! Diminish them, diminish, O purifier of all obscurations! You fully embody every tathāgata—carry them in you, carry! Gaze, one with lotus-like arms, adorned with jewels and gold! Tame, tame those difficult to tame, O great bodhisattva! O most compassionate granter of boons, honored by all gods and praised by all ṛṣis! You are radiant with light brighter than a hundred thousand suns and moons. You wear the great garb of Paśupati, O supremely pure being! You are the lokeśvara of compassionate gazing, a great lord, the supremely compassionate lord of the maṇḍala, the fully awakened one! O great lord with a lotus in your hand, the great lord of vidyādharas! [F.163.b] Be steadfast, be steadfast, O great steadfast being! You are the most compassionate upholder of great maṇḍalas of liberation. You keep the samaya of the secret seat of all the tathāgatas. You possess great energy and strength. You wear a jeweled diadem upon your head crowned with Amitābha. Wear it, wear! O lord with panoptic vision! O great lord who carries the noose! O supreme, supreme, supremely compassionate being who gazes with great compassion and delivers all beings from suffering! O accomplishment, accomplishment,1546 you fulfill all hopes! O great granter of boons, homage to you! Svāhā!1547
“This mantra is a complete maṇḍala of liberation that is honored by all bodhisattvas. It is a secret mantra of all tathāgatas and the most secret essence Noble Avalokiteśvara. It completely purifies all obscurations and perfects the supramundane path. It brings the reciter into the family of all the tathāgatas.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas established throughout the three times! The mantra to recite is:
[203] “Oṁ, hero, hero! The omnifarious form of the great maṇḍala! You are the fulfiller of the six perfections, honored by all the bodhisattvas! O supreme sustainer of the vast state of liberation! Your great gaze is your noose, O blazing light of the unfailing noose! Your gaze is a great blaze! You hold the great jeweled lamp that shines its light everywhere. Blaze, blaze! You hold the great noose of profound liberation! You bring the power and the means to attain awakening! Oṁ, your form is infinite, O great Amoghapāśa! Hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ phaṭ! You gaze at all beings. O generous granter of boons, homage be to you! Svāhā!1548
“The mantra above is a maṇḍala of liberation, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa that brings supramundane, miraculous results.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The mantra is:
[204] “Oṁ, [Tvi.192] awaken them, awaken, awaken, O most compassionate one! Ferry, ferry! Take beings across the great ocean to the other shore! O strong-armed one, look on with compassion! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1549
“This was the auxiliary heart mantra of Amoghapāśa.
“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! [F.164.a] The mantra is:
[205] “Oṁ, Amoghapāśa, please fulfill the great perfection of generosity, hūṁ! Burst, burst the clouds of offerings! Bring to all beings various wonderful enjoyments! Set in motion the great generosity of all tathāgatas! Ferry, ferry! Take the beings across the ocean of suffering, O great being with a lotus in your hand! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1550
“This mantra is the essence of the perfection of generosity of Mahāpāśa. If one gives as little as a mustard seed, silently incanted with this mantra seven times, the seed will be magically transformed into a great sacrificial offering, multiplied many times over. One will thus master the perfection of generosity. [A.86.a]
“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is:
[206] “Oṁ, Amoghaśīla, accumulate, accumulate! Hold on, hold on, O great pure being! Your hands are adorned with lotuses; hold them, hold! You can see everywhere, hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1551
“If this dhāraṇī is recited twenty-one times by a person who is fasting and who adheres to the eightfold path of the noble ones, and if it is then followed by the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, the reciter will become amply endowed with pure morality and will thus complete the perfection of morality. His body will exude the exquisite fragrance of morality, which will be smelled throughout the ten directions of the world. Whoever calls this dhāraṇī to mind every day will always possess pure morality. If a monk whose morality has deteriorated recites this dhāraṇī during his fast, his morality will be restored as soon as he recites it, and he will become highly disciplined.
“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is:
[207] “Oṁ, Amoghavilokita who has great energy, vara vara! Steady energy and great strength! [F.164.b] Strength, strength, the great aid to awakening, you are a powerful awakener, [Tvi.193] hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1552
“When this dhāraṇī is mindfully repeated while having a pure appreciation of its content, the perfection of energy is attained merely by calling it to mind. One will never again be separated from the perfection of energy, until the attainment of the seat of awakening.
“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is:
[208] “Oṁ, Amoghakṣānti, you possess the forbearance of all the bodhisattvas! Be forbearing, be forbearing!1553 With your great kindness and compassion, you love all beings as your children. O most compassionate being, you have forbearance for all beings! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1554
“This dhāraṇī should be employed with a mind filled with great forbearance, compassion, and sympathy for all beings. Beings of the past, present, and future, as well as those in hell and those born as animals, whether beasts or birds, will be released from their condition if the vidyā holder mindfully repeats this supreme dhāraṇī out of compassion for them. Hell beings will be released from hell, and many people will observe and fully maintain the perfection of forbearance until they become established in a buddha field.
“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is:
[209] “Oṁ, you possess the great amogha compassion, meditative concentration, and samādhi of all the tathāgatas! You liberate everyone, O unshakable one! Curu curu! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1555
“This dhāraṇī should be mindfully repeated while focusing one-pointedly on Noble Avalokiteśvara. As soon as it is mindfully repeated, the reciter will attain the perfection of meditative concentration and accomplish hundreds of thousands of other samādhis. He will be able to enter every buddha field. As soon as he recites this dhāraṇī he will gain control over everything by means of samādhi. [F.165.a]
“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is: [A.86.b]
[210] “Oṁ, the great splendor of amogha wisdom! Your intellect bursts forth in all directions. May it expand, may it expand! Your intellect is all-encompassing. Look on, Lord, with your eye of wisdom’s gaze! With your hand displaying the boon-granting gesture, you grant the boon of great wisdom, while in your other hand you hold the lotus of great wisdom. Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1556
“As soon as this dhāraṇī is mindfully repeated, the vidyā holder will attain the perfection of wisdom and develop various types of intelligence and skillful means that are consistent with great wisdom. [Tvi.194] He will always possess the type of intelligence that corresponds to each of the ten perfections, and he will develop wisdom and intelligence by recollecting the buddhas—all the tathāgatas of the past, present, and future throughout the ten directions.1557 Never again will he be separated from the six perfections; he will never be without generosity, morality, forbearance, energy, meditative concentration, wisdom, and intelligence. These qualities will not leave him until his final realization of awakening.
“This concludes the dhāraṇīs of the six perfections.
“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The mantra is:
[211] “Oṁ, you are a pure being, a wondrous amogha maṇḍala of liberation! Support, support! Be steadfast, be steadfast! You hold a marvelous great lotus and wear Amitābha as your crest jewel! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1558
“This is the mantra for digging the maṇḍala.1559 The vidyā holder should use it to incant a jar containing mustard seeds and perfumed water and then sprinkle the surrounding area. As soon as he sprinkles it, the entire area within a radius of one league will be purified. The ground within this area will be bright and immaculate, and it will sparkle like quartz or a great jewel. It will become a spotlessly clean, pure, pleasant, [F.165.b] nice, and auspicious piece of land. Any women, men, boys, girls, mendicants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, or śūdras present in that area will be established on the level of irreversibility,1560 none of them liable to turn back. After they die, they will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī and will be able to recollect their successive births.
“They will accumulate a great amount of merit and plant the roots of great virtue until, eventually, they awaken to the state of unsurpassable perfect awakening. Likewise, any animals, whether beasts or birds, that stray onto or enter that area of land will be liberated and embark upon the path of the sugatas. Any beings who touch the soil with their hands will be freed from their diseases and afflictions, and their fevers, obscurations, and vices will depart. They will never again experience discomfort or illness in their bodies but will always feel at ease.
“This was the vidyā for purifying the land. [Tvi.195]
“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The mantra is:
[212] “Oṁ, you with lotus-like arms! Please amogha-purify the various beautiful trees, tree vines, vegetables, leaves, flowers, fruits, sprouts, uplands, rivers, ponds, lotus lakes, springs, water reservoirs, and magnificent waterfalls! Purify the area, sama sama,1561 all around! Mala mala,1562 stainless and immaculate! Kissed by an immaculate lotus! Purify, purify the polluted waters, O supremely pure great being! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1563 Homage to the lord of the three worlds! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1564 [A.87.a]
“The vidyā holder should use this dhāraṇī to incant mustard seeds and sandalwood scented with lotus petals1565 [F.166.a] and then sprinkle the tree trunks of flowering trees and fruit trees, as well as various vines, grasses, bushes, herbs, rivers, tanks, ponds, lotus lakes, and beautiful waterfalls. The trees, sprinkled with this ambrosia, will all yield divine flowers and fruits, and all the grasses, bushes, herbs, and trees will become divine. Any beings who touch them will be freed, as soon as they touch them, from the defilements of envy and jealousy, and from any disorders due to bile, phlegm, or wind.1566 Their unpleasant body odor will disappear, and they will be completely pure inside and out. All those who suffer from various ailments and diseases of the internal organs will be cured. With their diseases purified and gone, they will be free from any blemishes.
“Any beings who make ablutions with this water will be bathed in the divine water that aids awakening. All their impurities, evil, and obscurations will be washed away, and they will be bathed in the water of the eightfold path. Those who ingest this water while brushing their teeth will receive a great boost to their powers of recollection, intellect, and wisdom.1567 All their sorrows will depart, and their fetters will fall away. Their breath will always have the fragrance of blue lotuses, their speech will be gentle and sweet, and their words will be agreeable. They will be gracious speakers who captivate everyone and are loved by all, and they will have voices that sound like kinnaras. They will be able to memorize, merely by hearing them, all treatises concerning ritual, mantra, and the Mahāyāna, [Tvi.196] and they will remain on the tip of their tongue.
“Any beings who smell these flowers or wear them woven into garlands1568 will be garlanded with the flowering limbs of awakening [F.166.b] and will thereby receive the tathāgata empowerment. Their olfactory faculty will be purified1569 and exude a divine scent. Their tactile faculty will likewise become divine. Their tongue, when purified, will resemble a lotus petal. They will have a complexion like that of divine teeth. Whoever they speak to, be it a woman, man, boy, or girl, will invariably fall under their thrall. Their next rebirth will be in the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they will be born spontaneously from a lotus flower and be able to recollect their previous births.
“This was the mantra for purifying fruits, flowers, water, trees, grasses, bushes, and herbs.
“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The mantra is:
[213] “Oṁ, amogha stainless, free from the three stains, free from dirt, immaculately pure, divinely pure! You are invoked to remove all stains. O great, boon-granting, eminently pure bodhisattva! Your pure body is like a great jewel. You are a jewel, a purifying jewel! A great, pure, wish-fulfilling amogha jewel! You are pure at heart, and pure in the body that is like a great gem. Huru huru! Your hands are most excellent. You display the great boon-granting gesture with your hand. Turu turu! You love sentient beings as your own children. Cleanse me of all my evil, O immaculately pure being! Svāhā!1570
“The vidyā holder should employ this vidyā to purify his body. He should fill a new earthenware jar with sandalwood-scented water, saffron, musk-scented water, camphor-scented water, and mustard seeds, mix in the five products of the cow, and incant the mixture with the vidyā one thousand and eight times. Then, using a white towel, he should perform ablutions seven times, each time drinking seven palas of the mixture.1571 [A.87.b] Immediately after the ablutions, he should consecrate himself with the mantra of Krodharāja. As soon as he has performed the ablutions and the consecration, he will become immaculately pure inside and out. His evil, obscurations, and vices will disappear, as will his afflictions [F.167.a] and diseases. He will be free from old age and so forth. [Tvi.197] He will be completely free from all vighnas, vināyakas, māras, and so forth. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas will leave him alone, and they will no longer be able to come near him to create obstacles.
“He will accomplish the vidyā with ease, and he will sleep well, wake up with ease, and remain at ease for as long as he lives. He will be free from every impurity and will directly perceive all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas. At the time of his death, he will meet Noble Avalokiteśvara face-to-face, and he will proceed, as is his destiny, to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower in front of the Tathāgata Amitābha. His body will be decked in every ornament and adorned with the major and minor signs of perfection.
“Retaining the memory of his successive births, he will proceed from one buddha field to another until his final realization of awakening. All the while, this maṇḍala of liberation, this entire essential manual1572 of Amoghapāśa, will remain on the tip of his tongue, as will various other texts, such as the sūtras taught by the tathāgatas. He will recollect his former births as far back as one hundred thousand eons.
[214] “Oṁ, pure Amoghapadma,1573 expand! You face all the quarters, svāhā!1574
“The mantra for coloring and drawing distinct forms, emblems, and implements:
[215] “Oṁ, you possess various amogha forms and colors; you bring various scents and flavors; you hold various implements in your hands, svāhā!1575
“The binding of the maṇḍala is performed by throwing mustard seeds incanted seven times with this mantra.
“The mantra for creating the protective boundary:
[217] “Oṁ, create a great amogha-boundary [F.167.b] encompassing in the ten directions! Dhuru dhuru, hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1577
“The boundary is created by sprinkling mustard water incanted with this mantra seven times.
“The mantra for performing self-protection:
[218] “Oṁ, you hold in your hand the protecting, unfailing noose. Bhuru bhuru, svāhā!1578
“The self-protection is performed by sprinkling oneself with mustard water incanted seven times with this mantra.
“The mantra for tying the topknot:
[219] “Oṁ, you carry the amogha jewel in your topknot. Huru huru! You bind the nāgas with the noose! Hūṁ, svāhā!1579
“The mantra for tying the topknot should be recited twenty-one times.
“The mantra for the protection of disciples and assistants:
“The protection takes effect after sprinkling the disciples and assistants with mustard seeds and ashes incanted with this mantra twenty-one times.
“The mantra for performing ablutions:
“The ablutions should be performed with perfumed water incanted with this mantra twenty-one times.
“The mantra for putting on the clothes:
“The mantra of the armor:
“The armor is created by sprinkling water that has been mixed with mustard seeds and saffron and then incanted with this mantra.
“The mantra of the sacred thread:
“The mantra of consecration:
[226] “Oṁ, Amoghapadma with a jewel upon your topknot, consecrate me! Grant me the empowerment of all the tathāgatas! O jewel, jewel, svāhā!1586
“The mantra of the seat:
[227] “Oṁ, Amoghapadma, you are the supporting earth! Support, support!1587 You are the earth seat, hūṁ!1588
“The mantra of the cross-legged posture:
“The mantra of flowers:
“The mantra of perfume:
[230] “Oṁ, Spread around various amogha fragrances! Fill up the place with fragrance! Your hands are full, svāhā!1591
“The mantra of scented oils:
“The mantra of incense:
[232] “Oṁ, your smoke sparkles in the sky! Dhūra dhūra, hūṁ!1593
“The mantra of the bali offering consisting of all three ‘white’ foods:
[233] “Oṁ, you possess the exquisite amogha flavors of the white foods! Preserve them distinctively, hūṁ!1594
[234] “Oṁ, Amoghavilokita who provides the best food! Kiri kiri, hūṁ!1596
“The mantra of adornments, turbans, banners, arrows, and the five-colored thread:
“This mantra of vessels can be used for all types of vessels.
“The mantra of ushering in:
[240] “Oṁ, bowing to all the tathāgatas with the amogha añjali-gesture, hūṃ!1604
“The mantra of circumambulation:
“The mantra of summoning:
“The mantra of supplication:
“The mantra of invitation:
[244] “Oṁ, inviting you into the amogha maṇḍala of liberation! Assemble, assemble! Svāhā!1608
“The mantra of lighting the lamps:
“The mantra of dismissing the deity:
[246] “Oṁ, Amoghapāśa, with the noose in your hand, go! Leave the house! You are dismissed! Move, move! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1610
[247] “Oṁ, Amoghapāśa, bind! You are firmly bound to the all-encompassing samaya! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!1611
[248] “Oṁ, O great lord of bhūtas, amogha-omnipresent, the most excellent! Move, move, travel far! Dhiri dhiri! Hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ, svāhā!1612
“Reciting the above mantra, the vidyā holder should offer a white bali consisting of sweetmeats, candies, barley, and root vegetables to the great Gaṇapati. He should include flowers and incense. The vighnas will not be able to harm him again.
“Now I will teach a mudrā that is the seal of a supramundane maṇḍala. As soon as it is displayed, all evildoers will perish,1613 and all afflictions, karmic obscurations, and wrongdoings will be exhausted. This mudrā, a maṇḍala of liberation, is the reality of the samaya of the family. To display it, the vidyā holder should form his hands into a lotus, positioning the thumbs so they align evenly. He should keep his hands together, with the middle fingers forming the shape of the hook. This mudrā, empowered by Amoghapāśa to function as the samaya mudrā of liberation, [F.168.b] allows access to the path that bears supramundane, extraordinary fruits. The mantra to accompany the mudrā is:
[249] “Oṁ, you have lotus arms, lotus hands, and are lotus pure! Svāhā!1614
“To create the most auspicious circumstances, a learned vidyā holder should always display the vajra-lotus mudrā.1615 He should form his hands into the shape of a lotus, which is to be made by folding the middle fingers only. Whoever displays this mudrā will obtain corresponding power and influence in the world. With this mudrā of liberation he will certainly obtain unsurpassable buddhahood. This mudrā is revered by all bodhisattvas as a wondrous maṇḍala of liberation. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:
[250] “Oṁ, lotus, auspicious lotus! O lotus-armed maṇḍala of liberation, svāhā!1616
“Having formed the shape of the lotus,1617 the vidyā holder should fold the middle fingers to form a vajra lotus. This is the mudrā of all tathāgatas, the secret1618 mudrā of liberation that shows the nature of liberation. All evil actions are purified when this mudrā is displayed. [A.88.b] [Tvi.200] The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:
“The vidyā holder should join his cupped hands to form a jewel-like enclosure. This is how the mudrā of the wish-fulfilling jewel is formed, a gem that has the shape of a vajra. It turns any activity into an amogha activity and produces a rain of amogha offerings. It amogha-fulfills the six perfections and amogha-allows the vidyā holder to see buddhas and the bodhisattvas. This mudrā is the secret amogha maṇḍala of liberation that purifies even the five acts of immediate retribution. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:
“The vidyā holder should join his hands in an añjali gesture shaped like the vajra lotus. It should be a lotus in full bloom and be skillfully formed. This mudrā, with the middle fingers forming the shape of a hook, is supremely auspicious. It is capable of producing great and marvelous results when displayed. It is distinguished as a supramundane mudrā that allows the vidyā holder to see the buddhas of the three times. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:
“The vidyā holder should display the vajra-lotus1623 mudrā at his heart and press on his index fingers with the hook-shaped middle fingers, thus forming the vajra tip.1624 This mudrā produces a great amount of vital energy and brings great strength and valor. It is the seat of every accomplishment, [F.169.a] grants every accomplishment, and leads to the great accomplishment that is beyond this world: unsurpassable buddhahood. It is unsurpassed when it comes to successfully removing everything that is evil. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:
[254] “Oṁ, you possess amogha accomplishment, the accomplishment of every tathāgata! Look on with compassion, O accomplished being! Your accomplishment is great and profound! Act, act! Svāhā!1625
“The vidyā holder should form the lotus1626 añjali-gesture, with the middle fingers raised up to the same level. The little fingers and the thumbs should held be apart, with only the middle fingers folded in. This mudrā stands for the lotus lord, the great being and lokeśvara-teacher. It constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation that is always revered by all bodhisattvas.1627 This mudrā is the heart mudrā of Amoghapāśa. Seeing this mudrā is the same as seeing the Lokeśvara1628 himself. Seeing this supreme mudrā is the same as seeing a maṇḍala of liberation. Anyone who displays it will be irreversibly established on the path to awakening. By seeing this mudrā displayed, one will come to understand all samayas as soon as one sees it. Great results can be instantaneously obtained by merely seeing or forming this mudrā, including the unsurpassable awakening of a buddha. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate, great being! [Tvi.201] The mantra to repeat is:
[255] “Oṁ, great, pure being with a compassionate gaze! Move around, move around! You wear earrings that radiate light everywhere. Your crown jewel is Amitābha, and your topknot is adorned with the crescent of the vajra moon. Act, act! Please help to accumulate provisions, O being with the lotus of the lord of the worlds in your hand! Svāhā!1629
“These seven mudrās reveal the fruits that are beyond this world. They show the path that leads to the seat of awakening and sets in motion the wheel of Dharma. They are the dwelling place of the Lord of the World. They are lokeśvara-teachers.1630 These seven mudrās are each surrounded by seven times ten million great mudrās. Wherever these seven mudrās are displayed and perceived, seven times ten million great mudrās are displayed and perceived. They are all worshiped, honored, and revered. [F.169.b] Their names are understood and remembered. These seven great mudrās render the mantras efficacious in every respect. They can be employed in any activity, and they will accomplish anything. They constitute the supreme path that leads beyond this world.
“The practitioner who forms and displays1631 these mudrās while ritually pure and thoroughly bathed will not experience hell or other unhappy destinies. His previous obscurations will be instantaneously purified. As soon as he displays these mudrās, he plants the same roots of virtue as he would if he were in the presence of seven times one hundred thousand million billion perfectly realized buddhas. He will accumulate a tremendous amount of merit [A.89.a] and will fully master the six perfections. He will be established on the tenth bodhisattva level and will not be liable to turn back. Even if he were bound for the Avīci hell after committing the five acts of immediate retribution, opposing the true Dharma, or slandering the noble ones, all these evil acts will be instantly purified as soon as he forms and displays these seven mudrās.
“All buddhas and bodhisattvas will treat him kindly, and he will be well protected by the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas. Īśvara, Maheśvara, the Four Great Kings, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra will be his constant companions and will stand by in order to guard, protect, and defend him. Everyone will be delighted to see him. His body will become like a caitya containing holy relics and will be as impregnable as a diamond. No poison, fire, water, weapons, hail, rats, [Tvi.202] lions, wild animals, āśīviṣa snakes, thieves, or bandits will present any danger to him. [F.170.a] He will not be driven out of his home, and he will no longer be troubled by yakṣas, rākṣasas, or grahas. He will be immune to all diseases; no venoms, kākhordas, or kiraṇas1632 will ever harm his body, and he will never have nightmares.
“He will always see and receive boons from the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, and Noble Avalokiteśvara, and the gods will always want to see him. His qualities and merit will continuously shine forth, so that his body is resplendent and glows with light. Everywhere he goes he will be honored with great offerings, including offerings from the king and his ministers, chamberlains, harem, and retinue. Even the devas, as far as the thirty-two abodes,1633 will worship him with delight. He will be honored with great offerings by Śakra, the chief god-king of the thirty1634 gods, and by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Kumāra, and the hosts of ṛṣis. All beings will constantly desire to see him; they will take pleasure in seeing him and will always wish for it.
“To display these mudrās, the vidyā holder should purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. He should anoint his body with various fragrances, fumigate it with various types of incense, and smear his arms with white sandalwood and saffron. Ritually pure and perfumed with camphor and musk, he should sit cross-legged on a clean patch of ground. He should display the mudrās in front of either a cloth painting or a figure of the Buddha. He can also display them in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara or a caitya containing relics. Following the procedure of making offerings to the Buddha, he should offer argha water for the feet and generate thoughts of love and compassion. [F.170.b] With his heart overflowing with great compassion, he should be motivated wholly by pity for all sentient beings, regarding each of them as his one and only child. He should contemplate Noble Avalokiteśvara and the Buddha and maintain mindfulness of them. By displaying these seven mudrās, he will in effect display seven times ten million.
“I will now teach the rite of communion1635 whereby the reality of the lives to come is revealed1636 [Tvi.203] and the magical activity of Amoghapāśa can be plainly seen. This rite reveals the true state of one’s body and mind, and it will instantly demonstrate the miraculous power of Amoghapāśa whether it is performed in front of a king, in the midst of his harem, or [A.89.b] in a great crowd or a great assembly, a congregation of monks, a group of people, a society of scholars versed in the four modes of knowledge, a gathering of ascetics or brahmins or kṣatriyas—be they women, men, boys, or girls—or a gathering of vaiśyas or śūdras.
“They will see, before their very eyes, their deaths and births beyond their current life—those of the past, present, and future—as well as their good and bad karma and its fruits. They will see whether their death and subsequent rebirth will be auspicious; whether they will be born into riches and power or into poverty; whether they will be born as a king or in any of the thirty-two abodes1637 with their celestial enjoyments; whether they will be reborn as Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Maheśvara or as a nāga, preta, yakṣa, rākṣasa, or guhyaka. It will be fully revealed whether they are destined for a terrible rebirth in hell, including even the farthest reaches of the Avīci hell. They will clearly see, as if in front of their eyes, their rebirths in a family of brahmins or kṣatriyas, or in any other family. Through the power of the Lord of the World,1638 all the results of their worldly karma will appear to them clearly in a summary revelation.
“They will get a true picture of their minor and great victories and their prosperous existences, as well as times of plenty and times of famine, pestilence, misfortune, assault by foreign or domestic armies, and attack by opponents and adversaries. [F.171.a] They will see whether their lives will be long or short, whether they will be healthy or diseased. They will see excessive rainfalls, droughts, untimely rains, their power and influence or lack thereof, their good or bad fortune, their acquisitions and losses, their obtainment of money and grain, the increases or decreases thereof, and any related famines. They will see any saṃsāric karma that is unfolding for them, their good and bad deeds, their virtue and nonvirtue, and the fluctuations thereof. They will see auspicious and inauspicious births, whether they will obtain a son or a daughter, and whether a son will be good or bad, endowed with merit, or lacking it. They will see him conceived in the womb. If the rite is performed well, there is no doubt that they will truly see these facts.
“When performing this rite, there are no restrictions regarding the lunar day or the nakṣatra, nor is it relevant whether it is day or night. All that is required is mantra recitation and a bali offering. The vidyā holder should be ritually pure, thoroughly washed, [Tvi.204] and wear clean clothes. He should speak the truth, cultivate loving thoughts, and obey his teacher. He should consume food and drink that is pure, and he should avoid defiled foods as well as alcohol, meat, foods that contain onions, garlic, red onions, and stale food.1639 In this way, the practitioner who seeks excellence will accomplish this rite and will see everything1640 in front his eyes. He should abide by his vows and should not disdain anyone or treat them disrespectfully, especially behind their back. This is the most important instruction, the supreme instruction given by the lokeśvara Lord himself.
“He should procure a silver mirror that is round in shape and sixteen fingers wide. It should be placed on a lotus base made of copper and then mounted on a stand that extends one cubit above the mirror. Using either silver or gold, he should make a figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa [F.171.b] that is four fingers tall and has four arms that hold a trident, noose, lotus, and jewel in their hands. The figure should be clean and polished to a shine. The vidyā holder should put relics inside it, place it upon the lotus seat, and offer1641 camphor and musk to it. He should place rows of silver and golden flowers inlaid with various jewels around the mirror.
“He should then incant the mirror with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, reciting it one hundred and eight times every day at the three junctions of the day. He should then consecrate the mirror1642 with the mantra of Krodharāja. When he has reached the number one thousand and eight,1643 the mirror will blaze with light [A.90.a] of different colors that combine into a single blaze. The figure of the Lokeśvara will ooze divine water and radiate light. The vidyā holder will get goose bumps of excitement, and his body will emit light. He will attain the accomplishment called amogha purity of joy, which is the heart essence of this rite, and his body will become immaculately pure. At this stage he will exhibit the ability to produce magical displays of Amoghapāśa for the entire world to see.
“Next, the vidyā holder should build a four-cornered maṇḍala using clay and cow dung. It should be four cubits wide and two cubits high, and it should be smooth and wiped clean. Using a measuring thread, he should divide the maṇḍala into sections of different colors. He should demarcate the four doors and, [Tvi.205] in the inner area,1644 delineate a circular lotus with one hundred and eight petals,1645 each distinguished by its skillfully applied colors. The lotus should be complete with stamens and the orb of the pericarp.1646 He should surround the lotus by drawing a square veranda adorned with various jewels.
“In the four corners of the veranda he should draw the Four Great Kings wearing cuirasses and coats of mail, their fierce appearance inspiring fear. [F.172.a] At the points midway between the corners of the veranda he should draw the deities Īśvara, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Kumāra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and Indra, as well as the deities Vajrapāṇi, Ekajaṭā, Tārā, Śvetā, Bhṛkuṭī, and Vajradūtī. They should all be drawn in their various distinctive colors, adorned with every ornament and holding various colorful flowers. Outside the veranda and surrounding it on all sides, the vidyā holder should draw a row of tridents, a row of vajras, and a row of lotuses.
“In the inner zone between the three rows,1647 at the four corners1648 and the middle points between them, he should draw, respectively, the eight goddesses Bhīmā, Anaupamyā, Vāsantī, Śrī, Sarasvatī, Pṛthivī, Śaṅkhinī, and Puṣpadantī, each adorned with every ornament and holding a dish of various flowers and jewels. In the outer zone1649 between the three rows smeared with various fragrances such as white sandalwood and saffron, he should offer various kinds of worship using substances such as camphor and musk. He should adorn the entire maṇḍala with five-colored streamers, banners, arrows, and archways. He should arrange four silver vessels filled with flour cakes, another four filled with the three ‘white’ foods, and another four filled with argha water for the feet. Another eight vessels should be filled with bali articles of various flavors.
“He should add an assortment of fruits and other bali articles of food and drink, including a silver vessel with various fragrances and scented oils. He should fill eight silver incense holders with various types of incense, such as sandalwood, agarwood, olibanum, camphor, musk, saffron, sal tree resin, and frankincense, and then light them. He should strew flowers made of silver, copper, and gold around the inner maṇḍala, and any available flowers around the outer maṇḍala. [Tvi.206] [F.172.b] He should also surround the maṇḍala with garlands. He should then place the well-adorned mirror facing east upon the lotus pericarp in the center of the maṇḍala, among the lotus filaments.
“The vidyā holder should then purify himself ritually, wash thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. Having done all the required preparations for the maṇḍala, he should sit cross-legged opposite the mirror and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. [A.90.b] After completing one hundred and eight recitations, he should consecrate the mirror1650 with the mantra of Krodharāja. As soon as the vidyā holder consecrates it, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear in person in the mirror, clearly visible to everyone, in the midst of a great assembly. From the mirror, he will congratulate the vidyā holder: ‘Good! It is good, O great vidyā holder! You can see everything, as it truly is, actually present in this marvelous mirror of mine. This is the excellent result of your worldly and supramundane actions. Thoroughly purified, you have attained, vidyā holder, the unexcelled supramundane path. This is a great result indeed! You have accomplished the essence of Amoghapāśa by following the practice procedure that is at once worldly and supramundane, one that relies on the ritual involving the maṇḍala and the mudrās.1651 Please choose a boon, O vidyā holder, and I will grant it in full; it can be worldly or supramundane.’
“The vidyā holder should then state the boon he would like, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant it instantly and in full. All the beings gathered in that assembly1652—women, men, boys, girls, ascetics, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, and kings with their ministers, advisers, priests, and harem, regardless of whether they possess merit, [F.173.a] have pure hearts, have wrong views, have fallen into various hells in the blindness of their ignorance, are destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell after committing the five acts of immediate retribution, have slandered the noble ones, or have opposed the true Dharma—will see the real Noble Avalokiteśvara, who will converse with each of them, comfort them, and tell them what good or bad karma they have and how it will ripen for them. No such explanation will be given to the vile thieves of vidyās, the degraded individuals who spurn the vidyās, or those who want to hear the vidyās but lack faith—they will be excluded. Instead, they will see the painful results of their own karma ripening for them.
“At that time, all the beings in that great assembly who harbor particular wishes, [Tvi.207] whether worldly or supramundane, will see the results according to their merit or lack thereof. They will see all the buddha fields with their tathāgatas. They will see the individual forms of the great tathāgatas, along with their temples and palaces. They will see the palaces on Potala Mountain and the magical displays of the Blessed One.1653 They will see the palace, surrounded by devas and nāgas, where Noble Avalokiteśvara stays with his retinue. They will see all the good and bad that will happen, such as abundance or famine, disease and pestilence, short or long lifespans, and the danger of assault by one’s own or foreign armies, as well as the subsequent victories or defeats. They will see whether they will perish or live.
“They will see all calamities such as excessive rain, [F.173.b] untimely rain, drought, hurricanes, and cold and hot spells. They will see their acquired wealth, any loss or increase thereof, and the increase of their stores of grain, flowers, or fruits. They will see any forthcoming dangers from thieves, bandits, poison, weapons, or kings, as well as any dangers from yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, ḍākinīs, or apasmāras. They will see all of this. They will see any great treasure troves. They will see their demise and subsequent rebirth. They will see if they will obtain a son, a village, a town, a district, a province, or a wife. They will see all of this. This should not be denied or subject to doubt or uncertainty. Instead, this rite should be performed with all care, in the spirit of utmost faith and respect. [A.91.a]
“This concludes the practice procedure of the maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa.”1654 [Tvii.44]
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, said to the Blessed One, “Look, O Blessed One! The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara has taught the heart essence of Amoghapāśa that includes ritual prescriptions, worship, maṇḍalas, mudrās, and cloth paintings. It is very deep, difficult to fathom, vast, and difficult to accomplish. Many maṇḍalas, mudrās, mantras, and paintings have been made widely known, but please dispel my ignorance further, O Blessed One! There are infinite rites that are as deep as a great ocean and as high as Mount Sumeru. Illusion-like, they are also like the smallest particle. They match the extent of the Tathāgata’s knowledge, are beyond calculation and comparison, and are infinite and limitless. Their number is infinite, and so is their scope. The scope of these rites is inconceivable, [F.174.a] and so are the domains of the devas, nāgas, and other beings. The domain of the tathāgatas is inconceivable, as is the range of their vision and the scope of their knowledge. There is, O Blessed One, no beginning, no middle, and no end to the knowledge of the bodhisattvas or to the domain of Māra.
“So how am I to understand all this, O Blessed One? Which practice procedure will lead me to success most effectively? What mantra, what mudrā, and what maṇḍala should I use? Which mudrās should I draw, and which should I form with my hands? Which incense mixture should I use? Which ointment for the eyes, and which pill? Which incense should I burn, and which cloth painting should I use? Which root mantra, which heart mantra, and which auxiliary heart mantra should I recite? Which wrathful mantras, which violent mantras, and which peaceful mantras should I employ? Which mantras among the one-, two-, three-, four-, five-, six-, seven-, eight-, nine-, or ten-syllable mantras? How should I observe the ritual fast? What should my daily and nightly routine be?
“How should I perform the ablutions, and how should I dress? How should I bind the directions, and how should I bind the maṇḍala? [Tvii.45] How should I tie the topknot? How should I perform the protection rite for myself and for others? How should I perform the protection for my assistants and disciples? How should I cause the deity to enter, how should I greet it, and how should I circumambulate it?1655 How should I offer argha water for the feet, and how should I offer a bali, flowers, incense, fragrances, and lamps? [F.174.b] How should I ritually sip water? How should I offer food? How can I summon the deity from anywhere? How can I invite it? How can I make requests to it in my dreams? How should I perform the homa ritual? How should I perform the rites for pacifying, nourishing, and assault?
“What is the noose, what is the vajra, and what is the lotus? How can I dismiss the deity? Which deities should I not1656 approach?1657 I do not know these things, O Blessed One! What kinds of signs and omens will be conveyed? To whom, O Blessed One, shall I pass on the practice procedures? How, O Blessed One, shall I induce beings during the final time, in the final period, to follow the instructions? To whom shall I grant the accomplishment? How will I rescue sentient beings? I am confused, O Blessed One, about this. In my intellectual helplessness, I am unable to understand. Please give me, O Blessed One, [A.91.b] an accurate description of these things. I have doubts, O Blessed One; please remove my doubts.”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha, listened to the questions that were asked and replied to Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general: “Good! It is good, Vajrapāṇi, that you have asked these questions that are so difficult to answer! You conduct your inquiry to gain intellectual confidence. You are compassionate. You ask questions, Vajrapāṇi, for the benefit of all beings. You do this for the sake of all the vidyā holders’ supreme accomplishment. Your inquiry, Vajrapāṇi, is wonderful and extraordinary; it is equivalent to the illusion-like samādhi. This inquiry, Vajrapāṇi, refers to the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, namely to the procedures found in his great sovereign ritual.1658 [Tvii.46] This essence is as deep as the great ocean; [F.175.a] it is difficult to fathom. It is impossible, Vajrapāṇi, to count the water drops in the great ocean, and similarly, Vajrapāṇi, it is impossible to grasp the measure and scale of the inner essence of Amoghapāśa.
“It is possible, Vajrapāṇi, to count the specks of dust that cover Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, down to the last one. It is possible to stand on top of Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, and to establish oneself there if that is one’s wish. But it is impossible to grasp the extent of the rituals that originate from the heart essence of Amoghapāśa: they are vast, difficult to fathom, and deep. It is impossible, Vajrapāṇi, to fathom the thoughts and knowledge of any of the past, present, and future tathāgatas, nor is it possible to grasp the extent of the rituals that originate from the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. That heart essence, Vajrapāṇi, is illusion-like. That which is samādhi is the noose.1659
“Magically creating things through the illusion-like samādhi, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, appears to beings in all possible forms, taking a variety of shapes, colors, characteristics, and configurations. He does this to rescue all sentient beings and to bestow the supreme accomplishment upon all vidyā holders. He permeates1660 everything, blending as water blends with milk, and spreads his great love and compassion impartially. He pulls beings in with his noose and rescues them from the ocean of suffering. He establishes them in the vajra maṇḍala, the dry land of the immortals. As soon as they recollect him and say his name, he runs to and impartially saves all beings everywhere, regardless of whether they are of low, high, or medium position, of low or high birth, or whether they are hell beings, animals, denizens of the world of Yama, or any other type of being. [F.175.b]
“He never gets tired, weary, or discouraged. He visits the abodes of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, apasmāras, and pretas, as well as the realms of Yama and down to the subterranean paradises. He travels as far as the peak of saṃsāric existence and the farthest reaches of the Avīci hell. With his mind focused one-pointedly, he circles as far as the realm of Akaniṣṭha and saves all devas, nāgas, and so forth, down to the animals—female and male, young and old. Like the sun with its rays, he completely dispels the darkness of ignorance. He illuminates every part of Jambudvīpa equally. In this manner, the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, illuminates all places out of his great compassion. [Tvii.47] He is equally present everywhere, and he liberates from all suffering, including physical pain, fear, terror, disease, grief, and bondage. He liberates beings from the suffering of birth, old age, and death [A.92.a] and establishes them on the path that invariably leads to all the different paradises and so forth.
“In this way, filled with great compassion and love, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara travels everywhere without distinction and impartially saves all beings. In all places he impartially establishes them on the path to awakening. He provides refuge to all these beings with the same dedication. In this way, Vajrapāṇi, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, with his great steadfastness, fortitude, and perseverance, works for the benefit of all practitioners and all beings. [F.176.a] As the great guide of beings, he leads them away from the path of great terror and establishes them on the auspicious path of well-being and happiness. He does not harbor any concepts or doubts, never experiences a change of heart, and never regrets anything.”
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, heard this account of the great qualities of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, from the Blessed One and became elated with joy and happiness. Expressing his joy and contentment, he said to [Noble Avalokiteśvara], “Wonderful, lokeśvara-protector! Wonderful, lokeśvara-teacher! May all beings escape unhappy destinies through this proclamation of your qualities!” He further described the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara: “He is the teacher of the world! Here is the grandfather of the world! He is the lord who ferries beings beyond this world! O Sage, you are like the daytime sun!”
The Blessed Śākyamuni said, “It is as you say, Vajrapāṇi. Now go, Vajrapāṇi, and address your questions, so eloquently phrased, to the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being worthy of praise! He will explain the true nature and the core reality of things as they really are. He will show you how to accomplish the practices taught in the manual of rites of Amoghapāśa. He will give you the instructions.”
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general who follows the most profound conduct with the courage of a lion, took some immaculate flowers that were as bright as the moon, brandished his vajra, moved close to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, [Tvii.48] bowed his head at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, [F.176.b] circumambulated him three times, and offered him the immaculate flowers that were as bright as the moon.
Then, kneeling on his right knee, he addressed Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, as follows: “Lord! I am steeped in ignorance. My mind wanders and my intellect is limited. This heart essence of Amoghapāśa, however, is very vast. There are many mantras and mudrās in it, along with practice procedures that involve a painting. I do not know which mantra I should use at the beginning, which mantra in the middle, and which mantra at the end. I do not know which mantra is the root mantra, which is the heart mantra, which is the auxiliary heart mantra, and so forth up to and including the ten-syllable mantra.1661 I do not know how the maṇḍala is to be constructed and how the painting is to be drawn. Please, Lord, elucidate these things!”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, feeling compassion for Vajrapāṇi, took from him the immaculate flowers that were as bright as the moon and threw them into the sky as an offering for the Blessed One. As soon as he threw them, they formed the shape of a wheel above the Blessed One’s fontanelle. The wheel rose high above the earth, its diameter expanding to five hundred leagues and reaching as far up as the Akaniṣṭha heaven. It had a supporting pillar made of blue beryl, was hung with bells made with gold from the Jambu river, [A.92.b] and had silk streamers attached underneath. Its circular shape, well formed and perfectly round, was blazing with light. The light was brighter than one hundred thousand million suns; it was exceedingly pure, pristine, and immaculate.
The wheel, supported by golden posts, sparkled with many inlaid jewels of various kinds. Charming and beautiful, it was refreshing and pleasant to look at. It was honored and worshiped by devas and asuras, was praised by ṛṣis, and had been prophesied by the blessed buddhas. On each of the anthers of the immaculate flowers that were as bright as the moon, a tathāgata sat inside a temple palace made of the seven types of jewels. [F.177.a] All along the rim of the parasol1662 were devas, nāgas, apsarases, celestial girls, young nāginīs and kinnarīs, and hundreds of thousands of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, kinnaras, [Tvii.49] mahoragas, and vidyādharas, each sitting in a celestial chariot.
Sitting in their palaces made of various divine flowers, the vidyādharīs, adorned with divine ornaments and wearing divine clothes, held adornments, silk banners, fragrances, garlands, scented oils, scented powders, garments, parasols, banners, and flags. They made offerings to the Blessed One and his assembly, raining down clouds of various divine offerings. They sang the divine songs of gandharvas and played musical instruments and drums in offering to him. Loud cheering could be heard among the inhabitants of the palaces on Potala Mountain, as the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas who lived there on Potala Mountain were stricken with wonder and beside themselves with joy. So, too, were the maṇḍala deities of the tathāgata family, the maṇḍala deities of the lotus family, the maṇḍala deities of the vajra family, the maṇḍala deities of the jewel family, the maṇḍala deities of the elephant family, and other great maṇḍala deities. They were all totally amazed, wonder stricken, and beside themselves with joy, and they kept looking at the Blessed One in astonishment.
Candra and Sūrya, the deities of the nakṣatras, the deities of the multitude of stars, the deities of the night, the divine sons including Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Kumāra, Nandikeśvara, Gaṇeśvara, [F.177.b] Mahākāla, Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, the Four Great Kings, and deities such as Maṇibhadra, Pūrṇabhadra, Baladeva, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra all supported the staff of the parasol together and worshiped the Blessed One with offerings. The gods from the realms of Tuṣita and Akaniṣṭha and the divine sons from every other celestial realm, together with their retinues, magically created great divine palaces and rained down clouds of offerings all around the parasol-shaped structure. The assembled retinue of Avalokiteśvara also continued to worship the blessed Śākyamuni, filling the space with clouds of offerings.1663
All the deities of the earth, the nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and gandharvas, and the deities of the land and the waters, of the forests, and of the crops and herbs beautified the environment on earth, spraying it with various perfumes, sprinkling it with various scented powders, [Tvii.50] strewing it with various flowers, censing it with various types of incense, and adorning their respective places on earth. The entire vast space was thus magically transformed so that it partook in the majesty of the tathāgatas [A.93.a] and received the blessing of their samaya.
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, seeing this enormous display of great magical power, was astounded. Stricken with wonder, he thought with great amazement, “All this is displayed by Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being!” He once again requested Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Lord, please explain this.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, replied to Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, “Here you are, Vajrapāṇi! I will now dispel your uncertainty and clear up your doubts.” [F.178.a] He then got up from his seat, bowed to the Blessed One with folded hands, and circumambulated him clockwise three times. Standing in front of the Blessed One without blinking, with a smile on his face, his body radiating light, he said to the Blessed One, “I have, O lord, a maṇḍala1664 of Amoghapāśa—a miraculous transformation arising within the lotus family. The maṇḍala of Padmoṣṇīṣamaṇi is the secret maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa. It constitutes the seal of my illusion-like heart essence and belongs in the collection of great maṇḍalas of the all-seeing Avalokita.1665 In the presence of the Blessed One I will proclaim this easy practice that is accomplished through recitation and establishes genuine samaya. I will now teach this heart essence.”1666
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni extended his golden arm adorned with one hundred thousand million billion rays of multicolored light, placed his hand on the head of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and said, “Good! It is good, O pure, great being! Please teach, Avalokiteśvara, if you think that the time is right.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, heeding the Blessed One’s request, looked in each of the ten directions and bowed to all the tathāgatas there. [Tvii.51] Gazing at all the tathāgatas, he taught the root mantra that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa in his form of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣamaṇi.
“The first maṇḍala1667 of the rite requested in a miraculous way, the secret of Padmoṣṇīṣa that belongs to the maṇḍala of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, is as follows:
“Homage to the secret amogha maṇḍalas that constitute the uṣṇīṣas of all tathāgatas!1668 Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas! [F.178.b] Homage to all the pratyekabuddhas and the congregation of the noble śrāvakas of the past, present, and future! Homage to the heart samayas of the secret families of all tathāgatas! Homage to those who have reached perfection! Homage to those of perfect conduct! Homage to the venerable Śāradvatīputra of great mind! Homage to the noble hosts of great bodhisattvas headed by Noble Maitreya! Homage to the noble Tathāgata Amitābha, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha! Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being who upholds the maṇḍala of Padmoṣṇīṣa! Homage to the hosts of great, noble sages!
“Honoring them, I will now teach this maṇḍala of liberation [A.93.b] that originates from the mouth of Noble Avalokiteśvara. I will present the heart essence of Amogharāja-Padmoṣṇīṣa to this great assembly, speaking in front of the Tathāgata. May you be successful in all endeavors, guarded by your treasure trove of monastic discipline! May this maṇḍala of liberation protect you from every danger!1669 The mantra is:
[256] “Oṁ, Padmoṣṇīṣa, the granter of boons, Hūṁ! Cara cara,1670 ciri ciri, curu curu, O most compassionate! Ciri ciri, piri piri, ciri ciri, O supremely compassionate! Siri siri, ciri ciri, piri piri, viri viri, O great one with a lotus in your hand! Kala kala, kili kili, kulu kulu, O great pure being! Come, come! Awaken, awaken! Run, run! Kaṇa kaṇa, kiṇi kiṇi, kuṇu kuṇu, O supremely pure being! Kara kara, kiri kiri, kuru kuru,1671 you have attained great strength! Move, move! Move together and move separately! Eṭaṭa eṭaṭa, bhara bhara,1672 bhiri bhiri, bhuru bhuru, great Padmoṣṇīṣa, stainless and immaculately pure! Accomplish your activities, hūṁ hūṁ! [Tvii.52] Come, come, O most compassionate being who wears the garb of the great Paśupati! Wear it, wear, you who wear the great lotus-uṣṇīṣa! Flow, flow, O remover of all obscurations! Act, act, you who are honored by all the vidyā holders!1673 Remove them, remove, O remover of all vices! Hā hā, hā hā, hī hī, hī hī, hūṁ hūṁ, hūṁ hūṁ, you who wear the garb of Oṁkāra Brahmā! Dhara dhara,1674 [F.179.a] dhiri dhiri, dhuru dhuru, O wearer of the blazing light of the great lotus! Tara tara, sara sara, para para, O holder of the lotus noose! Cara cara, vara vara, you whose body is adorned with hundreds of thousands of beautiful light rays! Blaze, blaze! Heat up, heat up! Your feet are worshiped by the blessed Soma, Āditya, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Brahmā, Indra, and the hosts of ṛṣis and devas! Suru suru, curu curu, puru puru, muru muru, O wearer of many different garbs of the foremost devas and ṛṣis, including those of Sanatkumāra, Rudra, Vāsava, Viṣṇu, and Dhanada! You hold the stalk of the great lotus! You hold the noose! Dhara dhara, dhiri dhiri, dhuru dhuru, thara thara, ghara ghara, yara yara, lara lara, hara hara, para para, para para, cara cara, vara vara, O great granter of boons, the great lokeśvara lord Avalokita whose panoptic gaze spans a full circle!1675 Muhu muhu, muru muru, muya muya, muñca muñca, O Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara, stand guard! Stand guard to keep me protected by my treasure trove of morality!1676 Protect me from every danger and every calamity! Protect me from all grahas, fevers, and diseases! O rescuer from slaughter, imprisonment, beatings, threats, king’s rogues, bandits, fire, water, poison, and weapons! Kaṇa kaṇa, kiṇi kiṇi, kuṇu kuṇu, cara cara, O teacher of the sense faculties, the strengths, the limbs of awakening, and the four truths of the noble ones! Tama tama! Tame, tame! Pacify, pacify! Sama sama! O dispeller of the great darkness of ignorance! O fulfiller of the six perfections! Mili mili, ṭaṭa ṭaṭa, ṭhaṭha ṭhaṭha, ṭiṭi ṭiṭi, ṭhiṭhi ṭhiṭhi, ṭuṭu ṭuṭu, ṭhuṭhu ṭhuṭhu, O wearer of a tunic made from the skin of the black antelope! Come, come, Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Padmeśvara!1677 O great destroyer of the hosts of bhūtas! O great lord of siddhas! Act, act! Para para, kaṭa kaṭa, maṭa maṭa, O dweller in the pure realm, endowed with great compassion! You wear the sacred thread, [Tvii.53] a jewel diadem, and a garland. Your head has the Omniscient One1678 for its crown jewel! The palms of your extraordinary hands are made of lotuses! Your meditative concentration, samādhi, and liberation are unshakeable! You bring to maturity the mindstreams1679 of many beings, O most compassionate being! You purify all karma and obscurations, grant release from all disease, fulfill all wishes, [A.94.a] and comfort all beings! Oṁ, the heart essence maṇḍala1680 of Padmoṣṇīṣapāśa, homage be to you! Svāhā!1681
As soon as this maṇḍala of the secret essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa was spoken, the great trichiliocosm and the earth in this world system [F.179.b] began to quake violently. The mountains, forests, and deserts shook in six different ways, and there appeared a lotus seat that was made of the seven precious jewels and extended over the entire earth. From the navel of the blessed Padmapāṇi sprang a huge, thousand-petaled lotus that was made from the seven precious jewels and had a sapphire stalk. Its pistil was made of gold from the river Jambu, its pericarp from red pearl, and its huge stamens from pearl. The lotus blazed with a uniform light that radiated in rays of various colors, including blue, yellow, red, dazzling white, maroon, crystal, and silver.
The light shone upon and brightened the ten directions; it illuminated all buddha fields and all the abodes of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. It brought happiness, joy, and comfort. The sixteen great hells were illuminated, too, and they turned into great lotus ponds when touched by the light. All hell beings were liberated as soon as they were touched by the light, and then they proceeded, according to their destinies, to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they were born from lotus flowers, with divine bodies decked with ornaments, adornments, fine clothes, and jewelry. They were able to recollect their successive births. Similarly, when the light shone upon animals—beasts and birds—they were all liberated [Tvii.54] and were reborn in heavenly realms, where they were adorned with beautiful, swinging earrings. The light thus shone on all beings throughout the ten directions, and when it touched them it established them all on the eight great levels.1682
The bodhisattvas who had gathered in that great assembly in great numbers [F.180.a] were established in unsurpassable perfect awakening, from which there is no turning back. All the assembled vidyādharas attained the accomplishment of Amoghapāśa—the secret amogha essence of the great Padmoṣṇīṣa. All the assembled nāga kings became shining banners crowned by a wish-fulfilling jewel. All the assembled devas attained the samādhi blazing torch. All the assembled yakṣas and rākṣasas obtained jeweled palaces for their dwellings. All the assembled bhūtas attained the samādhi immaculate brilliance. All the assembled asuras were protected by vajra armor and vajra banners. All the assembled garuḍas obtained great vajra beaks and crests and acquired great strength and speed. All the assembled kinnaras and mahoragas underwent a complete purification of their body, speech, and mind. All the assembled male and female lay practitioners—women, men, boys, and girls—were liberated from the suffering of birth, old age, and death.
The body of the Blessed One emitted a great light called bright as the sun. [A.94.b] The light entered into the heart of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great being. As soon as it entered his heart, Avalokiteśvara said to Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, “Look, Vajrapāṇi, at the miraculous display of the secret heart essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa.”
Vajrapāṇi replied, “I saw it, Lord! I saw this inconceivable miraculous display, O pure being! This maṇḍala of the secret heart essence of Padmoṣṇīṣa, the heart essence of the lotus lord Amoghapāśa, is extremely profound and vast! [F.180.b] Please, Lord, teach at length this marvelous, supreme practice and its accomplishment! [Tvii.55] Teach this extraordinary vidyā maṇḍala that comprises a collection of mantras, along with its conduct and procedures! Teach it in the presence of the Tathāgata, in order to destroy the wrongdoings of all beings and for the sake of the supreme accomplishment of all vidyā holders!”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, replied to Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, “Receive, Vajrapāṇi, the complete uṣṇīṣa maṇḍala,1683 the most secret heart essence of Amoghapāśa! Receive it for the sake of all beings! This maṇḍala exhausts all nonvirtue, purifies all obscurations, clears away all dirt and impurities, pacifies all disease, prevents anything inauspicious, stops all vice, pacifies all fear of opponents and adversaries, restrains all vighnas and vināyakas, crushes all wicked beings, such as the māras, and prevents the dangers that arise due to poison, weapons, fire, water, āśīviṣa snakes, lions, kings, and yakṣas. It destroys all garas, kākhordas, kiraṇas, and those who employ poisonous powders. This maṇḍala is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa; it is the true essence of his extraordinary nature. It constitutes the true essence of practice. When recited, it will bring the supreme accomplishment.”
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, waved his vajra with a smile on his face, instead of the usual frown, and said to Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Which secret and marvelous Padmoṣṇīṣa maṇḍala, one that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, pertains to you, O Lord? Please speak of that!”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, [F.181.a] the great bodhisattva being, considered the question of Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, and touched the lotus at his navel with his right hand formed into the shape of a mudrā. As soon as he did, an image of himself wearing the garb of Brahmā appeared sitting on the vidyā lotus at his heart.1684 The image had the form of Amoghapāśa with three eyes and four arms. It was adorned with all ornaments and wore a golden diadem inlaid with gems and adorned with Amitābha. His matted hair was crowned with the lotus uṣṇīṣa and resplendent with the light of the crescent moon. His hands held a noose, a lotus uṣṇīṣa, a jeweled staff, and a vajra staff. He sat in a cross-legged posture and was adorned with rays of light. He wore various bright garments, and his eyes shone brighter than the sun and moon.
Sitting on a lotus [Tvii.56] and resplendent with light, the image delighted the hearts of all the tathāgatas, was honored by all the bodhisattvas, was worshiped with offerings by all the devas, was viewed with kindness by all the nāgas, was rejoiced in by all the sages, was followed by all the asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, and served as the means of liberation for all beings.1685 In this way, Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, showed his true essence, the core essence of his own reality, in an elaborate display.
As soon as Vajrapāṇi, [A.95.a] the great yakṣa general, and everyone else in the great gathering beheld this display of the secret heart essence, they obtained the samādhi called the blazing light of the immaculately pure uṣṇīṣa of the amogha lotus. Upon obtaining this samādhi, they entered the illusion-like samādhi and, overjoyed, fell down at the feet of Avalokiteśvara, bowing to him. Noble Avalokiteśvara, [F.181.b] the great bodhisattva being, then pronounced the following heart mantras of Amoghapāśa.
“The heart mantra of Amoghapāśa that produces accomplishment when recited:
[257] “Oṁ, Padmoṣṇīṣa, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa in the garb of a divine youth! O lotus lord, please enter! Please amogha-grant the complete accomplishment that is the samaya essence of the entire amogha family!1686 O lotus, lotus! Hūṁ hūṁ! Homage be to you, svāhā!1687
[258] “Oṁ, Lord Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa! O lotus lord, please invite all the tathāgatas! Summon the samaya circle of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa and cause them to enter! Grant me the accomplishment of all my activities and help me guard my treasure trove of morality!1688 O Avalokiteśvara, hūṁ hūṁ! O lord with the lotus uṣṇīṣa in his hand, svāhā!1689
“The mantra of Krodharāja, the heart essence of the family that is suitable for the secret rites of the inner maṇḍala:
[259] “Oṁ, O very fierce lotus lord! You assume various monstrous forms. Your lotus mouth with protruding fangs is very frightening. Please devour all vighnas who are evil at heart, O lotus holder! Ciṭi dhṛṭi, hūṁ, svāhā!1690
“The mantra of Krodharāja, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa:
[260] “Oṁ, Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa, the great wrathful lord with a lotus lasso, pull them in and make them enter!1691 [Tvii.57] You variously assume the Brahmā guise of the great Paśupati, Yama, Varuṇa, and Kubera. You possess great impetuous energy. O samaya lotus of the amogha family, hūṁ hūṁ!1692
“Now I will teach about the activities that can be accomplished with the amogha heart mantra.1693 By merely recollecting this mantra, the vidyā holder will become equal to and identical with each and every tathāgata throughout the three times. He will acquire the same nature as Amitāyus and will be able to dwell like any of the tathāgatas in any buddha field in any of the ten directions. He will look exactly like any tathāgata. By taking a lotus into his hand and arranging the hand into a lotus uṣṇīṣa, he will become equal to the Lokeśvara. If he forms the lotus uṣṇīṣa in this way and consecrates on the top of his head, he will be consecrated by all the tathāgatas of the three times.
“If he performs an amogha consecration with the lotus uṣṇīṣa and mindfully repeats the heart mantra of Padmoṣṇīṣa,1694 he will obtain one hundred thousand samādhis and unsurpassable splendor. [F.182.a] If he mindfully repeats the mantra of the lord of the family,1695 he will obtain the auspicious accomplishment of the lord of the family in the maṇḍala of Padmoṣṇīṣa. Family lords, as well as the mantra and vidyā kings who rule over the family lords’ auspicious accomplishments, will arrive and grant the vidyā holder every supreme accomplishment. Followed by Padmapāṇi, he will win the accomplishments of the amogha family. These kings of mantras will be accomplished through recitation; there is no doubt about this.
“Accomplishment in the Padmoṣṇīṣa family belongs to the great lotus maṇḍala, the maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa, where one becomes accomplished through recitation. Through mere recitation, the vidyā holder will become the lord of the family and the king of the vidyādharas—a sovereign lord in every respect. Using the rites and mudrās of the corresponding maṇḍalas, he will join the same family as the bodhisattvas and will perform the function of a king in every respect. Using the family vidyā,1696 he will become king in hundreds of thousands of buddha fields, equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. He will also become the king of the devas and their heavenly hosts, [A.95.b] as well as of yakṣas, rākṣasas, and gandharvas. He can become a king and lord anywhere—the king of garuḍas, kinnaras, or mahoragas—and will remain king until the attainment of awakening. There is no doubt about this. [Tvii.58]
“By just mindfully repeating the Krodharāja mantra1697 with a fierce mind, the vidyā holder can instantly flatten Mount Sumeru. The mountain ranges that surround it will break apart, and the waters of the great ocean will be agitated. The palaces of the nāgas will be set alight, all nāga dwellings will burn, and all vighnas and vināyakas will be smoked out in a matter of seconds. All terrible beings such as yakṣas, [F.182.b] rākṣasas, bhūtas, grahas, and apasmāras will be obliterated as soon as the vidyā holder mindfully repeats the mantra of Krodharāja. The kings of wrath, along with the guhyakas that are bound by the samaya bond to the family and the other mantra deities that are represented in the maṇḍala by their mudrās, will all take refuge in the vidyā holder as soon as he mindfully repeats the Krodharāja mantra. They will be bound to him, will follow him, and will stay with him wherever he goes. Śakra, the thirty gods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, the nāga king Sāgara, Nanda, Upananda, the princely general,1698 and the Four Great Kings will follow the vidyā holder at all times; there is no doubt.
“All cruel activities and acts of violence can be accomplished with the mere sound of hūṁ, and their effects will be clearly apparent. Adversaries and opponents, wicked beings who inspire dread, the terrible armies of enemies, and hateful people along with all their misdeeds will all turn to ash and become extinct as soon as they are suppressed with the syllable hūṁ. All wicked and evil-minded beings, such as those who show no gratitude for the kindness they received but instead display hostility, will all instantly burn like moths in a flame as soon as they are subjected to the wild sound of the syllable hūṁ. The vidyā holder will also succeed in thousands of other activities and can accomplish one hundred thousand activities by merely reciting the mantras. All activities can be accomplished the moment he mindfully repeats the mantra.
“As soon as the vidyā holder mindfully repeats the mantra of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa,1699 the effectiveness of all his activities, whatever he has in mind and wants to accomplish, will be doubled, whether within the maṇḍala or elsewhere. He will accomplish whatever task he has in mind. [B15] [F.183.a]
“The vidyā holder will accomplish every task by reciting the mantras one at a time.
[261] “Oṁ.
“If he mindfully repeats the syllable oṁ, the one-syllable mantra for the complete maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa, one hundred thousand times in front of an image of the Lord of the World,1700 [Tvii.59] he will attain the first bodhisattva level. All his evil acts, whatever he has accumulated, that would otherwise lead to a rebirth in the terrible hells will disperse like dust in the wind. He will obtain every accomplishment and fulfill his every aim. The tathāgatas and other maṇḍala deities will be pleased. Noble Avalokiteśvara will always grant him boons. If he dies while mindfully repeating the mantra that consists of the single syllable oṁ, he will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī. This is the one-syllable mantra.
[262] “Oṁ bhūḥ.
“If the vidyā holder recites this two-syllable mantra one hundred thousand times, he will attain the second bodhisattva level. He will approach the Tathāgata Amitābha and obtain from him every boon. All his evil will be purified, and he will be freed from every disease that he previously suffered from. Maṇibhadra, the god of wealth, will fall under his thrall and attend upon him. Nonhuman beings1701 will no longer be able to create obstacles for him. After he dies, he will be reborn on Potala Mountain. [A.96.a] He will obtain the accomplishment of Amoghapāśa.
[263] “Oṁ padme.
If the vidyā holder recites this three-syllable mantra one hundred thousand times, he will progress to the third bodhisattva level. When employing this mantra he employs all the mudrās and mantras in the maṇḍala of the great lotus. [F.183.b] Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in the garb of a divine youth, grant him all his desired boons, and show him the maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa. He will show him the secret maṇḍalas of all the tathāgatas and grant him every accomplishment.
[264] “Oṁ padma hrī.
“If the vidyā holder recites this four-syllable mantra one hundred thousand times, he will attain the fourth bodhisattva level. The noble Tathāgata Akṣobhya will appear before him in his golden body, extend his arm, and place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head. He will applaud the vidyā holder, saying, ‘Come, vidyā holder! All your wrongdoings and obscurations have been completely purified. Your whole being1702 is now immaculately pure. After you depart from this human world, you will proceed to my buddha field, recollect your successive births, and never again be born from a womb. All your worldly tasks [Tvii.60] have now been accomplished.’
“If the vidyā holder recites this five-syllable mantra one hundred thousand times he will attain the fifth bodhisattva level. The Tathāgata Padmottara, the worthy, fully realized Buddha, will appear to him, and all his negativity and obscurations will be completely exhausted. Padmottara will applaud the vidyā holder, saying, ‘Good! It is good, O vidyā holder! You have generated a huge amount of merit. You have planted roots of great virtue. After you die, O vidyā holder, you will be born, along with your roots of virtue, in the presence of ninety-two times one hundred thousand million billion tathāgatas. You will be born in my buddha field, as is your destiny. [F.184.a] You are free, O vidyā holder, from hindrances, and all your evil has been destroyed. You have realized the secret maṇḍala of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa, one that is contained within the great seal. You can now perform all the tasks that you want and accomplish whatever you think of by employing this all-accomplishing mantra.’
“If the vidyā holder recites this six-syllable dhāraṇī one hundred thousand times, he will attain the sixth bodhisattva level. He will be able to see all the tathāgatas, and the tathāgatas—worthy, fully realized buddhas as numerous as the atoms in the great thousandfold trichiliocosm—will look at him with compassion. They will appear to him directly and give him comfort and encouragement. The Tathāgata Padmāvalokitadhvaja, the worthy, fully realized Buddha, will encourage the vidyā holder by saying, ‘Come, vidyā holder, to my buddha field, and stay until you attain the final and ultimate realization of awakening. You have brought your karmic activity to a perfect end. You have closed the doors to the hells and opened the doors to all the buddha fields. You have understood the origin and the sameness of all tathāgata families. You have accomplished the secret maṇḍala of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa. The doors to every abode are open for you. You can accomplish both worldly and supramundane activities, and you can engage in any activities you may have in mind!’
“As soon as the vidyā holder completes one hundred thousand recitations of this seven-syllable mantra, he will attain the samādhi called the immaculate lotus-like purity devoid of obscurations. [F.184.b] Upon attaining this samādhi, [A.96.b] [Tvii.61] his body will shine brightly and radiate light of various colors, and he will be established on the seventh bodhisattva level. The light rays emitted from his body will illuminate the great thousandfold trichiliocosm and all buddha fields and palaces. Wherever the light falls, various flowers that sparkle with a variety of colorful jewels will rain down as an offering to all the tathāgatas. The Tathāgata Vimalapadmajvalaraśmi, the worthy, fully realized Buddha, will extend forth his golden arm and, placing his right hand on the head of the vidyā holder, will applaud and comfort him by saying, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! This recitation procedure constitutes the supreme offering to the blessed buddhas. It is their secret heart essence. It is the secret heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara as he really is. It is his core maṇḍala, the secret heart essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa! You have accomplished, vidyā holder, the rite that is the heart essence of Padmoṣṇīṣa, the miraculous creation of Amoghapāśa that constitutes a complete and perfect maṇḍala of liberation. Go, vidyā holder, to my buddha field, and do the work of a buddha!’
“When this eight-syllable heart-dhāraṇī is recited one hundred thousand times, the body of the reciter will become immaculately pure. As soon as the recitation is complete his body will become completely pure both inside and out, just like a great translucent jewel. This is how the body of the vidyā holder will be purified. He will be established on the eighth bodhisattva level. Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, will appear before him in his immaculately pure body, [F.185.a] its appearance corresponding to his true nature, and will give him encouragement. Placing his right hand on the top of his head, he will applaud him, saying, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! You have become a supreme vessel. Come, vidyā holder, to the buddha field named the gaze that closely follows1707 the world. There, you will do the work of a buddha. You have accomplished the secret maṇḍala of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa. You can perform all activities. This practice is supreme for both worldly and supramundane activities.’ [Tvii.62]
“By reciting this nine-syllable heart dhāraṇī one hundred thousand times, the vidyā holder will be established on the ninth bodhisattva level and become the eldest son of Noble Avalokiteśvara. The tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas, numbering ninety-nine times one hundred thousand million billion, will appear before the vidyā holder and show him miraculous displays in various buddha domains. Each of the tathāgatas will place his hand on the head of the vidyā holder and applaud him, saying, ‘Good! Good it is, O great vidyā holder!1709 In accomplishing buddhahood, you have accomplished both the worldly and the supramundane. Following the procedure taught in the sūtra that includes the ritual instructions on the maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa,1710 you have attained all the accomplishments that have been taught by the guide of the world.’
[270]1711 “Oṁ, immaculate Padmoṣṇīṣa! Huṁ phaṭ!1712
“By reciting this ten-syllable heart mantra one hundred thousand times, the vidyā holder will become established on the tenth bodhisattva level, from which there is no turning back. [F.185.b] One of either divine or human birth who recites this mantra knowing that it is the Tathāgata himself will not turn back from unsurpassable perfect awakening. The wheel of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa’s teachings will roll on; there can be no doubt about this.
“The practice of these ten mantras, accomplished through their mere recitation, will ensure supreme realization of the true nature. [A.97.a] I have declared all of them to be, in the beginning, middle, and end,1713 a miraculous transformation of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. The vidyā holder who recites them should be ritually pure, follow pure conduct, and wear clean clothes. He should cultivate thoughts of love and compassion, speak the truth, be devoted to his master, have undivided faith in the Three Jewels, and always worship his master and preceptor. This recitation procedure is said to lead to the unsurpassable awakening of a buddha.”
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, smiled, waved his vajra, bowed his head to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and said, “O great being! These mantra formulas of the ten dhāraṇīs are extremely difficult to find. They constitute the heart maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa, which is very vast and secret.1714 Each of these heart dhāraṇīs fulfills the work of a buddha. If those who recite them fulfill this work by recitation alone, what need is there to mention those who, [Tvii.63] in addition, weary and exhaust themselves in following the elaborate procedure of the recitation practice, accomplish these vidyās by observing the ritual fast day and night, and subsist on alms food that consists of fruits, bulbs, and roots? Please explain, Avalokiteśvara, what accomplishments they obtain.”
Avalokiteśvara replied, “Listen Vajrapāṇi! Those who practice the recitation while observing the ritual fast day and night will obtain results in just one day. This is true for any son or daughter of good family, monk or nun, [F.186.a] male or female lay practitioner, or anyone else, be they a shaven ascetic or a member of a family, a brahmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra, or a woman, man, boy, or girl. Any vidyā holder who takes a short time during one, two,1715 or three junctions of the day to mindfully repeat this set of the ten great dhāraṇīs, this mantra collection of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa and his wrathful family, will, O Vajrapāṇi, purify the five acts of immediate retribution that would otherwise result in their inevitable fall into the Avīci hell for an eon. This will be the case if they mindfully recite it in full just once, even at just one junction of the day, without saying anything else, whether they recite it mentally or aloud or simply recollect the name of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa.
“Any such vidyā holder will, likewise, exhaust all his accumulated evil and obscurations, and his body will become immaculately pure. Free of obscurations and evil, he will be reborn from a lotus flower in the realm of Sukhāvatī after he leaves his present birth, and he will be able to recall his consecutive rebirths. He will never again follow an unhappy destiny but, for eighty times one hundred thousand eons, will enjoy living in the realm of Sukhāvatī as an emperor of the highest order. After that he will experience happiness for sixty-two times one hundred thousand eons in the realm of Abhirati, and then he will be reborn in the realm of Lokavilokita, where he will spend seventy-two times one hundred thousand eons and be able to remember his consecutive rebirths. He will next become the wheel-turning monarch Maṇindhara for twelve times one hundred thousand eons,1716 and then he will live happily on Potala Mountain in the palace of Noble Avalokiteśvara for eighteen thousand eons.1717 [Tvii.64] [F.186.b]
“After that he will spend ninety-nine times one hundred thousand1718 eons among the devas of Akaniṣṭha, and eighty times one hundred thousand happy eons among the devas of Tuṣita. After that he will become Śakra and live among the devas of the realm of Thirty-Three for one hundred thousand eons. [A.97.b] For the next fifty-two times one hundred thousand eons he will visit all the buddha fields in the ten directions. For twenty thousand eons he will enjoy the sovereignty of a wheel-turning monarch. Such a vidyā holder will never again enter a mother’s womb but will instead be born spontaneously wherever he transmigrates. He will also be able to remember his successive births.
“Thus, Vajrapāṇi, even a single silent repetition of these vidyās will plant the roots of virtue for the reciter and result in his accumulation of a vast amount of merit. Anyone who observes the ritual fast for one day and one night and does the recitation while fasting will, in his current birth, in his human body, attain the samādhi called the amogha samādhi that is free from obscurations and immaculately pure, the samādhi called the amogha display, the samādhi called the magical transformation of the lotus blaze, the samādhi called the immaculate amogha appearance, the samādhi called the banner of the amogha gaze, and the samādhi called the perfect1719 banner of Padmoṣṇīṣa. He will also obtain the accomplishment of the secret heart essence of the blazing amogha uṣṇīṣa.
“The reciter will plant the roots of virtue as if he were in the presence of ninety-two times one hundred thousand million billion tathāgatas, equaling in number the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, and he will accumulate a vast amount of merit. When he moves on to another birth, he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower in the realm of Sukhāvatī, and this heart ritual of Amoghapāśa—the liberation-maṇḍala rite of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa—will remain on the tip of his tongue, complete and perfect and sealed as a complete, self-contained ritual. He will become an amogha emperor of vidyādharas. [F.187.a]
“This concludes the second1720 practice procedure that includes the heart mantras in the maṇḍala of Padmoṣṇīṣa, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa.” [Tviii.44]1721
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, said to Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Lord, please teach the auxiliary procedures that accompany the maṇḍala of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa—the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. Fulfill, Lord, the wish of all vidyā holders to attain accomplishment. Teach the practice procedures for realizing reality.” [Tviii.45]
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, replied to Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, “Listen Vajrapāṇi, I will now teach the auxiliary practice-procedures.
“If the root mantra1722—the secret essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa—is mindfully repeated by the vidyā holder or by any son or daughter of noble family, a monk or nun, or a male or female lay practitioner, even if it is repeated just one time with a complete purity of body and mind and a heart filled with great love and compassion that does not exclude any being, not a single being will be reborn in the three unhappy realms—the hells, the animal realm, and the preta realm. These places will cease to exist. This practice, done for the sake of all beings, ensures that they each sow the roots of great virtue. [Tviii.46] [F.187.b]
“If the mantra is repeated twice, it will pacify every disease. Repeated three times, it will neutralize all poisons and heal all cuts, boils, abscesses, and scabs, and it will cure leprosy and eczema. Repeated four times, it will ward off all garas and kākhordas. [A.98.a] Repeated five times, it will pacify all quarrels, discord, and disputes. Repeated six times, it will remove all anxiety, epileptic seizures, [Tviii.47] and fevers. Repeated seven times, it will pacify the danger of any type of untimely death and all calamities for all beings. [Tviii.48] Therefore, Vajrapāṇi, for the sake of all beings, the mantra should be mindfully repeated seven times every day without engaging in any other talk.
“When any being that is bound for hell approaches death, or if any monk who has broken the rules of training or discipline or shown disrespect to the master or preceptor approaches death, the vidyā holder should, for their sake, take some clean sand, incant it with the mantra seven times, and strew it around a charnel ground or upon a funeral pure or in a shrine there. As soon as the sand is cast, all beings upon whose bones the sand falls, whether they have fallen into the hell or the preta realms or entered the womb of a piśāca, yakṣa, or rākṣasa will instantly leave that state and go to heaven. They will never fall into hell again. [Tviii.50]
“Alternatively, if the vidyā holder writes the mantra on birch bark and places it inside a caitya, any two- or four-legged creatures that approach the caitya will have their evil and obscurations purified as soon as the shadow of the caitya falls upon them, and they will be set on the irreversible course to the heavenly realms. [F.188.a] Even small animals and birds, down to grasshoppers, mongooses, scorpions, āśīviṣa snakes, dogs, tortoises, and serpents, will have all their karmic obscurations purified as soon as the shadow of the caitya falls upon them, and they will all be set on the course to the heavenly realms. [Tviii.51]
“If the vidyā holder incants a conch with the mantra seven times and blows it from an elevated spot, all beings who hear the sound of the conch—women, men, boys, girls, beasts, and birds—will be destined for the heavenly realms. When any beings who possess moral integrity, delight in munificence, observe ritual fasting, have taken the threefold refuge, or follow the conduct of a bodhisattva hear the sound of the conch, they will attain unsurpassable perfect awakening, from which there is no turning back. When they leave their current existence and move on to another birth, they will be born in the realm of Sukhāvatī with the ability to remember their successive births. [Tviii.52]
“If the vidyā holder incants some sandalwood seven times with the mantra and burns it as incense in a Buddhist monastery, a monastery courtyard, amid a congregation of monks, in the midst of a great crowd of people, or in the royal household, all the people who smell the fragrance will fully develop the buddha body. [Tviii.53] If the vidyā holder censes a robe with the incanted sandalwood, the person whose body is wrapped with this robe will be purified of all evil and obscurations. As soon the robe touches their body, all the defilements of envy and other negative traits will diminish. If he wears censed clothes, everyone will fall under his thrall.
“If the vidyā holder censes his body and clothes with the incanted sandalwood and enters a royal household, [F.188.b] the king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall. The vidyā holder will receive many offerings and will be respected by everyone. If he enters a congregation of the noble saṅgha, he will be greatly revered and honored by all the monks. If he enters a thick crowd, he will receive many offerings and great honors, and his wealth will greatly increase. [Tviii.54] If he burns the incanted sandalwood on top of a mountain while facing the sun and repeats the root mantra seven times, Āditya1723 will immediately descend and grant him all desired boons.
“If the vidyā holder burns incense containing bdellium [A.98.b] in front of an image of Mahādeva while reciting the root mantra seven times and rubbing him,1724 Mahādeva will immediately descend, stand before the vidyā holder, and grant his every wish. [Tviii.55] If the vidyā holder burns a mixture of myrrh, sandalwood, and bdellium in front of an image of Nārāyaṇa while reciting the root mantra twenty-one times and rubbing the figure, Nārāyaṇa will appear in person and grant him every desired boon. The vidyā holder can also cause him to appear in his Viśvarūpa form. [Tviii.56] If he censes Brahmā with incense containing mustard seeds while reciting the root mantra fourteen times and rubbing and image of Brahmā, Brahmā will appear in person and grant him every boon. [Tviii.57] If he censes Mahākāla and the mātṛs with incense containing powdered lotus, Mahākāla will appear before him in person with his retinue of mātṛs, help him perform any task, and grant him every boon.
“The vidyā holder should burn incense made from the bark of nāgapuṣpa1725 near a lake inhabited by nāgas and incant mustard seeds seven times with the root mantra. If he then casts the seeds into the lake and recites the Amoghapāśahṛdayasūtra1726 one time, [F.189.a] all the nāgas—male and female—will come out of their dwellings and fall at his feet. They will do everything he commands them to do, satisfy his every desire, and remain in his thrall. The three nāga kings, Sāgara, Nanda, and Upananda, will arrive together, carry out the vidyā holder’s orders, and remain in his thrall. [Tviii.59]
“If the vidyā holder wants to summon yakṣas or rākṣasas, he should burn incense mixed with charcoal from a funeral pyre in a charnel ground while reciting the root mantra seven times in a loud voice. The yakṣas and rākṣasas will arrive running, fall at the vidyā holder’s feet and say, ‘Give us orders, venerable sir!’ The vidyā holder should tell them what their orders are, and they will carry them out in full. They will become his messengers and servants and remain with him for as long as he lives. If he incants incense placed in a skull cup seven times and burns the full cup, every bhūta will arrive, fall under his thrall, and become his servant. [Tviii.60]
“If the vidyā holder wants to summon a yakṣiṇī, he should draw an image of her with red ochre, make a maṇḍala with cow dung, and paint a white lotus.1727 He should place a bali offering on the lotus,1728 burn the same incense, and recite the root mantra one hundred and eight times. After incanting mustard seeds1729 seven times, he should strike the yakṣiṇī with them. The yakṣiṇī will arrive in person and stand before the vidyā holder. She will go on errands for him up to the celestial realms and back again, and she will carry out any secret missions immediately upon being told to do so. [Tviii.61] Optionally, the vidyā holder can ask her to be his mother or sister. If she becomes his mother, she will love him like her own son, provide him with palaces and comforts, and guard him like a prince. [F.189.b] If she becomes his sister, she will emulate Vaiśravaṇa.1730 If she becomes his wife, she will provide sexual pleasures and frolic with him, as if he were the chief god in the realm of Thirty-Three.1731 [Tviii.63]
“If the vidyā holder censes an image of the goddess Śrī while reciting the root mantra eight1732 times and rubbing the image,1733 the great goddess Śrī will appear before the vidyā holder and give him a great quantity of wealth. She will attend upon him in his home for as long as he lives, and his wealth will vastly increase. [Tviii.64] If the vidyā holder censes an image of Vaiśravaṇa, Vaiśravaṇa will provide one thousand pieces of gold. If he censes an image of Maṇibhadra, [A.99.a] Maṇibhadra will provide one thousand dinars.
“If the vidyā holder burns the incense near a secret passageway in a forest,1734 all the forest deities who dwell there will arrive and stand before him in person. All medicinal substances and herbs will arrive before him in their own forms. If the vidyā holder burns the incense in the mountains, all medicinal grasses and bushes will emit light. [Tviii.65] If he burns the incense at the four primary gates as well as the subsidiary gates surrounding a city, all fevers, anxiety, quarrels, discord, and disputes will be pacified. If he burns the incense in a forest, there will no longer be danger from any thieves, rogues, bandits, lions, tigers, beasts of prey, bears, or wolves, nor will there be any danger from smaller animals. [Tviii.66] If patients suffering from any type of fever are fumigated with the incense, they will become completely cured of it.
“This concludes the third practice procedure, for purifying all evil and obscurations with sandalwood incense. [Tix.98]
“The vidyā holder who marks his forehead with the bindi will always shine with the light of a thousand rays and be as resplendent as the sun. His body will be translucent as a crystal, deep blue1737 in color, and fragrant, resemble an elephant’s forehead,1738 and be faultless like Gokula.1739 He will be well focused and disciplined. The bindi is like a unique jewel possessed by the leader of a caravan. If it is incanted one hundred thousand times with the mantra, the bindi will be like a golden fabric that radiates light everywhere. [Tix.101] Very delicate, it will always shine on the forehead from between the eyebrows. The vidyā holder will shine in the midst of a crowd of people, like the full moon in the sky. Like the moon among its asterisms, or the king Śakra among the asuras, he will be a king among his own people. He will shine among them like the royal parasol. He will possess the self-control of a sugata and will stand out in the crowd like a lone parasol, and like someone belonging to the Śākya family lineage he will desire the good of all beings. Purified by this supreme jewel,1740 he will desire their good. Like the supreme lord of the world1741 and the gods, he will grant boons for the benefit of all beings. Through the power of the bindi-jewel, he will be able to fulfill all their wishes.
“Devas, nāgas, and yakṣas will fall under his thrall, as will Indra, the lord of the realm of Thirty-Three. So too will all gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and bhūtas fall under his thrall. [Tix.102] Seeing the light of the stars on his forehead, [F.190.b] they will inevitably fall under his thrall. All beings will bow to him, touching their heads to his feet. No fire can burn him, nor can a flood sweep him away. No poisons, venoms, terrible kākhordas, or various evil mantras will harm his body. Because of the power of the bindi-jewel, none of these things will arise. [Tix.104] All fevers, severe pain, diseases, wind disorders, and headaches will be instantly pacified when the bindi is applied.
“All beings who are enslaved or sentenced to punishment or execution will be set free when they receive the bindi. No yakṣas, not even one hundred thousand of them, or rākṣasas in their frightening forms, or hundreds of thousands of grahas will be able to harm the body of one wearing the bindi. All dangers arising from herds of elephants, from prides of lions, and from bandits, landslides, falling rocks, lightning, cold spells, strong winds, hail, or rats1742 will be pacified the very moment the bindi is applied to the forehead between the eyebrows. [Tix.106] When one is surrounded by hundreds of thousands of soldiers in battle, they can be swiftly defeated by the power of the bindi. Armed conflicts, quarrels, and disputes will be immediately pacified.
“If the vidyā holder [A.99.b] ties an amulet into his topknot, applies the bindi, anoints the circle,1743 and subsequently enters a battle with an enemy army, he will single-handedly defeat all four divisions of the army. Through the power of the bindi, all enemy soldiers will fall into disarray as soon as the vidyā holder enters the battle. They will all flee in the ten directions and vanish. If the vidyā holder applies the bindi and enters a royal household, the king, along with his harem and retinue, will fall under his thrall and honor him with offerings for as long as he lives. [F.191.a] If he ties the jewel to his right arm and marks his body and limbs with the bindi, he will always be victorious. He will enthrall beings by merely touching them and will obtain any object that he asks for. [Tix.107]
“A vidyā holder who wants to improve his memory and intellect retains whatever he hears. To achieve this, he should purify himself ritually and then boil ghee with milk over a period of seven days, infusing the broth with seven pills each day. After incanting the broth twenty-one times as previously instructed, he should let it cool to a comfortable temperature and drink it, taking his food afterward. On the seventh night, he will hear a great sound like that of the ocean. After that, all scientific treatises, all works on polity, discipline, poetry, grammar, the sūtras, songs, aphorisms, udāna, nidāna,1749 stories of past events, the jātakas, the Abhidharma, algebra, mantras, and mudrās and all works of the Mahāyāna will remain on the tip of his tongue. [Tix.123]
“After employing this method for twenty-one days, the vidyā holder will acquire great strength, energy, and valor, his strength equaling that of ten thousand elephants. After a month of practice his lifespan will increase to five hundred years, he will be free of wrinkles and gray hair, his hair will become wavy and curly, and his complexion will assume the white hue of a lotus. [F.192.b] After a year of practice, he will be able to employ the divine elixir of immortality and will roam the skies together with and in the same way as the devas. Rivaling Śakra, he will engage in divine play and pleasures with the devas and apsarases in their celestial mansions, and he will dwell in a palace built of the seven types of jewels. He will roam together with devas who radiate light as bright as the sun, and he will travel from one fine palace to another. He will shine with pure light, the brilliance of which will be impossible to bear. This will happen without a doubt. [Tix.124]1750
“This concludes the fourth practice procedure, the practice of the bindi and the pill that is suitable for all activities.1751
“I will now teach the magical powers for becoming invisible, for traveling through space, and for the ultimate remedy1752 that together constitute the accomplishment of amogha power. I will teach them accurately for the sake of the vidyā holders’ success.
“The vidyā holder should procure quicksilver, the sap of brahmā,1753 quartz, śāmakukṣī,1754 sugandhikī,1755 costus,1756 a fine specimen of blue lotus, lotus seeds, bdellium, palu leaves,1757 saffron, nāgapuṣpa,1758 spikenard, and the blossoms of śirīṣa1759 and blend them with nasyasita1760 into a pure, fine powder. He should incant the mixture with the secret mantra of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa,1761 in combination with one thousand and eight1762 recitations of the mantra of the lord of the family.1763 He should then perform the consecration1764 by reciting the mantra of Krodharāja1765 twenty-one times. After that he should recite the one-syllable mantra1766 one hundred thousand times, and then each of the ten dhāraṇīs1767 twenty-one times.
“When the vidyā holder has finished reciting all these mantras in full, he should place the ultimate remedy, called the remedy possessing the extensive amogha splendor, at the feet of Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara and dry it in his shadow.1768 [A.100.b] [F.193.a] He should recite, again, the mantra of Amoghapāśoṣṇīṣa one hundred and eight times and put the remedy in a clean pouch. He should employ it whenever there is a need to perform any task, and he will succeed in all tasks.
“The vidyā holder should purify himself ritually, bathe, put on clean clothes, and perfume his body. He should then mix the ultimate remedy with mustard oil and smear it on his body, which will render him invisible. The doors to all secret dwelling places will open for him, and he will be able to enter them at will and accomplish all his tasks. He will become a mighty king of all beings—yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, and so forth—who will all fall under his thrall and attend upon him as his servants for as long as he lives. He will be able to perform any task. The doors to all nāga palaces will remain open for him, and all the nāgas with their retinues will wait in attendance as his attentive servants, ready to perform any task. They will perform anything that needs to be done, wait in attendance day and night, and continue to follow his orders for as long as he lives.
“If he mixes the remedy with siṃhajihvā1769 and cow’s milk and anoints his entire head with the mixture, he will be able to manifest whatever various forms he may think of and that seem pleasant to him. He will take whatever form corresponds to the forms beings take in their respective locations. In all places, such as in the midst of an assembly, he will be able to appear in various emanated forms and sustain them for as long as he lives, and he will be able to perform every task. If he mixes the remedy with castor oil and anoints his feet and calves with it, he will rise into the air and move through space. [F.193.b] He will be able to go wherever he wants, walk on water, and walk without touching the ground with his feet. If he anoints his right hand,1770 he will be able to whisk away whatever he touches, and no one will see it.
“If he anoints his eyes with the remedy after it has been mixed with the milk of a young woman and then enters a royal household, he will be invisible and able to carry out any task he wants. He will be able to take any objects of value without being seen, and he will remain unseen when cavorting with any woman. He may stay there as long as he lives, and no one will know. If he anoints his face, he will be able to take part in any theatrical performance or perform comedic acts without his body being seen.1771 If he anoints a pitcher and fills it with water, the stream of water will be visible, but the pitcher will not.1772 If he fills a tank with water and steps into it, he will be seen floating on the water, but the tank will be invisible. If he anoints his body and holds a pitcher filled with water in his hand, the pitcher and the stream of water will be visible, but the person holding it will not.
“If he anoints his eyes, he will be invisible when entering a crowd of people. His voice will be heard, but his body will be invisible. Until he washes off the remedy, he will be able to enter any place without his body being seen. Anyone whose eyes and bodies are anointed will become invisible. The vidyā holder will be invisible wherever he goes; [A.101.a] however, he will be visible again as soon as he washes himself. If he anoints his entire body and enters the great treasury,1773 he will be invisible, able to take whatever he desires—all the gold and silver coins, jewels, pearls, coral, conch, crystal, diamonds, beryls, emeralds, sapphires, gold,1774 clothes, jewelry, ornaments, and adornments—and leave without being seen. [F.194.a] He can thus whisk away anything that he wants. He will remain invisible until he washes himself, and then he will be visible as always.
“If he wants to enter the women’s quarters, he should purify himself ritually, bathe well, and sprinkle himself with perfumed water. He should douse himself with cow urine, followed by saffron water and the five products of the cow. He should then rub his body with the pill mixed with scented oil,1775 anoint his eyes with the same pill mixed with the milk of a young woman, tie three pills to his right arm, and put on clean clothes. If he then enters the royal household while silently reciting the mantra, he will be invisible and unseen. Keeping his body doused in this way, he can remain in the female quarters for one or two days, or for one, two, or three weeks, and spend his time playing, having sex, and roaming about without anyone noticing. He will be able to leave and enter without being confronted. He will remain invisible for as long as he does not wash.
“If the vidyā holder wants to enter terrestrial passages,1776 he should anoint his entire body with the scented oil and enter the opening. The doors to all such passages will be open for him. He should enter the palaces there and do whatever actions are appropriate. He can enter water without getting wet as if it were a house, and the beings inhabiting the water will not be able to see him.1777 He can, likewise, enter into fire, but the fire will not touch his body; it will instead feel as cool as sandalwood. He can enter the palaces of nāgas, but the nāgas living there will not see him. He can also perform various other feats and do whatever comes to mind.
“This concludes the practice instructions for becoming invisible by means of the pill. [B16] [F.194.b]
“Now I will teach the homa procedure whereby all activities can be successfully accomplished. It is a procedure that produces every accomplishment, removes all evil, and purifies all obscurations. It ensures the supreme accomplishment of the vidyā, pacifies all yakṣas, destroys all vices, grants the auspicious victory of the buddhas, wards off all opponents in the event of quarrel, discord, or dispute, and effectively rescues those who are cornered in battle. For all vidyā holders it unfailingly produces all the supreme accomplishments that are so difficult to obtain. It allows one to accomplish all the mantras and maṇḍalas. When the vidyā holder passes from this world, it will provide him with the means to realize the true state. There can be no doubt that it will bring every supreme accomplishment.
“This practice will certainly bring complete happiness, cure all lack of power,1778 and perform the activity of attracting.1779 It will summon devas and nāgas, destroy yakṣas and rākṣasas, and suppress all vighnas,1780 māras, bhūtas, piśācas, terrible grahas, apasmāras, and terrible brahmarākṣasas. It effectively removes all obstacles at all times, day and night; there can be no doubt about this. It cures every fever, prevents every disease, and instantly neutralizes every poison. As soon as the homa is offered, [A.101.b] the vidyā holder is certain to be universally loved and universally welcomed. He will become everyone’s revered master and be constantly endowed with strength, energy, and valor. [F.195.a] The tathāgatas will always appear to him—there can be no doubt about this—and bodhisattvas will always watch over him during all his activities.
“Birth after birth, such a vidyā holder will be pleasant to interact with and have an agreeable way of speaking. Always eager to obey his master, he will himself become a universally respected teacher. The glorious Vajradhara will always watch over and protect him during armed conflicts, and the Four Great Kings, Yama, and Varuṇa will always guard, protect, and defend him; there can be no doubt about this. Īśvara, Maheśvara, the ninety-nine thousand divine sons, and other gods of great power will stand by, well disciplined, in order to guard, protect, and defend him. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Rudra, Kumāra, Maṇibhadra, Baladeva, Pūrṇabhadra, and Pāñcika, the supreme dancer,1781 will always stand by to guard and protect him; there can be no doubt about this. The god Agni of great brilliance, Sūrya, Candra, and the nakṣatra deities will all guard, protect, and defend him constantly, and they will honor him with offerings.
“This homa rite alone is sufficient to ensure supreme success in every endeavor. If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight individual homas of rice grains and mustard seeds with an admixture of bdellium, ghee, and honey, he will receive every boon from Noble Avalokiteśvara and will succeed in all his endeavors. If he lights the fire using sticks of śamī tree1782 smeared with agarwood, curds, honey, and ghee, and offers one thousand and eight homas of sandalwood, lotus stalks, parched rice, and mustard seeds, [F.195.b] Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before him and grant him every boon. The vidyā holder will then succeed in all his endeavors, all his wishes will be fulfilled, and he will accomplish all rites. He will obtain the amogha siddhi of complete unobstructability and the siddhi of attracting all merit. He will also obtain the supreme accomplishment of all maṇḍalas, mudrās, rites, and practice procedures and will enter the secret samaya of all the tathāgatas.
“If he lights the fire using sticks of cutch tree and neem tree for fuel and offers one thousand and eight homas of rice grains, sesame seeds, and mustard seeds mixed with curds, ghee, and salt, all vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and grahas and all wicked opponents and adversaries will be pacified. He will be able to avoid all discords, quarrels, and disputes, and he will win victory in every battle. He will defeat all foreign armies, as well as his adversaries and opponents.
“If he offers one thousand and eight homas of lotus flowers, sandalwood, and parched rice smeared with curds, honey, and ghee, this will bring great peace to all inhabited places—countries, cities, towns, and villages—within the radius of one thousand leagues. It will ensure that all beings—women, men, boys, and girls—will be guarded, protected, and defended. All diseases everywhere will be pacified. All wild animals, [F.196.a] āśīviṣa snakes, and wicked beings will become loving. All kings, along with their courts, harems, and retinues, will live in comfort and happiness.
“If he lights the fire using sticks of giant milkweed for fuel and offers one thousand and eight homas of mataṅga,1783 mustard seeds, ghee, nāgapuṣpa,1784 and parched rice, it will stop a drought. The great nāgas will release torrents of rain for as long as desired. All crops, trees, grasses, bushes, medicinal herbs and substances, flowers, and fruits [A.102.a] will grow fully and ripen well. All the great nāga kings and their retinues will be very pleased and will send timely, abundant rain whenever necessary. If it rains too much, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of the ashes left after the previous homa offering, and the excessive rain will stop.
“If the vidyā holder offers a homa of rice balls, mustard seeds, and datura seeds smeared with ghee, all windstorms and hail will be stopped, and a great protective boundary will be created with a radius of one thousand leagues. To stop a hurricane, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of mustard seeds and parched rice. This will arrest all whirlwinds, and all winds up to and including hurricanes.1785
“In order to bind nāgas, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of mustard seeds and sesame seeds. The nāgas will then be bound for twelve years. To pacify all diseases, he should offer one thousand and eight homas of mustard seeds smeared with ghee. All diseases will then be eradicated. To ward off a foreign army, he should light the fire using oleander sticks and offer one thousand and eight homas of neem leaves, [F.196.b] salt, and chaff. The entire enemy army, together with all adversaries and opponents, will then perish. They will not appear again for as long as the vidyā holder lives.
“To bind the directions within the radius of one thousand leagues, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of sesame seeds, mustard seeds, parched rice, and lotus leaves smeared with ghee. This will create a great protective boundary with the radius of one thousand leagues. To bind all vināyakas, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of mustard seeds, black sesame seeds, beans, and sesame seeds, all mixed with ghee. All vighnas, vināyakas, māras, and other such beings, including the wicked yakṣas and rākṣasas, will be bound. To expel yakṣas from their abodes, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of marijuana seeds and salt mixed with sesame oil. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, apasmāras, and so forth will be forced to come out and be clearly visible to everyone. All misfortunes, calamities, disasters, and dangers will be completely pacified so that everyone will live in peace.
“To enthrall a brahmin, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of parched rice and sticks of giant milkweed smeared with ghee. To enthrall a kṣatriya, he should offer one thousand and eight homas of molasses, ghee, parched rice, and leaves of giant milkweed. To enthrall a śūdra, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of madaphala1786 and karṇikārikā.1787 This is the most effective method of enthralling any śūdra. To enthrall a vaiśya, he should offer one thousand and eight homas of the three types of ghee1788 mixed together. [F.197.a]
“If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight homas of jasmine flowers smeared with ghee, all women will be enthralled. To enthrall a virgin, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of jalakusuma1789 smeared with ghee.
“To pacify all fears, the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of rice grains smeared with ghee. All fear, discord, quarrels, and disputes will then be pacified. To obtain money and grain, he should offer one thousand and eight homas of the seven types of grain smeared with ghee. His money and his grain will then increase. To obtain influence and power, he should offer one thousand and eight homas of mustard seeds and beans. His worldly power will greatly increase. To obtain a domain,1790 the vidyā holder should offer one thousand and eight homas of the three spices,1791 ghee, and beans. He will then obtain a large domain. When desiring to obtain a village, he should offer one thousand and eight homas of oleander flowers, mustard seeds, and parched rice smeared with ghee. [A.102.b] He will then obtain a village.
“If the vidyā holder wants to dig up buried treasure, he should offer one thousand and eight homas of lotus stalks smeared with ghee. He will then find a great treasure. If he wants to summon a yakṣa, he should offer one thousand and eight homas of bdellium and datura seeds smeared with honey and ghee. The yakṣa will then appear before him in its yakṣa form and become his servant, eager to perform all kinds of tasks. If he wants to summon Kāmarūpī,1792 he should offer one thousand and eight homas of parched rice, mustard seeds, and mahaleb cherry1793 smeared with curds, honey, and ghee. The fire should be kindled with oleander sticks, after which Kāmarūpī will arrive and do whatever the vidyā holder wants her to do. [F.197.b] He can make three types of request: either that she becomes his mother, his wife, or his sister.
“If Kāmarūpī becomes his mother, she will love him with the love a mother has for her son, will make his money, grain, and pleasures greatly increase, and will be an ideal companion for him as long as he lives. If she becomes his wife, she will serve him with various kinds of pleasure, including many types of sexual play. She will give him various garments, adornments, ornaments, fragrances, and scented oils, and she will serve him with the pleasures of the palate, offering him food and drink with a variety of exquisite flavors. She will offer him various beds and seats and will cause his stores of money and grain to greatly increase. She will follow him like a shadow for as long as he lives and will even sacrifice her own life for him. If she becomes his sister, she will grant him influence and will serve him with the pleasures that are experienced in celestial palaces. She will attend upon him and serve him for as long as he lives.
“If the vidyā holder wants to obliterate foreign armies—any enemies that are found within the radius of one hundred thousand leagues—he should offer one thousand and eight homas of chaff and salt. He will then win a great victory in armed combat and in war. To cause Āditya to descend to earth, he should offer, while on top of a mountain, one thousand and eight homas of honey, black pepper, and rice grains smeared with ghee. Āditya will descend to earth every single day and grant the vidyā holder every boon. He will serve him with every kind of desirable service for as long as he lives.
“If the vidyā holder wants to cause Candra to descend to earth together with the nakṣatras and the multitude of stars, he should offer the homa consisting of the three spices mixed with sea salt, salt, milk, honey, and ghee while at an elevated place. [F.198.a] Candra, together with the nakṣatras and the multitude of stars, will then descend to earth, fulfill all his desires, and grant all his wishes, thus causing his power and pleasures to greatly increase. He will attend upon him for as long as the vidyā holder lives, and he will protect, guard, and defend him for the rest of the vidyā holder’s life. Every day, he will descend to earth whenever the vidyā holder wants to see him.
“If the vidyā holder wants to summon any being—a deva, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, asura, garuḍa, kinnara, mahoraga, uraga,1794 human, or nonhuman, be they a woman, man, boy, girl, monk, brahmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra—he should offer one thousand and eight homas of sesame seeds, mustard seeds, rice grains, and dry ginger1795 smeared with curds, honey, and ghee. This will ensure great success in the summoning. The vidyā holder will be loved by everyone, and kings, together with their harems and retinues, will fall under his thrall. They will remain bound to him, listen to his words, and serve him both physically and with their wealth. He will become a universal teacher who is greatly honored by everyone.
“Now I will teach, for the benefit of all beings, the art of magic that involves the vidyā of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa.1796 This magic accomplishes all the good activities of the learned ones, always brings happiness, and grants comfort to the poor. It brings instant gains, such as a great increase of grain. Through it the fearless vidyā holder will become the sole teacher of everyone [A.103.a] and be revered by all. His power and pleasures will greatly increase, and he will enjoy the comforts of a king.1797 [F.198.b]
“The vidyā holder should procure the finest arjun1798 flowers, bovine bezoar, bamboo juice, realgar, myrrh, lotus filaments, blue lotuses, white sugar, saffron, the bones of a cuttle fish,1799 two rajana leaves,1800 and one thousand suvarṇa leaves.1801 He should combine them together, grind them into a fine powder, and blend them with camphor and musk. As soon as he wakes up in the morning he should incant the mixture one thousand and eight times with the mantra.1802 The wise vidyā holder can use the preparation in three different ways. If he wants to use it as an eye ointment, he should further incant it one thousand and eight times with the heart mantra. If he anoints his eyes with it, he will become invisible. He will be able to enter a large crowd of people and remain there as if in an empty space.
“If he recites the syllable hūṁ, he will become visible again and will be able to ascend into the air, where he can stand up, lie down, or run. If he anoints his body with the preparation, it will appear as if blazing with fire, and it will be able to manifest fire and smoke. If he anoints the soles of his feet, he will be able to walk on the water of a large river without getting his feet wet. He will be able to enter a large, blazing fire without getting burnt or even losing a single hair on his body. If he casts the powdered preparation into the air in each of the four directions, he will cause a rain of various flowers and fruits to fall in torrents and will conjure various jeweled palaces.
“If he anoints his entire body with the ointment, applies the eye ointment,1803 and sprinkles his body with the powder,1804 he will be able to enter a large settlement without anyone noticing. He will be able to manifest whatever great illusory appearances come to his mind, such as a great king with a great army or a sage with a golden pitcher, or the appearance of Narasiṃha, Vārāha, Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, or Sītāharaṇa, or of Candraprabha giving away his own head.1805 He can also display striking someone, their death, [F.199.a] and their subsequent resurrection. They can display a rain of flowers or fruits, windstorms, clouds, hail, or a rain of edible grains. He will display various apparitions, such as palaces of various types, as soon as he thinks of them. He will be able to enter an assembly of monks and display various magical feats, such as conjuring twin palaces.1806
“The vidyā holder should use the powder infused with castor oil1807 to anoint his head so that it sprinkles down his neck.1808 He should also anoint his eyes with the eye ointment, fumigate his entire body with the powder, and anoint his feet. If he then enters an assembly of monks, he will be able to demonstrate knowledge,1809 tranquility, and self-control.1810 As soon as he enters, he will be able to manifest the element of fire or become invisible.1811 He will remain suspended in the air, where he can move about, sit, or lie down. He will be able to come and go as he pleases. He will produce, in the midst of scholars versed in the fourfold knowledge,1812 a rain of flowers or the sound of a drum resounding through space.
“If he smears his body with the preparation blended with the sap of giant milkweed, he will be able to manifest any form found in the three worlds and enact any of the various divine performances from the Mahābhārata or Rāmāyaṇa that he thinks of. He will be able to magically stage various dramatic performances in the midst of a great crowd. In the midst of a great royal assembly in a royal household, he will conjure various divine performances with a variety of characters such as the wise1813 Māndhātṛ, the wheel-turning monarch of the human race who ruled over the four continents, and Daśaratha, Ratnaprabha, Rudradatta, the caravan leader Nṛpaprabhu, [F.199.b] Śivasudaṃṣṭra, Karuṇapuṇḍarīka, and other great literary characters.
“He will also produce a rain of jewels and other material things such as ornaments, adornments and jewelry, [A.103.b] and he will conjure the Flower Palace,1814 the Fruit Palace, and various other palaces. This ointment and powder thus have great power when applied as an unguent, allowing the vidyā holder to display various palaces, including those described in literature such as the palace of Rāvaṇa, Vibhīṣaṇa, or Kumbha. He will conjure an illusory display of the palace of Hanumān, and other palaces described in literature. He will even display the defeat of Māra and other such acts, manifesting the forms of the finest warriors of great valor and strength. The magical power derived by applying the ointment and powder and then reciting the mantra is threefold: it grants (1) the power of long life, (2) the power to display various illusory spectacles, and (3) the power of the wish-fulfilling jewel. Everyone will see that these great magical powers are accomplished as soon as the ointment and the powder are applied.
“This concludes the detailed instructions for the supreme accomplishment of the practice procedure of the great illusion.
“Now I will teach the maṇḍala that brings the supreme accomplishment of truth—the accomplishment of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa that constitutes the supreme realization of truth for all vidyā holders. First, their evil will be exhausted; next, all their obscurations will be dispelled; then, they will win the supreme amogha accomplishment so that all their wishes will be fulfilled. They will accomplish the mantra, [F.200.a] obtain the boons, obtain the dhāraṇī, and attain the tenth bodhisattva level.
“Such vidyā holders will attain buddhahood and manifest its true nature in an extraordinary way: they will approach and attain the seat of awakening, sit there on the vajra seat in a state of samādhi,1815 set in motion the wheel of Dharma, disturb1816 and suppress Māra, annihilate all obstacles, and behold the buddha fields as they naturally are. They will become receptacles of all the tathāgatas’ blessings and will bestow the same blessings equally on all beings. They will establish themselves in the Potala palace, the abode of Amogha-Avalokiteśvara, and will purify the five acts of immediate retribution that lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell. They will reach the secret state of all the tathāgatas and become part of the supreme family of all buddhas. They will reach the state of bodhisattvas, the auspicious state that arises out of the vajra essence.
“Such vidyā holders will accomplish the vidyās of the tathāgata, lotus, jewel, and vajra families, but they will enter the supreme maṇḍala—as unshakable as the great Mount Sumeru and as deep as the great ocean—through a single maṇḍala form. This place1817 is distinguished among all other places for being like the wish-fulfilling jewel that grants boons, the same as the wish-fulfilling tree that grants all wishes and fulfills all hopes. It is the place where all boons are obtained and where awakening originates. It is the place where all sentient beings are always delivered from saṃsāra. It is the secret amogha place where the vajra blessing is conferred, a place that attracts [F.200.b] all merit and causes the roots of virtue to grow. This place is a heap of merit.
“This place is a perpetual treasure trove of the Dharma and a treasure trove of the Buddha. It is a great treasury, a perpetual lotus treasury, a treasure trove of Avalokiteśvara’s skill.1818 It is the treasure trove of all the tathāgatas, a diamond treasury, and a great jewel. It is as deep as the great ocean, immovable and unshakable. It cannot be assailed by any evil-minded māras, vināyakas, vighnas, yakṣas, rākṣasas,1819 or bhūtas. Once there, it is not possible to turn back. This supreme, unshakable place is difficult to reach.
“Using cow dung, the vidyā holder should build a four-cornered maṇḍala that is either thirty-two cubits or eight cubits across, with an elevation of one cubit and a half.1820 The measurements should be done with a measuring thread. The maṇḍala should be square in shape, carefully delimited, and symmetrical. Its surface should be wiped clean and be smooth, soft, and well adorned. [A.104.a] The surface of the maṇḍala, which is of a beautiful beryl-color, should be divided into sections using the measuring thread. The vidyā holder should mark out the four doors and demarcate the inner sections of the maṇḍala by applying the five colors. Stretching the thread, he should demarcate the four corner-sections with a fivefold line, so that each one is two cubits in size.
“In the center of the maṇḍala he should draw an open lotus with thirty-two petals, at the center of which, sitting above the lotus petals on the anthers of a half-open lotus,1821 he should draw Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa with three faces, a happy countenance, and the marks of perfection. The image of an uṣṇīṣa suffused with light should be drawn in a circle surrounding him. To Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa’s right he should draw the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara [F.201.a] with his hair in a topknot adorned with a diadem. Above his head is Amitābha, his body filled with light. To Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa’s left he should draw the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara with his hair in a topknot and his body filled with light. On top of his head is a lotus uṣṇīṣa radiating multicolored light.
“The vidyā holder should place garlands of champak flowers1822 and white and blue lotuses outside the maṇḍala. Inside the maṇḍala, in the four corners, he should draw the Four Great Kings wearing coats of mail, looking fierce and inspiring dread, and with bodies surrounded by halos of light. Surrounding the maṇḍala he should draw an inner1823 line of vajras and tridents that blaze with light. A second line, outside of that, should consist of a corona of flowers; then there should be a large string of jewels as the third, a circle of hands holding various implements as the fourth, and a fifth circle composed of a surrounding pavilion. Different parts of the maṇḍala should have their own distinguishing colors, and the exterior of the maṇḍala should be surrounded with various signs, emblems, and implements.
“Within the four doors the vidyā holder should draw the four great yakṣas—wild, laughing loudly, and grimacing with protruding fangs. They each hold a full jar, their hair streams upward, and they are each adorned with every ornament and wearing diadems atop their heads. They should be drawn sitting on mountains, their bodies surrounded with a halo of light. Beyond the outer rim of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should draw three separate lines of pink lotuses, blue lotuses, champak flowers,1824 sumanas jasmine, vārṣika jasmine, and adhimuktaka jasmine.1825 Having skillfully painted and demarcated the parts of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should adorn each of the maṇḍala’s four sides with gateways decorated with arrows and banners in various bright colors. He should further surround the maṇḍala with parasols, flags, banners, canopies, and streamers. [F.201.b]
“He should arrange sixteen full jars around the maṇḍala, as well as another sixteen jars with bali articles. He should add the prescribed sixteen incense holders with lit incense, as well as earthenware bowls, which, according to tradition, should likewise number sixteen. He should add sixteen bowls with various perfumes and sixteen bowls with an argha offering. In addition, he should arrange four silver bowls with fragrant powders, sixteen earthenware pots with bali articles, and four incense holders in which he should burn incense of sandalwood,1826 agarwood, olibanum, frankincense, bdellium, fenugreek,1827 the resin of the sal tree,1828 saffron, musk, myrrh, and camphor, all combined in the right proportion. Before each maṇḍala deity he should place unguents made of the same ingredients combined with fragrant powders that contain sandalwood and saffron. Everything should contain an admixture of jaigha and vallika powders.1829 He should strew the maṇḍala with various flowers of his choosing, whatever may be available in the season. [A.104.b]
“He should then fill a pitcher with scented water without touching it, and he should fill new bowls made of gold, silver, copper, and clay with an assortment of fragrances. He should tie fine pieces of silk around the neck of the auspicious pitcher, adorn it with ornaments and adornments, and place it above a lotus relic.1830 He should make a wreath from jasmine flowers that symbolizes the uṣṇīṣa and place it inside the maṇḍala, incanting it one thousand and eight times with the heart mantra and the auxiliary heart mantra. He should put together an assortment of articles for the bali offering that consist of the ‘white’ foods of different flavors. The dishes should be prepared according to a variety of recipes and be of various types, forms, colors, and tastes that represent diverse regional cuisines. [F.202.a] The instructions for the bali offering presented here conform to tradition.
“The learned vidyā holder should adorn the maṇḍala by skillfully arranging various fruits, green branches, and garlands around it. He should surround the maṇḍala with a row of one hundred and eight lamps, each filled with ghee and oil. As has been taught, the vidyā holder will realize all his wishes and attain complete success. To the vināyakas he should offer a bali consisting of barley groats, radishes, the ‘white’ foods, laduka sweets,1831 candies,1832 and fruits. This will ensure swift success in all his activities.
“He should then place cooked barley, curds, and green branches in the maṇḍala and offer it as bali to the yakṣas and rākṣasas who inhabit the four quarters. A bali regarded as suitable for bhūtas, on the other hand, consists of curds and porridge of rice and milk. Balls of picchala1833 and śākha,1834 a porridge of barley and rice, and maṇḍalikā1835 are offered as bali to the pretas and piśācas in the four directions. Porridge of rice and milk is offered as bali to the celestial nakṣatras, Candra, Sūrya, and the gaṇas. A bali offered to the deities of the night consists of sandalwood water, and it always includes flowers and milk porridge. This ensures the success of the rite.
“The seven types of great and divine grains and the elegant snuhā plant1836 are the most auspicious. Raw or cooked, they are divine. They should be offered, together with curds and milk and articles beginning with f such as flowers and fruits,1837 as a bali to the deities of the earth element. Sour gruel and cooked rice with added condiments are said to be a suitable bali for Vāyu, and so they will please all the deities of the wind element. Curds, milk, cooked rice with sugar and molasses, buns,1838 and butter cakes [F.202.b] are said to make a suitable bali for the nāga kings, who can help accomplish all activities.
“A bali offered to the army of Māra should consist of buns, the five products of the cow, vetiver-infused water,1839 Malabar sandalwood, rice grain, and argha water for the feet. Perfumed saffron water and rice1840 can be offered as bali to the king of rivers in order to ensure success in all activities anywhere. The juice of darbha grass, milk, thorn-apple seeds, and cooked rice can be offered as bali by the all-knowing vidyā holder to brahmarākṣasas and guhyakas. This bali is said to control beings of the vighna class, who will remain pleased for as long as the vidyā holder lives. There can be no doubt about this. Consequently, the learned vidyā holder will easily accomplish anything.
“To his birth nakṣatras and birth deities the vidyā holder should offer a ‘personal’1841 bali that consists of curds, milk, and rice pudding mixed with molasses, ghee, and sugar. This will ensure his long life, prosperity, and peace, and it will prevent evil. This bali is said to bring happiness to vidyā holders. Whoever offers a personal bali at the three junctions of the day will swiftly accomplish the vidyā mantra; there is no doubt. They will never again be troubled by vighnas, [A.105.a] evildoers, or wicked beings, they will never again meet with obstacles, and no evil will arise for them.
“By consistently offering the bali,1842 the vidyā holder will obtain prosperity, strength, and energy and will be invincible in every way. If a learned vidyā holder recites the vidyā while performing the rite, he will never meet with obstacles or wicked beings such as yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, or piśācas. He will not suffer from disease, will not lack the marks of royalty, [F.203.a] and will not lose weight, have epileptic fits, catch diseases caused by nāgas,1843 be possessed by spirits, or experience fevers. He will never suffer from any of this. He will not be affected by poisons or venoms, and kākhordas will not assail him but instead flee as far as a hundred leagues in all directions. He will not suffer from weakness but instead will thrive, be happy, strong, and energetic, and experience vitality and growth. He will obtain every accomplishment, including the mastery of all mudrās, mantras, and rites. His lifespan will greatly increase, and he will be worshiped by gods and humans alike. The nakṣatras and his birth deities will envelop him with fragrance. They will all cause his strength and energy to grow for as long as he lives; there is no doubt. He will never have enemies, opponents, or adversaries.
“Even if he does not display the mudrā, as soon as he enters or merely sees this incomparable, great maṇḍala, his body will be personally blessed by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in ten Gaṅgā rivers. He will acquire a heap of merit as if in the presence of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in eighty-four Gaṅgā rivers. He will obtain a heap of merit equal to the great Mount Sumeru and will plant the roots of great virtue as if he were in the presence of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers.
“He will enter the secret samaya of all tathāgata families and attain the great accomplishment of mantra rites. Received into the bodhisattva assembly where all the tathāgata families are the same, he will attain the level of irreversibility. The thirty-three deities1844—Śakra, [F.203.b] the lord of the realm of Thirty-Three, and the other thirty-two gods who dwell in palaces—will all stand by to guard, protect, and defend the vidyā holder. Vajrapāṇi, the lord of vidyādharas, surrounded by a retinue of many tens of millions of vidyādharas, will remain bound to him and stand by in order to guard, protect, and defend him. The vidyā holder will obtain great strength, energy, valor, and vitality.
“By merely beholding the maṇḍala, all the vidyā holder’s evil and obscurations—accumulated over millions upon millions of eons and including the five acts of immediate retribution that lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell—will be exhausted and terminated. They will be pacified and cease. The vidyā holder will thus attain the ability to accomplish his tasks without fail. All his obscurations, afflictions, vices, impurities, envy, and hatred1845 will be eradicated. He will be loved by everyone and worshiped as a great master. All the tathāgatas will be willing to see him, Noble Avalokiteśvara will always grant him boons, and he will be an important and influential person. When he leaves his body behind and takes another birth, he will be born, as is his destiny, from a lotus flower in the realm of Sukhāvatī. He will be known and worshiped as a maṇḍala master and a preceptor who holds the samaya of all the tathāgatas. [A.105.b] He will be perceived as a miraculous manifestation similar to Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and as such he will be the master of the maṇḍala.
“After entering the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should create the protective boundary and perform the protection rite. He should secure himself, tie his hair into a topknot, and create the protective boundary.1846 Sitting in a cross-legged posture while facing eastward toward the maṇḍala, he should recite the Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa mantra one thousand and eight times. [F.204.a] He should then incant some bdellium one hundred and eight times and burn it as incense. Noble Avalokiteśvara will then appear in the center of the maṇḍala, on the anthers of the lotus, wearing the garb of Brahmā and holding a lotus and a noose.1847 He will look in the ten directions and say, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! You have mastered the Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa, the king of vidyās. Please accept, vidyā holder, whatever desirable boons you may have in mind; I will grant them to you. This birth, O vidyā holder, is your last birth from the womb. When you take your next birth, you will be born from a lotus flower, wherever it is, and will be able to remember your successive births. You will be able to recall all your lives. Everywhere, birth after birth, the entire maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa and his complete sovereign ritual will remain on the tip of your tongue. The pure Amoghapāśoṣṇīṣa1848 will remain on the tip of your tongue.’
“At that point, the vidyā holder should offer bowls with argha water for the feet, burn incense of agarwood, and offer flowers and whatever else he may have to the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara. He should then dismiss the deity, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will disappear. After performing this rite, the vidyā holder will rise into the air and attain the samādhi called the splendorous display that is as pure as the lotus of Amoghoṣṇīṣa. He will acquire a retinue of vidyādharas numbering sixty-four times one hundred thousand million billion, become an emperor in the lotus family, and have a lifespan of ninety-nine times one hundred thousand million billion eons.
“Now I will teach about the cloth painting used with the vidyā of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa. [F.204.b] It should be drawn with divine, exquisitely beautiful designs on a square piece of cloth, perhaps made of silk, and be painted in various, clearly differentiated colors. It should be symmetrical, with each side being two cubits long.1849 The vidyā holder should follow the prescribed procedure for painting and start on the full moon day of the bright fortnight. He should provide uncontaminated paints in new bowls and commission a painter who is thoroughly bathed and ritually pure.
“Noble Avalokiteśvara should be drawn in the center wearing the garb of Brahmā, surrounded by an open lotus and a halo of light, a blazing garland that extends for one fathom in all directions. He has four arms and three faces, and his hair is in a topknot adorned with a diadem and a new, crescent moon. His head is crowned with Amitābha, and he holds a trident and a lotus noose adorned with lotus leaves. In his left hand he holds a lotus with a lotus uṣṇīṣa1850 upon it. He should be drawn seated among the petals of a half-opened lotus, wearing a diadem the width of his neck,1851 and with his head shining with light. One of his hands displays the gesture of giving comfort as he sends down a rain of jewels. He shines with light, is adorned with every ornament, and is dressed in various garments. He sits on a lotus seat, surrounded by a nine-headed nāga. The nāga kings Nanda and Upananda should be drawn with folded hands and half of their bodies showing.1852 There should be fish and crocodiles, various [A.106.a] flowers and jewels, and a number of surrounding pavilions adorned with swans, ducks, and pheasants.
“Tārā should be drawn to the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara. She is adorned with all ornaments, bows down with folded hands, and has a body suffused with light. Pāṇḍaravāsinī should be drawn to his left, bowing with folded hands, wearing white garments, adorned with all ornaments, and with a body suffused with light. To the right1853 is Bhṛkuṭī, who should be drawn sitting with one leg drawn in and the other outstretched. Śvetā is below,1854 [F.205.a] wearing white clothes. The great rākṣasī Ekajaṭā should be drawn to the left.1855 She has eight arms, is wild in appearance, and laughs loudly. Dūtī1856 should be drawn with a frown on her face. All these goddesses sit with one leg drawn in and the other outstretched and are adorned with all ornaments and sitting on lotus seats.
“In the sky above the blessed Avalokiteśvara are the gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and Indra, who are worshiping the Blessed One with offerings. Around a lotus pond beneath the blessed Avalokiteśvara are Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra sitting with one leg drawn in and the other outstretched.1857 The Four Great Kings should be drawn with wild forms and also sitting with one leg drawn in and the other outstretched. They should all be depicted holding lotus flowers. The vidyā holder should be drawn at the feet of the noble lord Avalokiteśvara, kneeling on one knee by the lotus pond, looking up at the face of the Blessed One, and holding an incense holder, a vase with flowers, and a rosary. When painted on the cotton cloth, the entire maṇḍala should be enclosed within a lotus that fits on the cloth.
“When someone merely sees this maṇḍala, all his suffering, misfortunes, and unhappy destinies will cease; they will all be pacified so that he is freed from all saṃsāric destinies. All his evil actions will be annihilated, and he will be freed from all his evil and obscurations, including the five acts with immediate retribution. By merely beholding the maṇḍala, he will attain the amogha accomplishment. He will be followed and worshiped by all beings, will fulfill all their wishes, and will bring them well-being, prosperity, good fortune, enjoyment, family, influence, strength, eloquence, merit, and pleasures. He will attain greatness, qualities, distinction, [F.205.b] and steadfastness. He will accumulate abundant merit, and his roots of virtue and good fortune will grow. By merely beholding the maṇḍala, the viewer will be able to perform all the tasks that he needs to perform. In this way, by merely beholding the maṇḍala depicted in the cloth painting, he will attain distinction with all the excellent qualities that were specified.
“This concludes the instructions on the practice procedure of the painting.
“Now, among the various mudrās, I will teach the mudrā whereby the vidyā holder can become an amogha emperor with a royal wheel. This great mudrā has no equal and was devised by the Lord of the World1858 to benefit all beings. Among all amogha mudrās, it is the supreme accomplisher of all practices and remover of all evil. It brings unsurpassed mastery of the samaya. Even the Avīci hell will dry up when this mudrā is displayed. All the hells will dry up, and the beings there will all be freed. The tathāgatas of the three times will cause the hells to dry up on behalf of the vidyā holder who displays this mudrā. All the victors in the ten directions will keep him in their hearts; there is no doubt about this—the victorious ones of the three times and all bodhisattvas will watch over him.
“Padmapāṇi will always grant him boons, and all deities will desire to see and protect him. The gods of Tuṣita and Akaniṣṭha heavens and Śakra with the gods from the realm of Thirty-Three will protect him from every danger and guard him as if he were their own son, their own flesh and blood. [A.106.b] They will endow him with prosperity, peace, strength, energy, and vitality, and they will increase his lifespan. When this mudrā is displayed, all misfortunes dissipate, and all vighnas will perish. Māras, vināyakas, and wicked yakṣas will also perish,1859 as will wicked rākṣasas and other wicked beings.1860 [F.206.a] The very moment the mudrā is displayed, their heads will split into seven pieces and their eyeballs will burst. All these wicked beings will perish, including even the hosts of Śakra.
“To form the mudrā, the vidyā holder should clasp his hands in the añjali gesture so that it resembles a lotus, and then form it into a lotus-shaped uṣṇīṣa. In this mudrā of Amoghapāśa, the forefingers should be enclosed, the thumbs1861 and the middle fingers outstretched and folded to form the shape of a hook, and the ring and small fingers enclosed within the hands. The vidyā holder should form this mudrā at his heart and recite the root mantra of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa while displaying the mudrā.
“As soon as he forms the mudrā while mindfully reciting the mantra, the earth and all the buddha fields where the buddhas of the three times dwell will quake in six different ways. A rain of flowers, clothes,1862 adornments, and ornaments will fall everywhere, a divine rain that conveys offerings to the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times. A great deal of merit will be instantly obtained, one that is multiplied a thousandfold by merely displaying the mudrā. Displaying this mudrā is equal to displaying thousands of millions of billions of mudrās, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river.
“This mudrā conveys the blessing of all the tathāgatas, including the sage Vairocana. The vidyā holder will accumulate an amount of merit equal to that of individually offering all the tathāgatas of the three times and all the victorious ones a heap of the seven types of jewels as tall as Mount Sumeru. He will accumulate this amount of merit merely by displaying the mudrā. The tathāgatas will watch over him day and night; there is no doubt about this.
“If, when displaying this mudrā, the vidyā holder extends his right forefinger while mindfully repeating the root mantra once, [F.206.b] the mudrā is called the essence of the lotus-like pure gaze of Amoghapāśoṣṇīṣa. It can be employed in all activities and in all situations. As soon as the vidyā holder displays this mudrā, he will complete his accumulation of merit and attain the stainless accomplishment of the amogha gaze. He will obtain the seal of the pure essence of the gaze of all the tathāgatas. All his evil and the danger of falling into unhappy destinies will be pacified. By simply displaying this mudrā, he will immediately become as unshakable, immovable, and invincible as the great Mount Sumeru. He will be saved from all vighnas, māras, and so forth, as well as from all bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, opponents, and adversaries.
“He will thus plant the roots of great virtue and will accumulate the same amount of merit as if he were in the presence of hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers. The roots of virtue will sprout for him, and he will be able to see all the tathāgatas in their bodily forms, right in front of his face. When this secret mudrā, the supreme guide, is displayed, it will appear to the eye as if all the mudrās of the tathāgatas that exist are being formed and displayed. If this mudrā is displayed just once, then the mudrā of Noble Avalokiteśvara’s illusion-like samādhi, the mudrās of the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara, [A.107.a] the mudrās of the jewel and elephant family maṇḍalas, the mudrās of the great and important maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa, and the mudrās of Hayagrīva, Nīlakaṇṭha, and various other secret samaya1863 mudrās [F.207.a] will all be displayed and take effect. This mudrā is a so-called single umbrella for all the mudrās in the secret maṇḍala, as it constitutes a miraculous display of Noble Avalokiteśvara’s illusion-like samādhi. In this way, the mudrā produces the miraculous display of the illusion-like mudrā. It can be employed in every activity, and it will successfully accomplish whatever activity it is employed for.
“If the vidyā holder forms the same mudrā and then extends both his index fingers and bends them to form the shape of a hook, the mudrā thus formed can be used for remaining,1864 summoning, inviting, and inciting. It also produces clouds of offerings and can be used to establish the samaya, greet the deity, usher it into the maṇḍala, circumambulate it, offer it a seat, bind the directions, bind the maṇḍala, create a protective boundary, and tie one’s topknot. It effects one’s own protection, as well as the protection of others, including one’s assistants. The vidyā holder should take a bath, put on his clothes, and perform the auxiliary ablutions. He should offer homa, recite the mantra, and offer incense, flowers, fragrances, garlands, and scented oils. He should also offer a bali and then dismiss the deity.
“This mudrā can also be used to bring any target into one’s presence. It can establish the vidyā holder on the tenth bodhisattva level, and so it can be used in combination with the ten mantras.1865 It can be universally employed with the heart mantra, the auxiliary heart mantra, the consecration mantra of Krodharāja, and the family mantra.1866 It can be employed with these mantras in any way whatsoever. Such are the instructions regarding the practice procedure of this mudrā. [F.207.b]
[271] “Oṁ, Padmoṣṇīṣa, the amogha essence! Summon! Take control! Bring! Collect! O great lotus, svāhā!1869
“This is the mantra for summoning, inviting, and inciting.1870
[272] “Oṁ, the amogha maṇḍala of Padmoṣṇīṣa, hūṁ!1871
“This is the mantra for binding the maṇḍala, binding the directions, and creating the protective boundary. One should use perfumed water together with mustard seeds, both incanted with this mantra seven times.
“This is the mantra for tying the topknot. It should be recited seven times.
[274] “Oṁ, amogha water of Padmoṣṇīṣa, hūṁ!1873
“This mantra is for bathing; it should be recited seven times over the mustard seeds and water.
“This mantra is for performing ablutions.
“This mantra is for putting on clothes.
“This mantra is for purifying the body. One should use water that has been mixed with the five products of the cow and incanted with this mantra seven times.
[278] “Oṁ, Padmoṣṇīṣa! Please amogha-sprinkle me! You are intrinsically pure, hūṁ!1877
“This mantra is for consecrating. One should use perfumed water incanted with this mantra seven times.1878
“This is the armor mantra; it should be recited twenty-one times.
“This is the mantra of the earth.
“This is the mantra of the seat.
“This is the mantra of flowers.
“This is the mantra of incense.
“This is the mantra of perfume and scented oils.
“This mantra is for strewing parched rice and mustard seeds.1887
“This mantra is for offering argha water for the feet.
“This mantra is for offering food.
“This mantra is for offering bali.
“This mantra is for offering a bali of food.
“This mantra is for offering fruit.
“This mantra is for offering garlands.
“This mantra is for offering cooked food.
“This mantra is for offering lamps.
“This mantra is for causing the deity to enter.
[290] “Oṁ, Padmoṣṇīṣa, the amogha sage, hūṁ!1897
“This mantra is for greeting.
“This is the circumambulation mantra.
“This mantra is for casting a lotus.1900
“This is the samaya mantra.
“This is the mantra of the cross-legged posture.
“This is the mantra of the rosary beads.
“This is the mantra of mantra-recitation.
“This is the mantra of sleeping.
“This is the mantra of protection.
[299] “Oṁ, in your entirety you are firm and stable as Mount Sumeru, hūṁ!1907
“This is the mantra of the protective wall.
[300] “Oṁ, you blaze within and you blaze everywhere! Blaze, blaze, O great blazing lotus! Hūṁ!1908
“This is the mantra of fire.
“This is the mantra of burnt offering.1910
“This is the mantra of burnt offering.
“This is the mantra for traveling through space.
“This is the mantra of the arrow.
“This is the mantra of summoning.
[305] “Oṁ, homage to the lord of the three worlds! O Lokeśvara, the great lord! Hold, hold! You possess the secret panoptic gaze. Come, O Lord! Hero, hero, great hero! Your body is adorned with jewels, gold, diamonds, beryl, emeralds, coral, sapphires, and precious pearls. You have fine lotus arms, O holder of the unfailing noose! Your gaze is directed in all directions. You grant boons, O boon giver! Blaze, blaze with light, O lord with a panoptic vision! Come swiftly and enter the house! Remember your samaya, O wearer of many garbs! Yama, Varuṇa, and Kubera pay homage to you. Come swiftly, O Lord, come! Remember the samaya of the maṇḍala of all the vidyās! Show your own form, O holder of manifold splendor! Your body, infused with light, radiates light everywhere. You have great compassion, your countenance is gentle, and your face is round like the full moon. You wear the crescent of the new moon in your topknot, and Amitābha upon your diadem. O wearer of the great garb of Brahmā, the three-eyed granter of amogha boons! Suru suru! O most compassionate, pure being with the lotus noose and compassionate gaze! O boon giver, homage be to you!1915
“This mantra is for summoning Noble Avalokiteśvara.
“The vidyā holder should incant some mahiṣākṣa1916 with this vidyā one hundred and eight times and then burn it as an incense offering to Noble Avalokiteśvara. As soon as the smoke reaches Noble Avalokiteśvara,1917 he will instantly appear in person and grant every boon. He will definitely appear as soon as the incense is burned. If this is so even for someone who has committed the five acts of immediate retribution and is destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell, what need is there to mention a person with a pure heart and pure resolve, [A.108.a] or a monk who follows pure conduct. [F.209.a] Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him instantly in person so that his completely pure body is visible. He will bestow every boon and grant the great amogha accomplishment.
“If the vidyā holder burns the incense in front of an image of Rudra, Rudra will appear before him in a visible form and grant him success in all his desired tasks. If he burns the incense before an image of Nārāyaṇa, the image will start moving, and words will issue forth. Nārāyaṇa will fulfill the vidyā holder’s every wish and will always stand by him. He will grant him strength, swiftness, energy, valor, and success. If the vidyā holder burns the incense before an image of Mahākāla in a shrine of the mātṛs, Mahākāla and his retinue of mātṛs will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and attend upon him. They will perform any type of task for him and ensure great success in all circumstances.
“The vidyā holder will bind all vighnas and vināyakas if he burns the incense before Gaṇeśvara. If he burns the incense before Kāmeśvara, all wicked māras and other obstacle makers will be bound and vanish. If he burns the incense at the gate of a king’s household, the king, his harem, and his retinue will be compelled to come forward. They will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and perform any task he desires. If the vidyā holder burns the incense at sunrise while facing the sun, Sūrya will descend to earth and grant him every desired success. If he burns the incense while facing the full moon, Candra will descend to earth to grant him great influence and prosperity. If he burns the incense before Vaiśravaṇa, Vaiśravaṇa will greatly increase his wealth. The vidyā holder will obtain divine splendor if he burns the incense before the great goddess Śrī.
“If he burns the incense where there are grahas, they will be invoked as soon as the incense is burned and will flee in the ten directions. If he uses the incense to fumigate the bitten and not bitten,1918 they will be invoked instantly. If he censes a corpse in a charnel ground, the corpse will rise up as a vetāla. If he censes a skull, the skeleton will come alive, dance, and sing. [F.209.b] It will run errands and perform any activity. If the vidyā holder censes a vajra, it will emit light. If he censes a trident, it will come alive. If he censes a wheel, it will revolve while suspended in midair. If he censes a rope, it will coil up like a snake. If he censes a jar, a pitcher, or a pot, it will come alive and roll and move here and there of its own accord.
“If the vidyā holder censes a bowl, it will move of its own accord. If he censes a sword, it will come alive, blaze with light, and move by itself. If he censes a conch and blows it, all the places in which the sound is heard will be completely free from all quarrels, arguments, disputes, calamities, misfortunes, accidents, plagues, troubles, diseases, afflictions, evil, and vices. All obscurations will be exhausted. If he censes those suffering from any type of fever, their fevers will be pacified. If he censes those suffering from quartan fever while mindfully reciting the mantra and displaying the mudrā, the spirits that cause quartan fever will flee wailing.
“If the vidyā holder burns the incense next to a nāga lake, the nāgas will instantly release torrents of rain. If it rains too much, it will stop if he burns the incense at an elevated spot. If he burns the incense while facing a cloud, all cold spells, strong winds, and hail will stop, and a protective boundary will be created for one year. If he burns the incense at the top of a tall mountain, all enemy armies, opponents, and adversaries in the four directions, within the radius of one thousand leagues, will be crushed, paralyzed, and taken prisoner, and a great protective boundary will be created for one thousand leagues.
“If the vidyā holder censes himself, he will be venerated by all beings, who will all fall under his thrall. If he censes a girl, she will marry him. If he censes salable goods, he will be able to sell them at a good profit. [F.210.a] If he censes a granary, [A.108.b] the store of grain will greatly increase. If he censes a tavern, its store of drinks will greatly increase. If he censes clothes, he will obtain more clothes. If he censes fruits and flowers, the people to whom he gives them will fall under his thrall and place themselves and their wealth at his disposal. If he censes a garland and incants it with the mantra seven times, the person around whose head he ties it will become possessed and start describing wonderful events from the past and the future.
“If the vidyā holder burns the incense before Noble Vajradhara,1919 he will obtain a great vidya accomplishment. Noble Vajradhara will appear to him directly and grant him success in all his endeavors. If he burns the incense before an image of a yakṣiṇī while reciting the mantra seven times, the yakṣiṇī will arrive and satisfy his every desire. She will perform all types of activities for him and attend upon him for as long as he lives. If he burns the incense before an image of a yoginī, all the yoginīs and ḍākinīs will fall under his thrall and will attend upon him for as long as he lives. If he burns the incense before Kāmarūpī, she will arrive. He should then address her as ‘wife,’ and she will assist him in everything, provide him every pleasure, and protect him1920 for as long as he lives. She will frolic with him, providing the five types of sense pleasures, and embrace and have sex with him. He will rival Vaiśravaṇa with his wealth.
“If the vidyā holder censes a bell with the incense, its melodious sound will save him from every danger and provide great protection. If he sounds the bell inside a house, all the bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, apasmāras, and chāyās will be invoked and flee in the ten directions.
[306] “Oṁ, Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa! Move across, move! Depart, Lord, and go to your home! Hurry, hurry! O great one with lotus-like arms,1921 svāhā!1922
“This is the mantra for dismissing the deity. If used while burning bdellium incense and sprinkling water and mustard seeds incanted with this mantra seven times, it can be used as the universal mantra of dismissing. [F.210.b] This will effect the dismissing.
At that time, the great goddess Tārā approached the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and greeted the great bodhisattva being by touching his feet with her head. She honored him with great clouds of offerings and circumambulated him clockwise three times. With her head bowed down and hands cupped together, she addressed Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being: “Lord, a truly great vidyā, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa and the king of his vidyās, was taught in this world. It belongs in this great manual of rites with its chapters on secret maṇḍalas and mudrās. It was established in Jambudvīpa for the sake of all vidyā holders and for the benefit and happiness of all beings. It is fitting, Lord, that I now pronounce this heart essence, the king of vidyās, which is called Amoghatārā1924 with the pure noose of Padmoṣṇīṣa and belongs to the rite of the king of vidyās, the heart essence of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣa. As soon as this vidyā is mindfully repeated by the vidyā holder, I will be summoned and brought into his presence. I will then become his assistant, aid him in his vidyā practice, and grant him its supreme accomplishment. I will remain with him in order to fulfill all his wishes and hopes. Lord, I will now pronounce, in your presence, in the midst of this great assembly, this king of vidyās.”
The Blessed Śākyamuni1925 [A.109.a] replied to the goddess Tārā, “O great goddess Tārā! Please pronounce the king of vidyās, your own heart essence, which has been blessed by me with the blessing-seal [F.211.a] of a tathāgata!”
In response, the great goddess Tārā pronounced the heart vidyā called Amoghatārā with the pure noose of Padmoṣṇīṣa in the presence of the Blessed One:
“Homage to the tathāgatas of the three times, honored with the status of the king of Śākyas! Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate, great bodhisattva being! Homage to the great goddess Tārā!
[307] “Oṁ, savioress! Savioress Tārā! Tārā adorned with lotuses and wearing a garland that sparkles with jewels and gold! O lotus being with your hair in a topknot crowned by a diadem, dhuru dhuru! With the lotus noose in your hand, the unfailing noose, please rescue beings! O highly accomplished blessed lady! O boon giver, make haste, make haste! O great savioress! O boon giver, be successful, be successful! O accomplished one, the giver of amogha boons, svāhā!1926
[308] “Oṁ, Amoghapadminī Tārā, svāhā!1927
“This is the heart mantra.
“This is the auxiliary heart mantra.
“This mantra1929 of mine, the heart essence of the great jewel, the heart vidyā of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa, is transmitted, O Lord, as part of the Amoghapāśa ritual to fulfill the wishes of the vidyā holders and to bestow boons upon all beings. I will now teach, Lord, the practice procedure of this king of vidyās:
“Lord, the vidyā holder should blend some olibanum, bdellium, and fenugreek, incant it one hundred and eight times with the jewel mantra, and offer it to me as incense. I will be summoned, Lord, and brought into the vidyā holder’s presence, as soon as the incense is burned. I will, Lord, appear before him in person whenever he practices this vidyā, make all his wishes and hopes come true, and grant him every accomplishment. I will ward off all vighnas and vināyakas, keep all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas at bay, and pacify all quarrels, disputes, [F.211.b] and discord. I will fulfill all his wishes and hopes and grant him every boon. I will stand by him to ensure his well-being and comfort, and to guard, protect, and defend him.
“Lord, the vidyā holder should burn this king of incense as an offering to me when he goes to sleep and recite this heart essence of mine, the essence that comprises the three great jewels,1930 twenty-one times. As soon as the incense is burned and the vidyā mindfully repeated, I will, O Lord, appear before him in person, show him my pure body, and let him choose any boons. I will tell him about the past, present, and future. As soon as the vidyā holder mindfully repeats this heart essence of Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣapāśa, O Lord, I will appear before him and make all his wishes and desires come true. I will ward off all wicked and evil beings and all vighnas and vināyakas.
“I will help the vidyā holder attain great accomplishments. I will produce all kinds of auspicious sounds and grant him the accomplishment of every vidyā. I will grant him the accomplishment of all rites with their respective sets of maṇḍalas and mudrās. I will grant him the ability to attract every virtue and prevent all circumstances that could result in untimely death. I will completely purify all his evil and obscurations and will always follow and stand by him. I will, at all times, keep all vighnas and vināyakas away from him, and I will remove every disease. [A.109.b]
“Lord, when the time of death arrives and the vidyā holder’s consciousness reaches its final moment, I will appear before him and stay with him. He will retain his memory, intellect,1931 and awareness throughout that time, [F.212.a] and he will cast off his body like a snake casts off its skin. He will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, as is his destiny, where he will be born spontaneously from a lotus flower and be adorned with all ornaments. He will be able to remember his successive births, will be taken care of and blessed by all the tathāgatas, and will develop a vajra body. He will successively visit all buddha fields and will be established on the ten bodhisattva levels. He will attain the level of not turning back and will obtain a prophecy from all the tathāgatas about his final awakening.
“The vidyā holder will plant the roots of every virtue and will be able to see every tathāgata face-to-face. He will accumulate every kind of merit and will purify all his evil, obscurations, and vices. He will come to know the secret samaya of the great maṇḍala that possesses the auspiciousness of all the tathāgatas. This will continue until his attainment of the seat of awakening at the end of his journey.”1932
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni applauded the goddess Tārā, saying, “Good! It is good, O great goddess! The king of vidyās that you have now taught is supremely beautiful. You should take care to make the rite fulfill its purpose, to protect and guard its practitioners, and to grant them its accomplishment.”
Vajrapāṇi, the great general of the yakṣa army, as well as the Four Great Kings, the gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, the lord of gods Śakra, the overlord of gaṇas Mahākāla, and many other deities of the vidyā maṇḍala including Maṇibhadra, Pūrṇabhadra, Pāñcika, Naḍakūbara, Bala, Mahābala, the great goddesses Hārītī, Śaṅkhinī, [F.212.b] Bhīmā, Sarasvatī, Anaupamyā, Śrī, Ekajaṭā, and Puṣpadantī, all rose from their seats, draped their robe over their shoulder, knelt on their right knee, bowed down with folded hands in the direction of the Blessed One, and spoke to him as follows.
“O Lord, when the final period arrives, I will also be loyal to all the vidyā holders who recite this vidyā, whether they are a son or a daughter of good family, a monk or a nun, a male or a female lay practitioner, or any other man, woman, boy, or girl who accomplishes this heart essence of Amoghapāśoṣṇīṣa, reads it aloud, memorizes it, merely learns its name, or upholds it. I will always be loyal to them, protect them, and guard them. I will fill them with vitality, grant them great success, and fulfill all their wishes and hopes. I will stop them from committing any evil actions and cleanse them of all their evil and obscurations. I will be loyal to them until they attain their final goal, the seat of awakening.”
The Blessed One replied, “Good! It is good, friends! This is how you should act. I entrust this king of vidyās to you.”
This concludes the section on the great, vajra-like, secret heart essence of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa. It can be accomplished by merely reading it. [A.110.a] The secret heart instructions, the great maṇḍala of liberation, the supremely secret, extensive ritual instructions, presented here in full, have now been completed.
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, prostrated himself at the feet of the Blessed One, looked up at his face with unblinking eyes, [F.213.a] and said, “There is, Lord, in this great lotus maṇḍala of mine, an instruction on the secret reality that is the very essence of the lotus family. It constitutes a secret maṇḍala of liberation and the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. I will now teach, in your presence, Lord, the king of vidyās that is the essence of Krodharāja. I will teach, one at a time, the essence1933 and auxiliary mantras, the primary maṇḍalas, the mudrās, and the cloth painting. I will teach them out of kindness for all beings and to help vidyā holders accomplish the nature of reality. I will transmit the vast lotus samaya for the secret maṇḍala that is home to all the vidyās and involves various Amoghapāśa practices. Therefore, Lord, please do not object this.
“This rite is empowered with the secret samaya of the families of all tathāgatas, such as the tathāgata, the lotus, the jewel, and the vajra families. It successfully establishes the samaya with all these families equally. The families enter the collection of the maṇḍalas,1934 the cloth painting, and the mudrās of the king of vidyās, bestowing the blessing of all the families equally. Following entry into the maṇḍala of all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas who dwell in the buddha fields, the samaya is truly established.”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha, replied to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Most compassionate one, if you think that the time is right, please teach this great maṇḍala of liberation [F.213.b] that involves the samaya of Amoghapāśa. The rite is a collection of great maṇḍalas and mudrās, a miraculous manifestation of the samaya of all bodhisattvas that all former tathāgatas1935 have blessed, joyfully approved of, and sealed with the great seal.1936 In order to benefit beings, it was blessed by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers. With its collection of maṇḍalas and mudrās, it is blessed with the great samaya that brings the supreme realization of reality.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, then smiled as he entered the samādhi called the amogha view of the magical display of the secret maṇḍala of liberation of all the tathāgatas, by means of which he illuminated the world spheres in the great trichiliocosm and all the buddha fields with rays of light. He illuminated all the abodes of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. He illuminated the abodes of the inhabitants of the subterranean paradises and the abodes of the deities in the intermediate region who travel through space. A great quake was then felt in world spheres throughout the great trichiliocosm. The power of this earthquake incited all the beings there, who immediately hastened together to Potala Mountain and took their seats among the great assembly there.
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, seeing the great assembly gathered together, stood before the Blessed One. He had the form and attire of Amoghapāśa, [F.214.a] which was compatible with the secret samaya that binds all tathāgata families equally. His topknot was adorned with a diadem that supported the victorious Amitābha, [A.110.b] and his hallowed body had eighteen arms, one of which held the hallmark noose. One pair of his hands was joined in the añjali gesture, one of his left hands was placed on his waist, and the rest of his hands held a trident, a water pot, a rosary, and a lotus, displayed a lotus mudrā, held a wish-fulfilling jewel, a banner, a vase with flowers, and a citron, displayed a gesture of encouragement, discharged a rain of jewels, and displayed the head mudrā,1937 the samaya mudrā, the mudrā of the great lotus, the samaya mudrā of the vajra family, the mudrā of the tathāgata family, and the mudrā of the jewel family.1938
Of peaceful form, he had three eyes, wore a sacred thread, sat on a lotus seat, and emitted light of various colors from his body. He was surrounded by a retinue that consisted of the seven Tārās, the ten Pāramitās, Śakra, Brahmā, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, the divine sons Īśvara, Maheśvara, Brahmā,1939 Nārāyaṇa, and Maheśvara,1940 and the nāgas Sāgara, Nanda, and Upananda. He stood before the blessed Śākyamuni unblinking and smiling as he bestrewed the Blessed One with a variety of flowers including śālabha,1941 sal tree blossom, champak,1942 adhimuktaka,1943 śāukāvarta,1944 prasthalitāvarta,1945 fragrant jasmine, indigo, mahānīla,1946 burflower-tree blossoms, roca,1947 [F.214.b] supattrikā,1948 trumpet tree blossoms, vipula,1949 prabhāsa,1950 vimala,1951 teja,1952 gandha,1953 priya,1954 prahlāda,1955 flame-of-the-forest1956 blossoms, keśara,1957 māraṇḍuka,1958 sitoja,1959 vimala, vipula,1960 tejovatī,1961 supratiṣṭhita,1962 devapriya,1963 sumanas, yūthika,1964 pink lotuses, white water lilies, white lotuses, blue lotuses, red lotuses, and taraṇa1965 flowers. He worshiped the Blessed One with offerings of flowers made of base metals, gold, silver, and various wonderful jewels.
Facing the Blessed One, Noble Avalokiteśvara then recited the secret maṇḍala of liberation, the king of amogha vidyās:
“Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas established throughout the three times! Homage to their corresponding secret family samayas!1966 Homage to the king of all vidyās, to the amogha maṇḍala of liberation, and to the family mudrās!1967 Homage to all the pratyekabuddhas, and to the congregations of noble śrāvakas of the past, present, and future! Homage to those auspiciously gone and those auspiciously arisen!1968 Homage to Śāradvatīputra, the great master of generosity!1969 Homage to the sublime hosts of the most distinguished great bodhisattvas headed by Noble Maitreya! Homage to the noble Tathāgata Amitābha, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha! Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate, great bodhisattva being! Homage to these great sages,1970 the most distinguished among the hosts of the noble ones! Homage to them!
“Having thus paid homage, I will now recite the Amogharāja, the heart essence of the maṇḍala of liberation, that originated from the mouth of Noble Avalokiteśvara. [F.215.a] I will pronounce it here it in front of the Tathāgata, in the midst of this great assembly. May those who guard the treasure trove of morality accomplish the entire maṇḍala of vidyās.1971 May they succeed in all their endeavors! May my protection deliver them from every danger! The mantra is:
[310] “Oṁ, cara cara, ciri ciri, curu curu, O most compassionate one! Ciri ciri,1972 piri piri, ciri ciri, O most compassionate one! Siri siri, ciri ciri, piri piri, ciri ciri, O great being with a lotus in your hand! Kala kala, kili kili, kulu kulu, O great pure being! Come, come! Awaken, awaken! Run, run! Kala kala, kili kili, kulu kulu, O supremely pure being! Kara kara, kiri kiri! Act, act, you who attained great fortitude! Move, move! Move together and move separately! Move forward, move forward! Bhara bhara, bhiri bhiri, bhuru bhuru! Come, come, O most compassionate one! O wearer of the great garb of Paśupati, wear, wear! Move, move! [A.111.a] Act, act! Seize, seize! Hā hā, hā hā, hī hī, hī hī, hūṁ hūṁ, hūṁ hūṁ! O wearer of the garb of Oṁkāra Brahmā, dhara dhara, dhiri dhiri, dhuru dhuru! Cross, cross! Move, move! Para para! Act, act! Vara vara!1973 To you, whose body is beautifully adorned with hundreds of thousands of lovely light rays, blaze, blaze! Heat up, heat up, O Lord! Your feet are worshiped by Soma, Āditya, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Brahmā, Indra, and the hosts of divine sages. Muka muka, cuka cuka, puru puru, muru muru! You wear a great variety of guises, such as those of Sanatkumāra, Rudra, Vāsava, Viṣṇu, Dhanada, and Vināyaka, the leader of celestial sages. Dhara dhara, dhiri dhiri, dhuru dhuru! Thara thara, ghara ghara, yara yara, lara lara! Seize, seize! Mara mara, para para! Act, act! Vara vara, O boon giver! O lokeśvara with panoptic vision, the great lord of gazes, muku muku, muru muru, muya muya, rescue, rescue, O Lord!1974 O Noble Avalokiteśvara! Protect, protect me and all beings1975 who guard their treasure trove of morality! Protect them from all dangers, misfortunes, calamities, grahas, [F.215.b] and disease! You rescue beings from killing, imprisonment, beatings, threats, king’s villains,1976 robbers, fire, water, poison, and weapons. Kaṇa kaṇa, kiṇi kiṇi, kuṇu kuṇu, act, act! You teach about the sense faculties, the strengths, the limbs of awakening, and the four truths of the noble ones. Tama tama! Tame, tame! Sama sama, masa masa!1977 O great being who dispels the darkness of ignorance and fulfills the six perfections, mili mili, ṭaṭa ṭaṭa, ṭhaṭha ṭhaṭha, ṭiṭi ṭiṭi, ṭuṭu ṭuṭu, ṭhiṭhi ṭhiṭhi, ṭhuṭhu ṭhuṭhu! You who wear a tunic of black antelope skin, come, come! You crush the hosts of great bhūtas, including Īśvara and Maheśvara. Act, act! Para para, kaṭa kaṭa, maṭa maṭa! You inhabit the pure domain, O most compassionate one! You wear a white sacred thread and a crown adorned with a row of jewels. O omniscient one with a diadem upon your head! The palms of your exquisite hands are like lotuses. O diamond being, unshakable in your liberating meditative concentration and samādhi! You mature the mindstream of beings, you purify all their karmic obscurations, you release them from all disease, and you fulfill all their wishes. O comforter of all beings, homage be to you, svāhā!1978
[311] “Oṁ, O wearer of the garb of Brahmā, dhara dhara, dhiri dhiri, dhuru dhuru! You radiate amogha light all around, hūṁ!1979
[312] “Aḥ!
“With this one syllable, the vidyā holder enters the great lotus maṇḍala and the secret samaya bond with the all-inclusive tathāgata family.1980 By reciting it, he will realize the sameness of all the families.”
As soon as Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, recited this single-syllable heart mantra—the secret maṇḍala of liberation shared by all the tathāgatas of all the families—the entire trichiliocosm with its world spheres shook in six different ways, and a rain of divine flowers and jewels fell everywhere. Hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, [F.216.a] as numerous as the grains of sand in ten million Gaṅgā rivers, remained suspended in space throughout the ten directions1981 using their magical power. Across the sky they spread a veil of amogha clouds that was composed of the seven types of jewels, divine flowers made of the seven types of jewels, and various divine carpets1982 and items of clothing. They rained down these items as an act of worship, an offering to the Blessed One and to Noble Avalokiteśvara in his form of Amogharāja.
These blessed buddhas uttered the following words of approval: “Good! It is good, O great, pure being! You have shown yourself to be a manifestation of the supreme buddha as, with this one syllable, [A.111.b] you have pervaded the entire maṇḍala of liberation, that vast reserve1983 of secret mudrās, maṇḍalas, and vidyās of the families of all tathāgatas, just like the single sun that rises in all the world spheres in the great trichiliocosm. By communing only with you, a buddha, beings can commune with all the blessed buddhas appearing in the past, present, and future, as numerous as the atoms in the world spheres of the great trichiliocosm. They can be reached with this one-syllable heart mantra, this singular convergence1984 of the multitude of mudrās and maṇḍalas.
“Using the noose of this amogha mantra—this maṇḍala of liberation that is a miraculous amogha creation and a secret ornament of the tathāgatas—all the blessed buddhas can be summoned and established in a single samaya form1985 and consecrated in that form as Amoghapāśa. The mantra formula of this one-syllable heart dhāraṇī is accomplished by being recited. They are blessed by all the tathāgatas.”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni [F.216.b] applauded Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Good! It is good, O most compassionate one! This supremely auspicious mantra brings the realization of truth and carries the samaya for successfully realizing the sameness of all tathāgata families. This heart essence of Amoghapāśa brings accomplishment when recited. Please teach this one-syllable heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, the receptacle of qualities, and the corresponding practice procedure—the supreme practice procedure, with its mudrās, maṇḍalas, and cloth painting, that can be swiftly accomplishment through recitation.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, said to the Blessed One, “Please give your blessing, Lord, as I will now teach the required procedure. In the great lotus maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa, in the maṇḍala of liberation of the lotus family that constitutes the heart essence of the great samaya of the secret nature, it is recitation that brings the accomplishment that applies to all families. Lord, once the recitation is accomplished, as soon as the mantra has been mindfully repeated, I will arrive in front of the vidyā holder, fulfill all his wishes and hopes, and grant him every boon. I will grant him the accomplishment of all vidyās.”
The Blessed Śākyamuni replied, “Good! It is good, Avalokiteśvara! In this way you will deliver all beings from saṃsāra and bring supreme accomplishment to vidyā holders. You should therefore give us this teaching, this secret heart essence of Amoghapāśa that has been blessed by the Tathāgata as his secret samaya. This one syllable provides access to all the families equally. Please teach the practice procedures!”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, [F.217.a] his heart filled with joy after hearing these words of encouragement from the Blessed One, taught the practice procedures. He taught the complete set of procedures whereby the vidyā holder comes face-to-face with the Blessed Lord,1986 burns all his wrongdoing, and completely exhausts the karma of falling into hell.
“The1987 vidyā holder should demarcate a square maṇḍala, draw a circular lotus inside it with the individual parts painted in different colors, and draw the Lokeśvara1988 among the filaments of the lotus. He should then adorn the circumference of the maṇḍala with full jars and banners, strew it with colorful flowers, and smear it with divine fragrances. He should arrange a circle of lamps, offer argha water for the feet, and burn incense of agarwood, bdellium, frankincense, and olibanum in four vessels.1989
“He should then bathe thoroughly, put on clean clothes, and observe a ritual fast. His practice should commence on the eighth, fourteenth, or fifteenth day of the bright fortnight, at which time he should sit facing east and recite, at the three junctions of the day, the mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times and the heart mantra one hundred and eight times. After that, he should recite the one-syllable mantra one hundred thousand times without interruption throughout the night.1990 [A.112.a] At the break of dawn, the Lokeśvara, seated among the lotus filaments, will blaze with light, and the earth will quake. With this quaking, the gates of the sixteen hells will fall open, and the dwellings there will sway violently.1991 As soon as they begin to sway, the pain of the hell beings will cease, and the hell realms themselves will be destroyed. The inhabitants of hell will be released and will disperse in the ten directions. Completely free from all the sufferings of hell, these beings will follow the road to heaven.
“They will likewise be saved from the suffering of animal birth and from the condition of being an animal. All the terrible sufferings they experience due to their personal obscurations and evil will diminish and be completely exhausted. [F.217.b] They will be saved from all the sufferings of the cycle of existence. When all their evil is completely exhausted, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to them in a golden body and grant them every boon. They will obtain the samādhi called the ocean-like display of the stainless amogha knowledge. With their obscurations gone, they will become pure beings adorned with pure thoughts.
“Hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers, will appear to the vidyā holder face-to-face. All these tathāgatas will extend their right arm and place their hand on his head. He will thus obtain a great heap of merit and plant roots of great virtue. He alone will be worshiped by all people. Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Candra, Sūrya, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara will directly appear to him in their own forms to attend upon him and will stand by him in order to guard, protect, and defend him in every way. They will successfully perform whatever tasks he needs performed.
“If the evil of the vidyā holder has not been completely eradicated, he will not be able to perceive the golden body of Noble Avalokiteśvara. This will serve as an indication that a residue of obscurations and evil still remains. In such an event, he should perform the recitation procedure for a second time while observing the fast. This will remove all his evil and obscurations, together with their roots, so that they disappear. If the vidyā holder performs the recitation procedure for a third time while observing the fast, Noble Avalokiteśvara will extend his right arm and instantly transfer the vidyā holder to the realm of Sukhāvatī, as soon as the procedure is complete. He will place him directly in front of Amitābha, where he will remain. [F.218.a] The Tathāgata Amitāyus will comfort him by placing his hand on his head, and his lifespan will become infinite.
“If any other being1992—be they a son or a daughter of good family, a monk or a brahmin, a woman, man, boy, or girl, or even an animal—wants their evil and obscurations to disappear, such a vidyā holder should bathe thoroughly, wear clean clothes, and observe a ritual fast. They should position themself facing the maṇḍala and mindfully repeat the mantra according to procedure. They should brush with a peacock feather,1993 and in doing so they will attain special qualities. All their evil and obscurations will be purified, and their diseases, impurities, and acts of immediate retribution will become exhausted; there is no doubt about this. They will thus obtain the state without any obscurations.
“Their speech will become pleasant, and all deities will look upon them with kindness and protect them. All the tathāgatas will speak to them, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to them willingly. They will live long and be free from any obscurations and diseases. [A.112.b] When they depart from this world, they will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī, be able to remember their successive lives, plant the roots of virtue, and complete their accumulation of merit. They will develop a one-pointed focus on great compassion and loving kindness. This recitation should be performed in combination with the ritual fast.
“This concludes the instructions on the great maṇḍala whereby evil and obscurations are exhausted. [B17]
“The vidyā holder should demarcate a maṇḍala according to the right measure. It should be four sided and well proportioned, with a total area the size of a boat, and have sections clearly marked with perfumed paints. The vidyā holder should draw around it a row of lotuses [F.218.b] that have filaments nestled within them. In the center, he should draw a lotus surrounded by a diamond thread, and upon its anthers, Noble Avalokiteśvara in the guise of Brahmā.1994 He should offer flowers and incense to him every day and burn incense of agarwood. Thoroughly bathed, ritually pure, and wearing clean clothes, he should recite the Amogharāja1995 while displaying the mudrā. He should recite the one-syllable heart mantra three times, seven times, or twenty-one times at the three junctions of the day. He should avoid the ten impure foods and crooked beings.
“If the vidyā holder performs the practice correctly in every respect, all his worldly tasks will be successfully accomplished. If he mindfully repeats the Amogharāja, he will be free from the eight great terrible fears, and all his diseases will disappear, as will every danger, fear, and terror of poison, venom, kākhordas, or grahas. Mindfully repeating the mantra once while rubbing the afflicted area will dispel all his fevers and diseases,1996 as well as all boils, ulcers, festering abscesses, skin eruptions, lesions, pustules, leprosy, scabs, headache, eye pain, earache, sinusitis, diseases of the mouth, pain in the palate, diseases of the neck and throat, asthma attacks,1997 heart diseases, stomachache, toothache, pain of the lips, pain in the hands, pain in the flanks, bladder pain, gall bladder pain,1998 constipation, pain in the feet, backache, pain in any major or minor limb, dysentery, hemorrhoids, diabetes, uncontrollable purging, and decrepitude. They will be swiftly pacified and instantly removed. All supramundane tasks will be accomplished as well.1999
“Every day the vidyā holder will plant the roots of virtue and accumulate great merit, [F.219.a] as if he were in the presence of ninety-nine hundred thousand million billion tathāgatas. His speech will be credible, and he will become the sole teacher of the entire world. He will be worthy of, and receive, many offerings and acquire great wealth. Without any effort on his part, he will obtain great power and influence and receive offerings from the king and his harem.
“He will behold Noble Avalokiteśvara every single day and be able to see, at all times, the bodies of the tathāgatas and buddha fields with their adornments. On the eighth and the fifteenth lunar days, he will behold Noble Avalokiteśvara seated in his palatial mansion on Potala Mountain, expounding the Dharma in the midst of a great assembly. He will also see Amitābha residing in his palace in the realm of Sukhāvatī. He will continue to see them right until he attains the seat of awakening.
“When the vidyā holder leaves this world, he will go, as is his destiny, to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower and adorned with all ornaments. He will obtain the samādhi called the light of Amoghapāśa that conveys miraculous blessing and removes all obscurations. Once he obtains this samādhi, he will be able to visit hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of buddha fields, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, salute all the tathāgatas there, and return to his original location in a snap of his fingers. He will obtain this powerful samādhi [A.113.a] and hundreds of thousands of millions of other samādhis. This unique recitation procedure will bring the accomplishment of activities.
“This concludes the instructions on the great maṇḍala of recitation.
“Now I will teach the bathing maṇḍala that learned ones use for bathing. By means of this divine maṇḍala, all impurities are removed, and all evil is destroyed. [F.219.b] This maṇḍala brings every accomplishment and causes the vidyā holder’s realization, merit, and splendor to grow. It is effective for removing all diseases and eradicating evil and vice. It heals wounds, injuries, and broken bones and destroys poisons and kākhordas. It also removes chronic diseases, ailments, and fevers. This method of bathing, praised by the Lokeśvara, is an effective and unfailing means of accomplishing the vidyā.
“There are those who are affected by vighnas or by terrible chāyās and grahas, who are in terrible danger from the invasions of foreign armies, who are involved in quarrels or disputes, who have been defeated by enemies, who are hated, who have gone to battle or engage in war, whose lives are marred by the influences of their birth horoscope, who have no intelligence, who have become impotent, who have no testicles, who are eunuchs, who have lost their sense faculties, to whom no son has been born, whose sons are not alive, who are sentenced to die and have gone into hiding, who are arrested or imprisoned, who find themselves in the midst of thieves or bandits, in the midst of yakṣas or rākṣasas, or in the midst of wild animals or wicked āśīviṣa snakes, who have consumed terrible poison, who are lost in the wilderness and cannot find their way home, who are in fear of hail or rats, who secretly commit evil acts, who committed the acts of immediate retribution, who revile the noble ones, and who oppose the true Dharma. When they perform the rite of the bathing maṇḍala, their arrogance will completely disappear,2000 and all their terrible accumulations from the past will quickly dissipate, coming to an end as fast as burning grass.
“The vidyā holder who performs the maṇḍala bath will always be regarded [F.220.a] as a teacher of the world who deserves worship. Always joyful, he will live a long and happy life and be free from disease and fevers for as long as he lives. His death2001 will be easy, and he will be able to remember seven previous births. The deities will protect him continually, and he will continuously blaze with great splendor. He will always be able to see buddhas and will receive boons from the Lokeśvara, who will always want to see him. He will continually see them face-to-face, will definitely accomplish the vidyā and the maṇḍala deities, and will master the supreme maṇḍala.
“He should demarcate a four-sided maṇḍala that has the same surface area as a boat. The sections of the supreme maṇḍala should be painted with various vivid colors so that they stand apart. He should also draw various flowers and fruits. He should carefully measure out the doors on the four sides of the maṇḍala, drawing them with great precision. At the center of the maṇḍala he should draw a wheel with a lotus as its hub and a blazing rim. In each of the four corners, he should draw a blazing noose supported by a lotus. If he desires the vidyā, he should bathe and arrange a bali of ‘white’ foods and burn agarwood incense as an offering. He should adorn the maṇḍala well, as the maṇḍala rites require, and perform other required tasks.
“For the bali offering, the vidyā holder should procure food of various flavors and offer various types of incense. He should fill a pitcher with water and add power substances and powders to it, in addition to the seven types of jewels. He should tie a strip of Chinese silk to the pitcher and recite both the Amoghapāśa and the heart mantra fifty-two times.2002 He should also recite the one-syllable mantra one hundred and eight times.2003 He should then add finely ground sandalwood, śamī,2004 śirīṣa,2005 indrahasta,2006 saffron, mustard seeds, and lotus filaments to the pitcher and use it [F.220.b] for ablutions. [A.113.b] He should also procure śatāvarī2007 and bilva2008 fruit and flowers and use them to rub his body. He should always do the rubbing first and take ablutions later.
“He should then employ the Amogharāja mantra to perform the protection rite. After that, he should spread some darbha grass, sit on it in a cross-legged posture, and perform the ablutions with the water from the pitcher while displaying the lotus mudrā. He should then put on clean clothes, tie his hair into a topknot, and recite the mantra while circumambulating the maṇḍala clockwise, bowing at each of the four doors. He should enter through the eastern door and sit inside the maṇḍala in a cross-legged position.
“He should next recite the Amogharāja seven times, rub and consecrate himself while holding the vajra and rosary, and use the mustard water while displaying the consecration mudrā.2009 He should then worship the Three Jewels. This supreme bathing method was taught by the Lokeśvara for the benefit and welfare of all beings, vidyā holders in particular. It is blessed by all the buddhas and worshiped by all the gods. This method unfailingly brings good fortune and unfailingly accomplishes the activities. It brings unfailing success in everything that it is employed for. The vidyā holder will attain every success; there is no doubt about this.
“If he has not yet attained the supreme accomplishment of the mantra, he will obtain it now without fail and will instantly see its results. His body will become stainlessly pure so that he could be described as ‘well bathed.’ All his wrongdoings will be eradicated, all his afflictions will cease, and he will be freed from all diseases. In short, he will be successful in everything and will acquire great splendor. If he desires vidyā, he will obtain vidyā. This is a true amogha accomplishment. If he desires a son, he will obtain a son. If he desires wealth, he will obtain wealth. He will swiftly obtain power and influence. [F.221.a] If he desires splendor, he will obtain splendor. He will instantly obtain the fulfillment of his every wish.
“This concludes the procedure of the bathing maṇḍala.
“Now I will teach the practice procedure of the jewel2010 and the corresponding maṇḍala procedure. I will teach the wonderful practice of the wish-fulfilling jewel and the subsequent amogha accomplishment of the jewel. This procedure accomplishes all tasks and rescues from all misfortunes, suffering, and fear. Those sentenced to die will be released, weapons will break, and fetters will split—there is no doubt about this. All the vidyā holder’s evil will be purified, so that even the five acts of immediate retribution will definitely be exhausted.
“Wherever the vidyā holder goes he will remain inviolable. He will be victorious in battles and wars, and when in the midst of thieves and bandits he will break free and escape to safety. Lions and other wild animals, such as elephants, bears, tigers,2011 leopards,2012 dogs, wild boars, and jackals, will all instantly flee from the place where the king of jewels is kept. Poisons, including those of every snake, such as the āśīviṣa and gonāsa snakes, as well as vatsanābha poison,2013 bee venom, mustaka poison,2014 the daranda poison,2015 terrible poisons that are made artificially, halāhala poison,2016 scorpion’s venom, śaya poison,2017 and other such poisons, and also including poisons that are absorbed through the eyes, terrible poisons that are inhaled, dreaded poisons that are absorbed through the skin, poison transmitted by the bite of Takṣaka, and various other poisons that present a great danger to life, will all be instantly neutralized when the victim sees the maṇḍala and touches the jewel.
“If one is poisoned by drinking water from the Gaṅgā river, the poison will be instantly digested, just as a snake is digested by a garuḍa, or a pannaga is consumed by fire.2018 [F.221.b] One will not be carried away by water, will not be in danger from hail or rats,2019 and will never incur the anger of a king, of adversaries, or of opponents. This method is also the best for those who are engaged in disputes or have become the object of hatred. Garas, kākhordas, the spirits of magical powders, and the like will all perish the very moment the maṇḍala is seen or the jewel is touched. Similarly, all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, pretas, skandas, apasmāras, guhyakas, vighnas, and vināyakas [A.114.a] will flee; there is no doubt about this.
“By merely seeing the maṇḍala and the jewel, everything untoward will be pacified. Anything that the vidyā holder might think of or might wish for in his heart will swiftly come true. The same will happen if he wears the jewel. His lifespan will magically increase, and he will obtain the supreme accomplishment of the mantra, good fortune, plenty of merit, purity, and the eradication of evil. His nightmares will promptly stop, and his dreams will become auspicious. He will be able to see the buddhas or bodhisattvas at any time and will always be able to summon deities and obtain every good fortune. He will continually shine with the splendor of the full moon, his speech will always be pleasant, and he will be generally loved and worshiped.
“Furthermore, the vidyā holder should employ a power substance. He should procure equal amounts of well-sorted ingredients and blend them together, starting with the most important: jayā,2020 vijayā,2021 the ichneumon plant, gandhanākulī,2022 abhayapāṇi,2023 indrapāṇi,2024 gandha,2025 mahaleb cherry,2026 tagara,2027 cakra, mahācakra,2028 viṣṇukrāntā,2029 somraj,2030 sunandā,2031 paramakeśara,2032 Malabar sandalwood, nalada,2033 saffron, [F.222.a] yellow orpiment,2034 blue lotus, nāgapuṣpa,2035 champak flowers,2036 paḍā,2037 benzoin, gandhamāṃsī,2038 sāmaka,2039 and humaka.2040 They should be ground into a fine powder, mixed with water that has been infused with the root of khas grass2041 and sandalwood, and placed2042 in a copper bowl.
“The vidyā holder should then place the bowl in the maṇḍala and recite both the heart essence of Amoghapāśa and the heart mantra one hundred and eight times. The one-syllable mantra should then be recited one hundred thousand times.2043 The copper bowl will blaze with light. If the vidyā holder ties the jewel2044 onto his head or arm and wears it, he will obtain unequaled good fortune, unequaled influence, and the status of an overlord. He will also obtain a wife and a son. If he is an ordinary citizen, his wealth will increase. If he is a king, he will crush his enemies. He will obtain supreme protection that is difficult to obtain.
“Lightning will not strike, there will be no danger of hail and rats, and no earthquakes will affect the place where the jewel is kept. The place where this king of jewels is kept should be regarded as a reliquary. The vidyā holder will always be protected by the devas from the realm of Thirty-Three, by the Four Great Kings, and by the powerful Vajrapāṇi. They will always, at all times, follow him in order to protect him; there is no doubt about this.
“Now I will give the maṇḍala instructions. It should have four sides, four corners, and a surface area the size of a boat. It should have a smooth finish and be well designed, beautiful, and perfect, with various flowers and vines drawn all over it as adornment. Its door should be pointing toward the east.2045 In the center, the vidyā holder should draw a lotus with a surrounding ring of vajras. He should draw the Lokeśvara2046 in the center of the lotus, upon the filaments, and place the bowl with the power substance at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara. He should strew the maṇḍala with flowers, adorn it, offer perfumed argha water, and burn sandalwood incense. Day and night, [F.222.b] he should wear clean clothes, maintain pure thoughts, and cultivate love and compassion with all his heart. This is the practice of the precious power substance.
“This concludes the instructions on the maṇḍala of the jewel.
“Now I will teach the maṇḍala procedure of the realgar ointment for the eyes. This maṇḍala should have four sides and an area the size of a boat. It should be perfumed with various fragrances and be brightly colored. The wise and learned vidyā holder should draw a vidyādhara in each of the four corners. In the very center of the maṇḍala he should draw a half-open lotus with a pair of hands among its filaments, each holding a lotus. The door to the maṇḍala should point toward the east.2047 The vidyā holder should then put some realgar into a silver bowl and place the bowl upon the lotus in the maṇḍala. The surface of the bowl should be entirely covered with red silk of good quality, or it can be covered with lotus leaves, leaves of the bodhi tree, [A.114.b] or leaves of the rose-apple tree.
“The vidyā holder should offer incense of agarwood to Noble Avalokiteśvara in his form of Amoghapāśa, placing it near the petals of the lotus. He should likewise offer flowers and fragrances. He should adhere to the eightfold path of the noble ones and either subsist on the three ‘white’ foods or observe the ritual fast for one day and one night. Starting on the fifteenth, the day of the full moon, the fourteenth, or the eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight, he should purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. He should recite both the heart essence of Amoghapāśa and the heart mantra one hundred and eight times. He should then recite the one-syllable mantra ten thousand times.2048
“The vidyā holder should adorn the maṇḍala with flowers, cense it with incense, perfume it, and arrange a row of lamps inside it.2049 He should incant mustard seeds twenty-one times with the mantra and cast them upon the maṇḍala. As soon as they are cast, the body of Noble Avalokiteśvara will emit light rays of various colors, [F.223.a] and the bowl with the realgar will blaze with light. As soon as it blazes, the vidyā holder should anoint his eyes with it. He will rise into the air and obtain the samādhi called the vast effulgent display of amogha wisdom that is like a wish-fulfilling jewel.2050 He will become an emperor of the vidyādharas with the name Panoptic Noose-Gaze Like an Amogha Wheel and will have a retinue of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of other vidyādhara emperors, as numerous as the grains of sand in the ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers.
“He will become a powerful lord and king of the realm in every respect and be able to visit all buddha fields. His lifespan will increase to an infinite eon, and the victorious Amitābha will be his crest jewel. He will obtain the magical power called pure amogha vision, whereby he will be able, in the time it takes to snap a finger, to visit hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of buddha fields, as numerous as grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers. All the tathāgatas there will grant him amogha accomplishments and bestow upon him vast offerings, after which he will return instantly to his original location. His body will blaze with a hundred thousand light rays, and he will be able to do anything he wants. [F.223.b]
“If he anoints his eyes with realgar that emits smoke instead,2051 he will become invisible and become a wheel-holding vidyādhara monarch of all vidyādharas with the power to become invisible. The doors to the residences of all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will remain open for him, and he will be able to enter them at will. All those residing there will remain his devoted servants, eager to carry out his orders. All beings will become his followers. Kings, together with their harems and retinues, will worship him as their sole teacher, take orders from him, and serve him both themselves and with their wealth.
“If he anoints his eyes with realgar that foams, he will gain direct knowledge of all the rites, their mudrās and maṇḍalas,2052 and the secret samayas of all the tathāgata families. All teachings of the tathāgatas—past, present, and future—will remain prominent in his memory. All devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas will be bound to him and follow him continually in order to guard, protect, and defend him. All the buddhas and bodhisattvas will appear before his eyes, he will obtain the samādhi called possessing amogha splendor, and he will remain suspended four fingers above the ground.
“If he anoints his eyes with realgar that was first incanted with the mantra, anyone upon whom he casts his eyes will fall and remain under his thrall. All kings and their harems, ministers, senior priests, and entire armies with their four divisions, as well as women, men, boys, girls, monks, [A.115.a] brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras, will fall under his thrall and remain so. Even animals and birds will fall under his thrall when he looks upon them, and they will remain so.
“All diseases, ailments, evil, and obscurations will be eradicated for the person whose eyes have been anointed with this ointment. All his physical and mental afflictions, all his bad dreams and bad omens, and anything inauspicious will disappear. When he moves on to his next birth, he will obtain the completely pure five types of vision and the ability to remember his successive births. His fears and obscurations will disappear, and he will obtain a mode of physical purity called firmly fixed amogha gaze. [F.224.a] He will obtain a samaya connection with all the tathāgatas in the secret amogha maṇḍala and will obtain a bodhisattva consecration called the banner of the compassionate gaze that combines the gazes of all tathāgatas. He will always have a close relationship with all the bodhisattvas and will obtain from all tathāgatas a prophecy about his future awakening.
“This concludes the instructions on the maṇḍala procedure of the ointment.
“Now I will teach all vidyā holders the procedure called veil of incense,2053 a marvelous, supreme method for worshiping all buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is effective for convening the three worlds and in summoning all deities including Indra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, as well as for threatening terrible yakṣas, rākṣasas, piśācas, and grahas, all of whom will flee when they smell the incense. There is no doubt about this. Vighnas, vināyakas, and wicked māras will also be assailed by the smell of the incense and will lose their limbs. The same will happen to hostile armies, whether one’s own or foreign, and to adversaries and opponents. All instances of mutual hatred, quarrels, disputes, fighting, and wars will certainly be pacified by the scent of the incense, regardless of whether those involved are men, women, boys, girls, ascetics, brahmins, male or female lay practitioners, monks, nuns, kings, queen dowagers, queens, or the women of the royal harem.
“The vidyā holder should be thoroughly bathed, put on clean clothes, and burn the incense.2054 [F.224.b] Anyone whom the scent reaches and who smells it will be freed from all negativity as soon the scent contacts their body. All their obscurations will be completely purified; there is no doubt about this. Even the five inexpiable acts will be instantly purified. As soon as the incense is burned, the world spheres of the great trichiliocosm will be filled with the scent, including the gods’ realm of Thirty-Three and the Brahmaloka.
“The great trichiliocosm will quake violently and with great force. All the devas and their palaces will shake, as will the nāgas who control rainfall. Mount Sumeru and other mountains will tumble, the inhabitants of the hidden worlds will shake, and the sixteen terrible hells will be perturbed. All those who live on earth will attain tranquility, while all hell beings will attain stillness, be released from their terrible suffering, and transmigrate to Sukhāvatī. As they reach heaven, all sixteen hells will cease to exist, morphing instead into lotus lakes.
“All beings who dwell in various other individual hells and subterranean realms, who dwell in forests, impenetrable mountain thickets, jungles, and steep mountains, and who undergo the sufferings of hell will be liberated by the scent of the incense. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas who live on impure food, who live on feces, excrement, and urine, who live on phlegm and snot, and who feed on garbage will be liberated as soon as they smell the incense. They will instantly [A.115.b] be transported to the realms of gods, where they will obtain the best, exquisite-tasting food of various kinds and tastes. [F.225.a]
“All creatures of the animal realm, such as deer and birds, will be freed from their diseases as soon as they smell the incense. As soon as they smell the smoke of the incense, they will all be freed from disease, including all types of fever. They will be freed from all their ailments, including boils, blisters, festering abscesses, erysipelas, cutaneous eruptions, leprosy, scabs, eye diseases, diseases of the head, hemiplegia, diseases of the ear or nose, dental problems, diseases of the mouth, asthma attacks,2055 fear, and anxiety, as well as from all accidents, misfortunes, fatigue, and pain. They will obtain peace as soon as they smell the incense. By the power of the Amogharāja mantra, the heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara, all their suffering and pain and all their karmic obscurations will disappear. Once liberated, they will proceed to the city of fearlessness.
“Now I will proclaim the names of the ingredients and the amounts required: three palas of sandalwood, three palas of agarwood, five palas of olibanum, ten palas of saffron, two palas of fenugreek, two palas of nalanda,2056 twenty palas of mahiṣākṣa,2057 ten palas of sarjarasa,2058 three palas of myrrh, eight palas of sallakī,2059 two palas of tagara,2060 one pala of gandhamāṃsī,2061 one pala of śāmaka,2062 one pala of gandhapattra,2063 one pala of lotus filaments, one pala of śirīṣa2064 blossoms, ten palas of white sugar, one pala of mahaleb cherry,2065 five palas of the root of khas grass,2066 one pala of nakha,2067 one pala of vyāghranakha,2068 three palas of cardamom, and five palas of vālaka,2069 saffron, musk, and vedana.2070 All these ingredients should be carefully weighed according to the right measure, [F.225.b] ground together into a homogenous mass, and blended with madhura.2071
“The vidyā holder should use this supreme incense on the day of the full moon, when the nakṣatras and the patron deities of the lunar day are auspicious. He must be ritually pure and thoroughly washed, wear clean clothes, and keep his religious vows. The practice procedure for this king of incense is as follows. He should demarcate, according to the right measure, a symmetrical, four-sided maṇḍala. Its surface should be the size of a boat and be wiped clean, smooth and soft, and painted in different colors. It should be adorned with four doors symmetrically arranged.
“Inside the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should draw rows of lotuses, inside of which2072 are rows of half-opened lotuses. He should then draw a pair of hands that support a mass of clouds.2073 On top of them he should place the bowl containing the incense and cover it with cloth the color of fire. He should draw Vāyu, the king of wind, in the four corners of the maṇḍala, and at each of the four doors he should draw a noose. He should also draw hands, displaying mudrās and holding incense, that emerge in all directions from the row of lotuses, drawn to seem like they are rising above the maṇḍala.
“The vidyā holder should offer whatever bali articles and flowers are available, arrange bowls with argha water and other full jars, and adorn the maṇḍala with banners. He should surround the maṇḍala with a red thread to create a boundary, set out silver and gold, arrange rows of lamps all around it, and skillfully apply various fragrances. Next to the row of lotuses,2074 he should place an image of Noble Avalokiteśvara facing east. He should then incant the king of incense one hundred and eight times each with the Amogharāja and the heart mantras for seven days at the three junctions of the day. He should then recite the one-syllable mantra of the amogha heart-essence2075 a full one hundred thousand times. This will complete the recitation procedure.
“Next, the vidyā holder should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara [F.226.a] and recite the Amogharāja an additional twenty-one times, followed by the Krodharāja twenty-one times. He should then offer the incense, first to the blessed Buddha and then to the image2076 of Noble Avalokiteśvara. [A.116.a] This constitutes the practice procedure of the incense. When this procedure is successfully performed, the king of incense will accomplish the given task.
“If the vidyā holder wants to worship all the tathāgatas, if he wants to fill the world spheres of the entire great trichiliocosm with the scent of the incense, if he wants to cover the entire area with masses of clouds of the incense smoke, or if he wants to send a rain of various scents, he should apply himself to the task of continually burning this king of incense, even if it is just an amount as small as one mustard seed. Every single day he should prepare a small maṇḍala in front of the blessed Buddha and Noble Avalokiteśvara and strew it with flowers. He should put out argha water for the feet and burn the king of incense. Pronouncing the Amogharāja just once, he should offer the incense while pointing the incense holder in each of the ten directions and bringing all the tathāgatas to mind. He should generate love for all beings and direct his pure thoughts to all those who inhabit buddha fields. He should offer flowers, incense, and argha water for the feet.2077 He should mentally recite the one-syllable mantra just once while displaying the mudrā, and then bow in homage.
“As soon as the offering is made, the scent will rouse hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of buddhas, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers, who will come forth from each of the ten directions [F.226.b] and will remain in the sky, floating on the great clouds of incense smoke. A rain of various scents will fall as an offering to the Blessed One, and hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of blessed buddhas in each and every buddha field, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers, will be worshiped simultaneously.
“Because of this act of worship, all these tathāgatas will mindfully repeat the Amogharāja and display the mudrā of protection for the sake of the vidyā holder, in order to protect him. They will utter words of applause, and in doing so they will sparkle with loving kindness. They will grant the vidyā holder a great amogha accomplishment. In the presence of each and every one of them, he will accumulate a great amount of merit and plant hundreds of thousands of millions2078 of roots of virtue that will produce heaps of merit.
“As the vidyā holder offers various specified articles to the Tathāgata, all these various offerings will appear before each and every tathāgata. If the vidyā holder performs this guru pūjā for the tathāgatas over a period of seven days, they will grant him a direct vision of themselves in any of the ten directions. They will all comfort and encourage him, grant him boons, and bestow amogha accomplishments upon him.2079 The vidyā holder will become established on the level of a not turning back. He will attain the ten bodhisattva levels and the five superknowledges. These are the worldly2080 benefits of the practice procedure of the incense.
“When it is time for the vidyā holder to leave his current birth and move on to the next, he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower in the presence of the tathāgatas, at the feet of a tathāgata, and will be able to remember his successive births. All the tathāgatas in the buddha field in which he arrives [F.227.a] will prophesy his becoming a tathāgata, and he will not be reborn in any other place. Having attended upon every tathāgata, he will, in the same body, ascend to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will become a blessed buddha who turns the wheel of Dharma. His lifespan will be infinite, [A.116.b] and just like a tathāgata with an infinite lifespan, he will obtain the special powers to work miracles and perform magical transformations. This practice of the incense is thus particularly beneficial for the afterlife.
“This practice procedure for the incense will similarly accomplish hundreds of thousands of worldly aims. The vidyā holder will fully accomplish whatever he has in mind while burning the incense. If he burns the incense close to a dwelling of nāgas, the nāga kings will send torrents of rain. If he burns the incense at the entrance to the royal household, the king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under and remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall. If he burns the incense in the midst of a great crowd, the people of all four castes will fall under and remain in his thrall. If he fumigates his body with the incense, he will become an object of great veneration. If he burns the incense to target any disease, he will be freed from that disease. If he burns the incense to target poison, the poison will be neutralized. If he burns the incense within the borders of a certain area, all the flowers in that area will be well protected and the fruits will taste good. If he fumigates crops, he will reap an abundant harvest.
If the vidyā holder burns the incense at home, in a monastery, in a village, or in a town, it will be free of poisons, and no living creatures will ever be affected by venom or poison. If he burns the incense in the middle of a battle,2081 he will obtain a resounding victory. If he censes himself and his fellow travelers before traveling on the road, they will become invisible to any danger, including thieves, rogues, bandits, and [F.227.b] wild animals, and will return home in safety and comfort. The vidyā holder will be able to travel one thousand leagues and back without getting tired.
“If the vidyā holder burns the incense at an elevated place and blows a conch, all beings who hear the sound, however many there are, will be freed from all disease, fear, ailments, fighting, quarrels, disputes, and disagreements. All their adversaries and opponents with wicked and nasty intentions will disappear. All the calamities, misfortunes, and accidents, and all their struggles, will disappear. Instead, they will enjoy comfort and prosperity. They will desire everything that is virtuous and will be free from all ailments, disease, fever, and fatigue for as long as they live.
“If the vidyā holder burns the incense in a sheltered place at an elevated spot, offering it into each of the four directions, all cold spells, strong winds, and hailstorms will be arrested. The vidyā holder will create a protective boundary for any area he focuses on. If he burns the incense inside a house, all the women, men, boys, and girls, all the male and female servants, and all the bipeds and quadrupeds who live there will give rise to thoughts of loving kindness. They will remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall and serve him for as long as he lives. They will never stray from the thoughts of loving kindness.
“If the incense is burned at the time of death, the dying person will be reminded of the Buddha when he smells the scent, and he will obtain a direct vision of ninety-nine million tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers. They will never again proceed downward into unhappy destinies; provided with the root of every virtue, they will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī or Abhirati when they leave this world. [F.228.a] One should not feel uncertain about, question, or entertain doubts about this.
“If the vidyā holder burns the incense in a shrine dedicated to the group2082 of mātṛs headed by Mahākāla, Mahākāla will, together with his retinue of mātṛs, fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and arrive in front of him. If he burns the incense above the head of the Mahākāla image, all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas will vomit blood as soon as the incense is burned. If the vidyā holder catches some of it and makes a bindi on his forehead, he will float in midair. [A.117.a] If he anoints his eyes with the blood, he will become invisible and will promptly become the lord of powerful bhūtas. If he rubs the blood onto his navel, he will become a lord of yakṣas and rākṣasas. If he smears the blood on his entire body, he will obtain great strength, energy, and valor. His intense energy will match that of Mahākāla himself, and he will assume Mahākāla’s form and acquire a large retinue.
“If he censes an image of Brahmā, milk will immediately flow. If he catches some of it and smears it onto his body, he will become as strong and powerful2083 as Brahmā and will be able to travel through space.
“If he censes an image of Viṣṇu, perfumed water the color of the flame-of-the-forest2084 blossoms will immediately flow from Viṣṇu’s body. If he smears some onto his body, he will obtain the form, strength, and swiftness of Nārāyaṇa. With a discus in his hand, he will rise into the air.
“If he censes the figure of Maheśvara, Maheśvara’s body will produce sweat. If he smears some onto his body, he will obtain the form of Maheśvara and become a powerful lord of bhūtas with a trident in his hand, and he will be full of energy, strength, and valor. He will be able to travel through space.
“In each of these rites,2085 the vidyā holder should recite the Amogharāja2086 three times into the ear of the deity’s image, and the one-syllable heart mantra2087 [F.228.b] seven times at the deity’s head.2088
“The vidyā holder should fashion out of beeswax a figure of the nāga Navaśīrṣaka four fingers tall and cover it in gold. He should prepare a perfumed maṇḍala, place the figure there, incant it with the Amogharāja one hundred and eight times, and cense it with the same incense. The nāga figure will then come alive. The vidyā holder must not be afraid but should incant mustard seeds with the Krodharāja mantra and throw them at the crown of the nāga’s head. Water will flow up,2089 and the vidyā holder can use it however he wants. The great ocean and the palatial abodes of the nāgas will come into view. All those who drink this water or bathe in it—women, men, boys, girls, and so forth, including animals—will be cured of their diseases. Their evil and obscurations will be eradicated, and they will be freed from all fear. The nāgas will send abundant rain at the right time, flowers, fruits, and crops will ripen at the right time, and they will be juicy, succulent, and tasty. The vidyā holder will never again meet with any misfortune. The doors within secret openings and terrestrial passages will open to him, and their locks, panels, and posts will split apart.2090
“If the vidyā holder burns the incense when going to battle, he will become invincible. If he fumigates the palm of his hand with the incense, he will enthrall any being he subsequently touches.
“Now I will teach the procedure for the maṇḍala of an amogha medicinal remedy that is unmatched in every respect. It is ideal for curing all diseases, neutralizing all poisons, and removing all ailments. It is very effective in suppressing all wicked beings, removes all dangers that arise due to bhūtas, and removes the threat of weapons, fire, flooding, and poisoning. It guards, [F.229.a] defends, and protects against enemies at all times, ensures victory over them, and wards them off. It always brings kings, dowager queens, and the ladies of the harem under the vidyā holder’s thrall—it is the supreme means of enthrallment.
“This remedy renders the vidyā holder inviolable in every way and will always destroy the enemy army in the event of a battle or armed conflict. If the vidyā holder or his fellow travelers find themselves in the midst of thieves or bandits, or in the midst of lions or tigers, this remedy will ensure complete victory over them. The vidyā holder will live a long life, will always receive boons from Padmapāṇi, and will always be protected by deities. Yakṣas, rākṣasas, nāgas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and all terrible nonhuman beings will stand by, night and day, in order to protect him; there is no doubt about this. [A.117.b]
“The Four Great Kings—the noble Vaiśravaṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūḍhaka, and Virūpākṣa—together with their armies and conveyances, as well as all deities including Indra, the thirty-three gods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, will protect the vidyā holder continually. The buddhas will always watch over him, and they will appear to him again and again. One who holds this remedy in his hand will swiftly accomplish the vidyā. He will not encounter any kākhordas or garas, will not be susceptible to vice, and will not fall victim to the terrible magic of poisonous powders. His previously accumulated obscurations will swiftly disappear, and all his evil will be purified.
“Wherever this remedy is kept, bad dreams, inauspicious omens, and all the other defilements will cease, and a protective boundary with a radius of one league will be created. [F.229.b] All vighnas, vināyakas, and evil māras will disappear; they will all flee, as will the grahas. Wherever this remedy is kept, all ḍākinīs, yoginīs, skandas, grahas, apasmāras, and terrible chāyās will be pacified. The deities will remain in this amulet, the supreme remedy. All the victorious ones will provide comfort to the beings there and grant true accomplishments. The Lokeśvara will always bestow boons upon them and appear to them at all times. They will swiftly obtain the accomplishment of Amoghapāśa.
“The vidyā holder who carries this remedy will not be harmed by anyone, nor will the opportunity to harm him arise in the presence of this remedy amulet. This supreme remedy, this wish-fulfilling jewel, is known by the name amogha boon-giver. The vidyā holder should wear this remedy with great care; if managed well it will bring supreme accomplishment and accomplish every activity. It can even revive someone who has died. If the vidyā holder practices the relevant mantras and mudrās for a full year, he will live one thousand happy and joyful years. He will obtain influence and wealth, and his provisions of grain will greatly increase. He will delight kings,2092 who will remain his servants and be eager to do things for him. He will receive much worship, and his words will always be pleasant to hear.
“Now I will give instruction on the ingredients. By learning this, the vidyā holder will attain supreme accomplishment. He should combine equal amounts of sandalwood, tagara,2093 costus,2094 fenugreek, vālaka,2095 cinnamon, benzoin, gandhamāṃsī,2096 śāmaka,2097 cardamom, nalada,2098 bhadramusta,2099 pink lotus, blue lotus, beautyberry,2100 asafetida leaves, the three spices,2101 and śirīṣa2102 flowers. He should carefully weigh equal amounts of them and then combine and blend them together thoroughly. The vidyā holder then should incant them with the mantra one hundred and eight times and consecrate them with the Krodharāja mantra. [F.230.a] He should further recite the one-syllable mantra ten thousand times.
“The vidyā holder should form the remedy into pills the size of a rosary bead and dry them in the shade. Next, he should ‘awaken’2103 the remedy by sealing them carefully within musk and camphor.2104 He should then place the remedy in the maṇḍala,2105 employing the mudrā and the mantras as required by the maṇḍala procedure, and then accept the samaya. He should first bow at the eastern door, and then circumambulate the supreme maṇḍala clockwise, bowing at each of its doors. He should enter through the eastern door, and once inside the maṇḍala, he should position himself opposite Noble Avalokiteśvara, who sits upon the lotus filaments. He should next recite both the Amogharāja and Krodharāja mantras one hundred and eight times, followed by the eightfold2106 consecration, while employing the mudrā and the mantra. He should make offerings to the Lord of the World;2107 while doing so he will definitely observe the signs of success: Avalokiteśvara will move and radiate light.2108
“Now I will describe the maṇḍala. It should have four sides and a surface area equal to that of a boat. It should be symmetrical, with four corners, four doors, and four flights of steps. The vidyā holder should measure everything out carefully with a cord and brighten up the interior of the maṇḍala with various colors.2109 In the center of the maṇḍala he should draw a fully opened lotus with one hundred and eight petals, a pericarp, and filaments all in the right proportions. [A.118.a] He should draw another half-opened lotus that grows out of the pericarp of the first lotus, with a pair of hands emerging from it holding a lotus petal. He should place the remedy, contained in a silver dish, on the petal and cover it with Chinese silk.
“The vidyā holder should next place Noble Avalokiteśvara above the lotus;2110 he is wearing the garb of Brahmā, has a turban tied on, and is adorned as always. In the outer zone of the maṇḍala, the skillful vidyā holder should draw the mudrā symbols.2111 At each door he should draw the unfailing noose mounted on a lotus and blazing with light and colors. He should draw a full jar in each of the four corners and adorn the periphery of the maṇḍala [F.230.b] with ribbons, full jars, and an abundance of fruits and flowers. He should arrange various bali articles and bowls with argha water for the feet, and he should offer incense of various scents such as sandalwood and agarwood. He should light rows of lamps and arrange them around the maṇḍala, place garlands everywhere, and strew the maṇḍala with parched rice and mustard seeds.
“He should then purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. He should start on the day of the full moon, the best day of the bright fortnight, performing the main practice of the supreme remedy2112 while feeling pity for all beings and with his heart overflowing with love and compassion.
“Any living beings who take hold of or touch this remedy will obtain happiness the very instant they touch it. All their evil and previously accumulated obscurations will be eradicated. Even perpetrators of the five acts of immediate retribution will be liberated. This remedy instantly removes all diseases and purifies all unhappy destinies. It is perfectly endowed with the great power of merit, and it can reveal the nature of reality. It was prophesied by all buddhas, was blessed by all tathāgatas, and is praised by all bodhisattvas. It is a magical manifestation of the lokeśvara Guide.
“All maṇḍala deities praise this remedy, all vidyādhara lords worship it, all deities stand guard over it, and all lordly nāgas pursue it. The thirty-three gods,2113 as well as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Sūrya, and Candra, make offerings to it. Nakṣatras, asterisms, planets, planetary nodes, and zodiacal signs—those that are universally auspicious—worship it. This remedy is present in every rite, in every maṇḍala and mudrā, and in every recitation of a mantra. [F.231.a] It belongs to all tathāgata families.
“This supreme remedy has been consecrated by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, as numerous as grains of sand in sixty-two Gaṅgā rivers, and was prophesied by all the tathāgatas of the three times. This remedy is the same as a wish-fulfilling jewel; there is no medicinal substance that is superior to it or more auspicious. A constant supreme granter of boons, this remedy is equal to the Lokeśvara himself.
“The vidyā holder who wants to wear this remedy, or employ it anywhere for any purpose, should use it after bathing and while maintaining ritual purity. Whatever wishes and hopes he may have will be auspiciously fulfilled. He will achieve all kinds of prosperity2114 as soon as he employs this remedy, and all his wishes and desires will be fulfilled.
“The vidyā holder should maintain ritual purity, bathe in perfumed water, and wear clean clothes. He should incant the remedy with the Amogharāja, one pill at a time,2115 and then ingest it. As soon as the remedy is absorbed by his body, all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas, including the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, will think of him with care, and he will obtain purity of vision. If he performs the procedure for three days he will obtain purity of speech. If he performs the procedure for five days he will obtain the powers of recall and intelligence. If he performs the procedure for seven days his performance of the great vidyā rites will become pure. If he performs the procedure for fourteen days [A.118.b] he will obtain the great samaya of accomplishing of the true nature of Amoghapāśa. If he performs the procedure for twenty-one days2116 he will accomplish the samaya of all the tathāgata families and the great samaya of the mudrā and the maṇḍala. He will thus accomplish the secret samaya of the nature of all the tathāgatas. If he performs the procedure for one month, [F.231.b] he will accomplish the illusion-like adornment of Noble Avalokiteśvara, and his lifespan will increase to one thousand years. If he performs the procedure for three months he will accomplish the purification of the body.2117 If he performs the procedure for a full year he will obtain amogha accomplishments and become an emperor of vidyādharas.2118 His eyes will turn deep blue—the color of the black bee—and his hair will become wavy and curly. His body will become like that of a seven-year-old, and his lifespan will increase to one hundred thousand eons.
“If he rubs and smears his own body with the remedy, all vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, pretas, skandas, apasmāras, chāyās, grahas, and kilbiṣas2119 will flee as far as one thousand leagues as soon as they smell its scent. If they do not flee quickly, their heads will burst into one hundred thousand pieces and their limbs will wither one by one. They will perish along with their sons and daughters and will not rise again.2120 The vidyā holder’s previously accumulated obscurations and wrongdoings that would otherwise result in the sufferings of hell, including the five acts of immediate retribution, will be eradicated. All his bad dreams and omens, bad luck, and inauspicious phenomena will cease.
“As soon as they smell the remedy, all kings, royal ministers, brahmins, householders, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras will become the vidyā holder’s servants; they will be eager to carry his orders and will remain in his thrall. All boils, blisters, festering abscesses, fistulas, erysipelas, scabs, skin eruptions, leprosy, spots, psoriasis, exanthema, wounds, and blunt force injuries will disappear as soon as they are smeared with the remedy. All poisons and venoms2121 that are either ingested or administered by magic, as well as all garas, magical powders, and kākhordas, will be destroyed as soon as the body is smeared with the remedy or if it is taken with warm water. Even the nāga king Takṣaka will be deprived of his venom as soon as he smells the remedy. [F.232.a]
“In the event of quartan fever, the forehead of the patient should be smeared with the remedy, which will send the spirits of fever fleeing and wailing. All fevers, whether they recur every day, every other day, or every third day, as well as diseases due to wind, bile or phlegm disorders or the combination thereof, asthma attacks,2122 diseases of the grahaṇī2123 and the spleen, abdominal pain, enlargement of the spleen,2124 chest pain,2125 pain in the flanks, sore throat, diseases of the mouth, sinus ache, diarrhea,2126 pain in the organs of evacuation, and pain in the body or individual limbs, will go away as soon as the patient drinks the remedy with warm water. Hemiplegia, headache, and pain in the eyes or the ears will go away when the affected part is smeared with the remedy.
“If the remedy is applied to the forehead as a bindi, it will ward off the great dangers of thieves, bandits, fire, flood, hail, and rats.2127 The wearer of the bindi will be free from every danger and completely safe from all crime. No one will raise a hand to harm him, and no nonhuman being will be able to steal his life force or create obstacles. All the ḍākinīs, as soon as they see the bindi, will fall under and remain in his thrall. He will be greatly revered by the king and his harem and retinue. Depending on the way he chooses employs the remedy, he will be able to accomplish hundreds of thousands of millions of things. This supreme remedy will be mastered by those who apply themselves to it with dedication.
“This concludes the procedure of the maṇḍala of the remedy.
“Now I will teach the maṇḍala of the golden pill that constitutes the amogha essence of the Lokeśvara.2128 It is gazed upon by all the tathāgatas, and it has been blessed by the tathāgata named Padmoṣṇīṣarāja, [A.119.a] as well as by the Tathāgata Vairocana [F.232.b] and the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha. It was taught by the Tathāgata Lokeśvaraprabha and by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of other tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers, who also taught it, extolled it, blessed it, consecrated it, rejoiced in it, and prophesied it.
“This pill is the crest jewel of the noble protector Avalokiteśvara. It is the uṣṇīṣa bindi-mark that crowns the head of the victorious Amitābha. It is a banner mounted with a wish-fulfilling jewel. It is the great king of jewels that brings supreme accomplishment. It represents the secret maṇḍala, mudrā, and rites of all the vidyās, and it bestows the samaya bond equally with all the tathāgata families. The mere sight of this heart essence in physical form, seeing a single demonstration of its immensity, is the same as coming face-to-face with the tathāgatas of the three times in their millions, equaling in number the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. It is the means by which the vidyā holder can worship all these tathāgatas directly, be accepted by them, and receive their prophecy about his future attainment of final emancipation. By this direct communion with the tathāgatas, he will accumulate abundant merit and virtue.
“Anyone who sees or holds this precious pill, which is said to be of golden color, will accumulate great merit and plant roots of virtue. By merely looking at this precious pill, all evil, obscurations, and vice, including the five acts of immediate retribution that lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell, the offenses of rejecting the true Dharma and slandering the noble ones, and the obscurations accumulated in previous births, will be eradicated and come to an end. All diseases and fevers will go away, and they will receive a prophecy of their future awakening.
“Any being in who places this remedy in their hand will attain the level of not turning back and will receive a prophecy about their future awakening. [F.233.a] They will be established by the Protector2129 on the ten bodhisattva levels. If they rely on the pill, this great being will always be like a caitya that contains relics, their nature being that of a buddha. They will become the only son of each tathāgata established throughout the three times, a buddha-hero who dwells in the buddha fields.2130 They will be the firstborn son of all the tathāgatas, born directly from their own flesh as a magical creation of the sphere of phenomena. The Lokeśvara will always bestow boons upon them and remain bound to them as a protector, always placing his right hand on their head. There is no doubt about this.
“Upon merely seeing the pill, the vidyā holder will be freed from all his suffering; all his evil will be eradicated, and all his obscurations will be purified. He will never again fall into the lower realms but will obtain the supremely auspicious state. If he is reborn in Sukhāvatī, he will always see Lord Amitābha, the guide of the world, face-to-face. If he is reborn in Abhirati, where the Tathāgata Akṣobhya resides, he will be as unshakable, unwavering, and steadfast as the great Mount Sumeru. Just like the ocean, he will be impossible to grasp.
“Those who reside where this pill, this king of jewels, is kept will never be troubled by vighnas or vināyakas but instead will become worthy of offerings. The Four Great Kings, with their troops2131 and conveyances, will always be present to protect him day and night, and the full host of devas will protect him. There is no doubt. His splendor and fortune will increase, and his happiness in this world will continue. He will always have good dreams and experience various auspicious phenomena. He will see Potala Mountain with its palaces, groves, residences, and precious objects, and he will see devas, nāgas, yakṣas, [F.233.b] gandharvas, asuras, guhyakas, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas surrounded by their retinues.
“He will also see all around him assemblies of bodhisattvas with their retinues, [A.119.b] as well as the Lokeśvara, the sagely teacher, giving the amogha teachings while seated on a lotus atop a jewel seat supported by lions inside a temple-palace adorned with divine jewels. He will hear him speak on the maṇḍala and mudrā2132 and will see the Sage directly. He will perceive this divine spectacle in his sleep every single night. Such is the power of this king of jewels. One should therefore wear it with care.
“All ascetics, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, kings with their harems and elite forces, women, men, boys, and girls should always wear this king of jewels, and they will become like the Teacher himself. They will not fall victim to thieves or bandits and will be freed from the terrible eight fears. Whoever wears this king of jewels or keeps it near them will not be harmed by poisons, venoms, magical poisoning,2133 or kākhordas. They will not suffer from disease or ailments, and just as a lotus is not soiled by muddy water, They will never be soiled by any evil. They will be safe in the midst of a battle, in an armed conflict, during quarrels, disputes, and discord and will always emerge victorious. There is no doubt about this.
“Now I will list the power ingredients of the pill, whose perfect formula, which includes beneficial medicinal substances, is a supreme secret2134 taught by the Lokeśvara himself. The ingredients are agarwood, sandalwood, lotus, blue lotus, śirīṣa blossoms,2135 chaff flower,2136 meru,2137 nalanda,2138 nakha,2139 kanakaphala,2140 the seeds of sandal tree, lotus seeds, [F.234.a] benzoin, meda,2141 jihvā,2142 sūkarī,2143 markaṭī,2144 jayā,2145 vijayā,2146 paripelava,2147 rasa,2148 vīrā,2149 śāmaka,2150 tagara,2151 busā,2152 āvartaka,2153 costus,2154 vyāghranakha,2155 pattra,2156 cinnamon bark, kaṭambharā,2157 beautyberry,2158 bovine bezoar, fenugreek, bamboo juice, mustard seeds, the blossom of nāgapuṣpa,2159 cardamom, realgar, saffron, camphor, musk, māṃsī,2160 white pepper, sumanas,2161 wild asparagus,2162 śatapuṣpa,2163 sarvākṣī,2164 and champak.2165 The learned vidyā holder should combine all these ingredients with white gold, form them into a pill, and coat the pill in gold. The pill is now ready in terms of the ingredients.
“He should then combine the pill with musk to increase its volume, and ‘awaken’2166 it by steeping it in water infused with finely ground white sandalwood.2167 He should then dry the pill in the shade. Starting on the eighth lunar day and all through the fifteenth, full moon day, the vidyā holder should recite the Amogharāja one hundred and eight times every day. He should consecrate the pill every day by reciting the Krodharāja seven times while displaying the consecration mudrā2168 and while sprinkling water and mustard seeds on the pill. On the fifteenth, the day of the full moon, he should place the pill in the maṇḍala.2169
“Now I will teach on the maṇḍala and how to place the king of jewels2170 within it. The vidyā holder should demarcate a four-sided maṇḍala,2171 with all its parts correct and complete and with a surface area the same as a boat. It should be wiped clean and be smooth and soft. This supreme maṇḍala should be measured out with a string, and its symmetrical sections fully painted with different colors. It should have four carefully measured doors and corners. The vidyā holder should draw the four great lotuses that are amogha-complete with ‘eye-hands’2172 that hold a jewel.2173 He should draw the ocean [F.234.b] and, in the midst of this body of water, the vajra of activity.2174 This supreme maṇḍala should be surrounded with a railing2175 and strewn internally with various bright flowers. The vidyā holder should draw a row of jeweled lotuses surrounding the outside of the maṇḍala.
“At each of the four doors the vidyā holder should draw a lotus noose, a trident, and the supreme form of vajra, and in each of the four corners, a hand supported by a lotus and holding a jewel. He should adorn the maṇḍala with divine banners [A.120.a] and full jars, skillfully arrange whatever incense, fruit, and various bali articles are available, and place rows of lamps all around. He should offer argha water for the feet and burn divine incense of agarwood and sandalwood.
“The skilled vidyā holder who knows the nature of reality should place the king of jewels in a divine bowl, cover it with a piece of Chinese silk, and place the bowl in the maṇḍala. He should place an image of the Lokeśvara in the center of the maṇḍala,2176 and the vajra of activity on top of the bowl where the king of jewels is. He should then recite the Amogharāja twenty-one times and consecrate the jewel while reciting the Krodharāja seven times. After that, he should recite the one-syllable mantra one hundred thousand times. When this number of recitations has been reached, the king of jewels will blaze with light.
“At that moment, the vidyā holder should grasp the jewel with his right hand and squeeze it in his fist. As soon as he squeezes it, he will magically rise into the air and become a vidyādhara emperor by the name of Marvelous Amogha Display of the Pure Jewel, with a retinue of hundreds of thousands of millions of other vidyādhara emperors. The doors to terrestrial passages will fall open for him, as will all buddha fields. All the mudrās [F.235.a] and the maṇḍalas that form a connection2177 to all the tathāgata families will remain right in front of him. He will be able to enter every buddha field and greet, salute, and pay homage to every tathāgata, from each of whom he will hear a teaching that constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation. His lifespan will increase to seventy-two2178 times a hundred thousand eons. An amogha lotus wheel will run in front of him.2179
“If, however, the jewel does not blaze, the vidyā holder will obtain the special qualities as previously explained.2180 This pill, the king of jewels, is equal to the Tathāgata in every respect. It can accomplish activities both worldly and supramundane.2181 When the time comes to take another birth, the vidyā holder will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī and will be able to remember his previous births, wherever they occurred. As soon as the vidyā holder sees the jewel pill, he will obtain a direct vision of the tathāgatas of the three times and will directly perceive Noble Avalokiteśvara. The person who carries this pill on his body should be known as one who is established irreversibly on the path to awakening. He is said to be the same as a stūpa containing the relics of the Tathāgata. This should not be doubted or questioned.
“As soon as the pill is seen or touched, all previous karmic obscurations accumulated throughout hundreds of thousands of eons will be exhausted by the power of the blessed tathāgatas of the three times, the worthy, fully realized buddhas. This includes the obscurations that would result in rebirth in the Avīci hell, including the five acts of immediate retribution, slandering the noble ones, or rejecting the true Dharma. They will all be exhausted by the power of the king of jewels of Noble Avalokiteśvara. Beings with such karma will be saved from rebirth in hell, and they will inevitably enter the path of the sugatas.2182 [F.235.b] When taking a new birth, they will be born in the realm of Sukhāvatī.
“One should therefore perform the practice thoroughly and in full until it is accomplished. Whether one is weak or strong, one should apply oneself strenuously with a clear and definite intention. One must seek the accomplishment of this sovereign ritual, sacrificing even one’s own flesh and blood, let alone material goods, in pursuit of the goal. [A.120.b] One should sacrifice money, grain, wrought gold, gold coins,2183 silver, clothes, and adornments in pursuit of the goal. One should pursue the goal even at the cost of one’s life. One should seek the accomplishment of the practice of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, this maṇḍala of liberation. This practice will fulfill, for all beings, the work of the Buddha during the final period, the final time. All beings with genuine faith will fully awaken to the state of buddhahood. They will reach the level of not turning back, and they will never fall into the lower realms again.
“Now I will teach the medicinal jewel, a great amogha accomplishment that magically arises out of the vast and great amogha maṇḍala, together with the relevant mantras. By the power of this medicinal jewel and of the mantras, maṇḍala, and mudrā, the vidyā holders will perceive,2185 in the final time of the final period, the secret samaya maṇḍala shared by all tathāgata families, with its various, illusion-like forms and appearances. When accomplished through study, this rite will completely create the secret family samaya bond equally with all the tathāgatas. A vidyā holder’s toil will not lead to other fruitless things. In order that your toil, effort, training, and recitation practice are not in vain, you must develop faith and respect in your mindstream and never reveal what is secret. [F.236.a] Do not end up without accomplishment!
“Accordingly, the mantra practice must be taken seriously. The vidyā holder should scrupulously observe the ritual fast and avoid inappropriate foods, inappropriate clothing, and, above all, wrong friends, such as evil people who tell lies or slander others, people who have a corrupting influence, or people who steal mantras, rites, mudrās, or maṇḍalas. He should not associate with them under any circumstances. Such wicked people criticize the teachings of the lords of the three times; they criticize even the bodhisattvas, including Lord Avalokiteśvara. Such individuals burn the pillars that support them.
“A bad person who reveals secrets will always be condemned both in this world and the next. Such evil people are forsaken by deities, embraced by evil māras, and beset by obstacles. How could such people be successful if they lack discipline, are insubordinate,2186 and disparage the teachings of the teacher? There is no protection of any kind for corrupt people; they are completely without a protector. It is therefore no fault of mine2187 that they do not attain any accomplishment at all. They will neither accomplish the mantra nor obtain the medicinal substances. Committing offenses themselves, they also bring ruin upon others.
“In view of this, the vidyā holder should be generous toward sentient beings by giving them alms and the things they desire. Filled with motherly love and compassion, he should make generosity for all beings his chief preoccupation; the supreme accomplishment will then fall into his hands. This supreme secret, the ultimate secret essence of the Lokeśvara, his secret nature, can easily be accomplished by vidyā holders. They should study and practice it along with its mantras and mudrās; by employing this medicinal jewel continually, they will manifest the signs of true accomplishment. [F.236.b] One should accomplish this practice alone in utmost secrecy.
“The vidyā holder should purify himself ritually, bathe, put on clean clothes, observe the ritual fast day and night, and make offerings with faith and respect. He should first successfully perform the practice of the amogha circle, the supreme maṇḍala. He should procure equal parts fenugreek, powdered sandalwood, agarwood, the filaments, stalks, and petals of a lotus, bovine bezoar, realgar, champak,2188 and sumanas.2189 He should then combine them together [A.121.a] and grind them into powder. He should incant the mixture with the Amogharāja one hundred and eight times on the eighth through the fifteenth lunar day and consecrate it by reciting the Krodharāja mantra one hundred and eight times.
“He should then divide the mixture into five parts to be used respectively as an eye ointment, a pill, a powder, cooked oil, and a preparation used for rinsing the mouth2190 and other ablutions. To make the eye ointment, he should blend the mixture with antimony and incant it with the Amogharāja one hundred and eight times. To make the pill, he should blend the mixture with sugar and honey. To make the powder, he should blend the mixture with flowers that have been offered to the Lokeśvara. To make the cooked oil, he should blend the mixture with brāhmī oil.2191 To make the mouth rinse, he should blend the mixture with sandalwood sap and, additionally, with sumanas,2192 saffron, and scented water. He should incant each of the five parts individually with the Amogharāja one hundred and eight times and consecrate it by reciting the Krodharāja mantra twenty-one times.
“After fasting for one day and night, he should place the five parts together, incant them one hundred and eight times with the Amogharāja, and place them in the maṇḍala in individual silver bowls. He should bow to the supreme maṇḍala at the eastern door and circumambulate it clockwise in a full circle, distributing the bowls separately. Having thus placed the bowls inside the maṇḍala, he should cover each of them with clean cloth and recite the Amogharāja one hundred and eight times. He should consecrate the bowls while reciting the Krodharāja mantra.2193 [F.237.a] After consecrating the bowls, he should then consecrate himself.
“He should then make offerings to the Lokeśvara in the center of the maṇḍala by burning the five kinds of incense—agarwood, sandalwood, fenugreek, bdellium, and olibanum—and by offering five bowls with argha water and another five filled with the five bali articles of various flavors. The bali should consist of five parts and include various tasty fruits. He should place twenty garlands of flowers and twenty-five lamps around the maṇḍala,2194 smear it with the fivefold fragrance, and sprinkle it with the five fragrant powders. It is also said that the maṇḍala should be adorned with twenty-five beautiful banners in five colors. The vidyā holder should add twenty-five full jars covered with lids of silver and gold, and he should add the five types of jewels. He should place eight jars in the four2195 corners and at the four doors, strew the maṇḍala with one hundred and twenty-five flowers, and sprinkle it with parched rice and mustard seeds.
“He should worship his teacher and master with offerings of clothes, dishes of food, and money,2196 imagining him to be the preceptor, the teacher, and a sage like the Lokeśvara, the master of the maṇḍala. When he finishes his worship he should dismiss him from the maṇḍala. He can henceforth perform any variety of activity that comes to mind, such as conjuring great amogha palaces. If he always maintains secrecy, the attainment of the true accomplishment will be easy, including the mastery of the jewel mantra and the medicinal substances. The learned vidyā holder should do things that are virtuous. He should never engage in backbiting and never tell lies. He will then succeed in this practice; there can be no doubt about this.
“Now I will describe the maṇḍala. It should have four equal sides, be symmetrical, well proportioned, and beautifully outlined, and have four corners and the surface area of a boat. This supreme maṇḍala should be measured out with a measuring thread and painted in various bright colors. In the center of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should draw the supreme wheel, and in the nave at its center he should skillfully draw a lotus. Upon its pericarp he should place the figure of the Lokeśvara that is fashioned out of gold, silver, or sandalwood and blazes with light. [F.237.b] Around the image he should mark the regular pattern of the spokes and the wheel’s rim.
“Inside the maṇḍala, he should draw the gods Indra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara in the four corners. Around the maṇḍala, he should draw a railing surrounded by a row of lotuses. Surrounding the outside the maṇḍala, he should draw rows of the following mudrā signs:2197 [A.121.b] vajras, tridents, battle axes, swords, nooses, hammers, rods of Yama, lotuses, parasols, maces, and javelins, all interspersed with various colorful flowers. At each of the four doors he should draw, respectively, the maṇḍala deities Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra. At the four corners2198 he should draw the Four Great Kings wearing coats of mail, looking fierce, and inspiring fear. This supreme maṇḍala should be executed to perfection, all its features meeting the standards as specified.
“The skilled vidyā holder, thoroughly bathed and wearing clean clothes, should take hold of the supreme medicine2199 and perform the rite. He will then display various illusory, mirage-like appearances that will save sentient beings from unhappy destinies in the lower realms. They will obtain lasting happiness and develop true faith and respect. The vidyā holder will realize the nature of reality and attain supreme accomplishment.2200
“The vidyā holder should first bathe and then incant perfumed water containing the medicinal substance one hundred and eight times with the Amogharāja mantra. He should incant sandal-scented water2201 one hundred and eight times, anoint himself with a layer the depth of a hair,2202 and rinse his mouth with it. He should then incant the eye ointment one hundred and eight times and anoint his eyes with it; he will thus obtain the divine eye. He should recite the mantra the full one hundred and eight times and sprinkle his body and the ten directions.2203 He should incant the oil2204 one hundred and eight times [F.238.a] and anoint his body, from the soles of the feet upward, with a layer the depth of a hair.2205 He should mentally repeat the one-syllable mantra and engender thoughts of loving kindness.
“Subsequently, whether at the gate of a royal palace, in the royal harem, in the middle of a crowd, at a large gathering, in an assembly of monks, or anywhere else people gather, everyone will see the vidyā holder in the form and appearance of the Lord of the World,2206 standing one cubit above the ground. Depending on whom they feel devotion to, they will see him as a king or a wheel-holding monarch, or as Narasiṃha, Vārāha, Nārāyaṇa, Brahmā, the lord of the realm of Thirty-Three, the three-eyed Maheśvara, Kumāra, Varuṇa, Yama, or Vaiśravaṇa. Or they will see him as Mahākāla, Nandikeśvara, Piṅgala, the guhyaka Vajrapāṇi, Mahābala, Maṇibhadra, Pūrṇabhadra, Baladeva, Naḍakūbara, Vāyu, or as one of the ṛṣis.
“He will appear in any form a person may think of, and he will be able to conjure various flowers and fruits. If he enters a gathering of monks, he will appear to them in the form of the Buddha. He will be able to conjure various palaces of different shapes at will. The images he holds in his mind,2207 such as maṇḍala designs, forests, or recreational parks, will appear accordingly. They will appear by the power of the medicinal jewel and the mantra. They can appear to anyone, anywhere, who is afflicted by suffering, [F.238.b] has no protector, or is without refuge. This would include anyone facing terrible danger in the middle of a forest, caught in a flood or famine, or out in the wilderness, and anyone suffering terrible pain.
“The vidyā holder should therefore use this powder2208 to create a protective boundary spanning the four quarters. He should trace a line with the powder in the shape of a circle and place the five pills at the center of this maṇḍala. He should smear mustard seeds with the king of oils, incant them with the Amogharāja one hundred and eight times, and consecrate them by reciting the Krodharāja mantra one hundred and eight times. He should then throw them to the ground and cast them in the four directions while reciting the mantra of Krodharāja, pronouncing hūṁ, and displaying the mudrā.
“As soon as the mudrā is formed, [A.122.a] a lotus lake filled with divine water of various qualities will appear along with a palace and various parks and gardens with flowers and fruit trees. In the center of the powder maṇḍala will appear a mansion with five thousand houses filled with many people living in comfort, plenitude, and happiness. Shops and businesses will also appear, as will estates with cows, steers,2209 buffalo, horses, and elephants. Houses and estates of ascetics, brahmins, and merchants will appear and remain within the powder maṇḍala2210 for as long as the vidyā holder wishes.2211
“If the vidyā holder incants mustard seeds in water seven times and casts them into the four directions, he will become invisible. If he casts the mustard seeds while in the midst of a battle or a fight, a cavalry division will magically appear and crush the enemy army, remove the danger posed by it, and bring victory. If the vidyā holder casts the seeds in each of the four directions of a city, a protective ditch and palisade will appear surrounding the city as soon as the seeds are cast. The residents of the city will appear wearing full armor, and none will suffer any injury or harm.
“If at night he smears the mustard seeds with fragrant oil,2212 incants them one hundred and eight times with the mantra, and casts a fistful into the fire [F.239.a] and a fistful into each of the four directions, a row of lights will appear around the city. The lights will burn for as long as necessary. Similarly, if he casts the seeds around a monastery, a hermitage, a mountain, a cave, a recreation ground, or an inhabited house, the same row of lights will appear there too. They will disappear if the water with mustard seeds is cast again. If he casts the mustard seeds at the gates of a city, the city will become invisible as soon as the seeds are cast.
“If he casts the seeds toward any place where his enemies, enemy armies, opponents, or adversaries live—be it a village, town, grove, or wilderness—a great forest wilderness will magically appear there. All the inhabitants will be unable to see one another and, seized with great fear, will perish. If he casts the seeds in the midst of an enemy army, all the enemy’s weapons and fighting gear will disappear, rendering them naked. If he casts the seeds in a court of law, the court officials will become naked. If he sprinkles an enemy with the seeds, a blazing fire will appear. In this way, the vidyā holder will be able to perform these and hundreds of thousands of other activities, whatever he has in mind.
“If the vidyā holder wants to perform great activities, he should purify himself ritually, take a bath, and anoint himself with fragrances. He should use the mantra to incant mustard seeds smeared with the king of oils one hundred and eight times, and with them he should sprinkle an image of Noble Avalokiteśvara.2213 He should consecrate the image by reciting the Krodharāja mantra seven times while displaying the mudrā. He should place the pills2214 on Noble Avalokiteśvara’s head and sprinkle them with the powder. He should then anoint Noble Avalokiteśvara’s feet with the king of oils and mindfully repeat the Amogharāja just once. As soon as this auspicious act of service has been performed, the image of Noble Avalokiteśvara will move. It will go where Noble Avalokiteśvara wants it to go, and the vidyā holder himself should follow it wherever it goes.
“Similarly, if the vidyā holder casts the seeds upon an image of a god, the image will leave the temple and go wherever the vidyā holder wants it to. If the vidyā holder sprinkles the powder [F.239.b] on the image while reciting the mantra of Krodharāja, the syllable hūṁ, the image will become invisible. If he incants the king of oils with the mantra one hundred and eight times and smears his knees and lower legs with it, he will float in the air. If he smears the soles of his feet, he will float at the height of four fingers, without his feet touching the ground. If he places his feet upon a stone, he will leave a footprint there. If he smears a jar, pitcher, or pot with the oil, [A.122.b] it will float in the air four fingers above the ground.
“The vidyā holder should incant mustard seeds and, after offering them as homa, retrieve the ashes and incant them one hundred and eight times. He should make ointment by mixing the ashes with oil, consecrate it with the Krodharāja mantra, and anoint his eyes with it. He will then develop a third eye and appear in the form of Maheśvara. If he sprinkles his body with the ashes, he will appear in the form of Brahmā. If he smears his body with the ashes mixed with the shoots of flame-of-the-forest,2215 he will appear in the form of Nārāyaṇa and exhibit the same strength and energy. If he smears his face with the great oil and marks his forehead with a bindi made with the ashes, he can assume any shape at will.
“The vidyā holder should daub some mustard seeds with the great oil and sprinkle dyes of various types and colors on them. He should incant them with the Amogharāja one hundred and eight times, consecrate them by displaying the mudrā and reciting the Krodharāja mantra one hundred and eight times, and then place them in a silver bowl. He will be able to perform any activity. If he casts the seeds into the sky, he will produce a rain of precious jewels. If he casts the seeds into the sky while worshiping the tathāgatas, a rain of flowers will fall. If he casts the seeds into the sky while attending a meeting, he will produce a variety of fruits. If he casts the seeds in a forest, various fruits and flowers will appear. If he casts the seeds into a mountain cave, various medicinal substances will appear.
“If he casts the seeds at an old caitya, in the yard of a monastery, or in a temple, they will become complete and perfect and will have all the necessary amenities. Large palaces, residences, and groves will appear. [F.240.a] If he casts the seeds in an empty city, it will be provisioned with all the necessary facilities, each of them perfect. It will become filled with people, including a king with a harem, royal priests, and ministers, as well as ordinary men, women, boys, and girls. Furthermore, if he casts the seeds while reciting the mantra of Krodharāja, the syllable hūṁ, he will conjure an army with the four divisions.
“If he casts the seeds into a charnel ground, a voice will come forth from the bones or skull of any dead person on whose bones or flesh the seeds fall. The voice will announce into which realm it has fallen, whether it is the hells, the animal realm, the realm of Yama, or the realms of asuras, garuḍas, gandharvas, kinnaras, or mahoragas or if it has taken birth as a bird, fish, or a tortoise, in the gods’ realms, in a buddha field, or in any other place. The voice will tell him everything, including any means that will be of help. As soon as the mustard seeds fall on the bones or the skeletal remains of dead people, they will be freed from the hell realms and reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī.
“If he casts the seeds among any merchandise that is displayed,2216 it will all become invisible. If he casts the seeds into the sky, the stars will become invisible. If he casts the seeds into a large crowd of people, they will all become naked. If he casts the seeds when attending a meeting, all those present will start dancing. If he casts the seeds in the middle of an assembly of monks, all of them will attain meditative stability. If he casts the seeds among the leaders of assemblies, they will become followers of Yogācāra.2217 If he casts the seeds among ḍākinīs,2218 they will all assume the forms of donkeys, jackals, or dogs. If he casts the seeds at the door of a yoginī temple, all the yoginīs there will emit flames and appear in the form of buffalo.
“If he casts the seed upon a corpse, it will start dancing. If he casts the seeds upon a skull, the skull will dance, moving about here and there. If he casts the seeds at a crossroads, [F.240.b] all the yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas will arrive in their own forms, and they will fall under and remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall for as long as he lives. [A.123.a] If he sprinkles himself2219 with the seeds every day,2220 he will become an object of great veneration and will be able to perform hundreds of thousands of other activities, whatever he has in mind.
“I will now teach the procedure of summoning whereby Vajrapāṇi appears in a visible form, and the deities will swiftly arrive. Vajrapāṇi, in his vajra body of great strength, will promptly appear, as will other deities such as Hayagrīva, Nīlakaṇṭha, Vaḍabāmukha, the beautiful Amṛtakuṇḍalī who destroys vināyakas, the king Bhairava with three eyes, the great king Kelikila, Ucchuṣmakrodha of great strength in his form of Vajrapātāla, Vajraśekhara, Mahānāga, Pramardana, Viśālākṣa, Apalāla, Damaka, Bindu, Krodha and Mahākrodha with fangs protruding from their mouths, the great lord and nāga king Vajrasphoṭa, powerful and courageous, Lord Nīlāmbaradhara, Nīladaṇḍa who conquered the enemies, and the lokeśvaras Padmanābha, Padmapāṇi, and Padmeśvara, teachers of the world who remove the eight great fears.2221
“Various palaces will also appear,2222 as will the gods Nārāyaṇa, Brahmā, Rudra, Nandikeśvara, Mahākāla, Kumāra, Yama, and Varuṇa. Deities such as Soma, Āditya, the nakṣatras, Rāhu, Ketu, and the planets will appear, as will asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas. The Four Great Kings Vaiśravaṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūpākṣa, and Virūḍhaka will appear in their true forms endowed with the five types of splendor.2223 [F.241.a] Vāmana in his form of a ṛṣi,2224 Maṇibhadra, Pūrṇabhadra, and Viśvarūpa will also appear; so too will kings, merchants, heads of industrial guilds, householders, brahmins, and kṣatriyas. The elephants and bulls among the monks,2225 the deities of the forest, the deities of the trees, and the deities of the crops will appear, as will Gaṅgā, Śītā, Yamunā, Candrabhāgā, Kūrma, Matsya, Bhujaṅga, Kāpālin, and Bhargava. Excellent fruits and flowers of various types and various forms will also appear. In just the same manner in which they were summoned and caused to appear, so will they be dismissed.
“This rite is in reality an illusory homa, the supreme type of illusion. It brings the accomplishment of the mantra, of the power substances, and of the jewel oil. It reveals the nature of reality in order to bring the accomplishment of Amoghapāśa. The vidyā holder can conjure a caitya, the pleasant courtyard of a monastery, a temple, village, town, fountain,2226 pond, water tank, river, or lotus pond, rain, the rumbling of the nāgas,2227 a flash of lightning, blazing fire, billows of smoke, or soldiers fighting. He can conjure various weapons, armor, and large troops of men. The ultimate reality can be revealed by a masterful display. With a small amount of the power substance, one can attain the ultimate realization of truth with little hassle.2228
“I am telling the truth, O Lord, out of a desire to benefit sentient beings, to bring vidyā holders success in their study and practice, to help the poor acquire wealth, to inspire the wicked with love, to inspire faith in followers of other religions, to bring joy to scholars, and to liberate those difficult to tame. I do this out of a desire to help monks attain the meditative concentrations and the supreme samādhi, to bring the buddhas’ doctrine to those who desire the Dharma, to eradicate the wrongdoings of evildoers, to liberate those who follow the wrong course, to purify the five acts of immediate retribution, [F.241.b] to bring the supreme consolation to the inconsolable, to tame those difficult to tame, to ferry across those that have not yet crossed,2229 to establish others on the path to liberation, to liberate those not yet liberated, [A.123.b] to liberate beings from all their wrongdoings and unhappy destinies, to help those whose final awakening has not been prophesied obtain the prophecy, and to instantly exhaust all faults, impurities, and vices. All these and similar feats can be accomplished through the study and practice of this rite.
“This rite brings ultimate success in all worldly and supramundane activities, activities that are successfully accomplished in alignment with the aim of the vidyā holder. He should use his imagination when performing this rite; all that he imagines will appear as a magical display. For this procedure it is not relevant what lunar day or nakṣatra it is, nor is it necessary for the vidyā holder to observe the ritual fast. He should recite the mantra no matter what time it is, following the usual procedure that he purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. He should speak the truth, obey his teacher, cultivate thoughts of loving kindness, and remain wholly dedicated to caring for all beings. He should practice restraint, maintain celibacy, and avoid anything that is nonvirtuous.
“If the vidyā holder desires true accomplishment, he should abstain from alcohol, avoid foods that contain meat or onions, and avoid leftover food.2230 He should always avoid people who are bad or corrupt, thieves of vidyās, thieves of rites, thieves of the Dharma, thieves of secret mantras,2231 female thieves and robbers, and envious people. Such people cannot win accomplishment. People who violate their samaya, are evil at heart, are perfidious, or follow sinful dharmas are decried by all tathāgatas. They are decried by all bodhisattvas. They will always be separated from the Dharma support and will end up in hell. They will always be despised, their bodies will be emaciated, they will be poor, and they will develop leprosy and skin eruptions. [F.242.a] They will always experience suffering.
“Dharma violators and Dharma thieves will not experience happiness in this world and will inevitably fall into hell after they die. One should therefore always feel devotion to and have complete faith in the Three Jewels. This rite is the mother and the father; it is the teacher and the instructor; it is the protection, the refuge, and the ultimate resort; it is the instructor who grants boons and accomplishment; it grants fearlessness and escape from old age and death; it grants power, wealth, enjoyments, and great splendor; it is the teacher and protector of the entire world; it is the Lokeśvara, the great lord who grants boons, assumes many forms, grants various accomplishments, grants escape from various types of suffering, is the master of removing various diseases, gives away various jewels, and removes various types of evil in the world. Therefore, the vidyā holder should always eagerly listen to various teachers, discharge all his duties with care, and perform service in the spirit of ultimate devotion.
“I will now teach the recitation procedure for the successful preparation of the medicinal power substance. The vidyā holder should procure the tongue, heart, and eyes of a lion, as well as powdered pearl, realgar, the sap of brahmā,2232 bdellium, lotus filaments, blue lotuses, nāgapuṣpa,2233 cloves, tagara,2234 bovine bezoar, musk, camphor, saffron, white sandalwood, fenugreek, and tejovatī.2235 He should take an equal part of each of these ingredients, grind them into a fine powder, fill a silver bowl with it, and cover the bowl with Chinese silk. He should recite the Amogharāja2236 ten thousand times at the three junctions of the day. He should consecrate the substance with the mantra of Krodharāja by reciting it twenty-one times [F.242.b] and displaying the mudrā the same number of times.
“When he has completed the ten thousand recitations, he should divide the powder into five parts to be used as (1) a powder, (2) a bindi,2237 (3) an amulet, (4) an eye ointment, and (5) the powder cooked in a small quantity of oil.
“The powder, an elixir of immortality,2238 should be blended with a lotus. [A.124.a] The vidyā holder should recite the Amogharāja ten thousand times, and half that number of the Krodharāja, all in a single session.2239
“To make a perfect bindi,2240 the powder should be mixed with human blood and incanted with the Amogharāja eight thousand times, and the Krodharāja half that number.2241
“To make the amulet, the powder should be mixed with snake blood and incanted eleven thousand times with the Amogharāja, and half that number with the Krodharāja.
“To make the eye ointment, the powder should be mixed with teardrops and the eyes and head of a peacock and owl2242 and then incanted eleven thousand times with the Amogharāja and one thousand and eight times with the Krodharāja.
“To make the oil preparation, the vidyā holder should procure twenty palas of brahmā2243 oil, eight palas of castor oil,2244 sixteen palas of white mustard oil, one hundred palas of milk obtained from tawny cows, seven palas of cow urine, and two palas of olibanum oil. He should blend them with the powder into an oily paste2245 using a lotus stalk and cook the oil preparation in a copper vessel while reciting the mantra with full focus. He should then perform the protection rite and the bali rite according to procedure, offer flowers, and burn incense. This is how the supreme oil should be prepared.
“The best results are obtained if the oil preparation is cooked over a medium fire made with sticks of a fragrant wood2246 that have been neatly stacked. This is known to produce the best results. The vidyā holder should then consecrate the preparation with the mantra of Krodharāja recited twenty-one times. When the oil preparation has been consecrated, he should place it in a clean vessel made of either copper or silver.2247 The vidyā holder should then recite the vidyā2248 eight thousand times, and the Krodharāja the same number of times.2249
“If the vidyā holder is an ordinary person, he should sit down in front of the completed maṇḍala, perform the required maṇḍala procedure, and enter. If he is a master, he should perform the duties of the officiating master that are necessary for accomplishing the maṇḍala rite.2250 He should make the disciples enter, consecrate them with the samaya mudrā, perform worship with offerings, have them circumambulate the maṇḍala clockwise, [F.243.a] and bow in respect,2251 tie their hair in a topknot, display the mudrā,2252 perform the protection rite, besprinkle them, have them remove their upper garment, and invest them with the sacred thread.2253 He must perform the entire maṇḍala procedure in full, displaying every detail.
“Then, he should place the substance2254 in the very center of the maṇḍala,2255 recite the heart essence of Noble Amoghapāśa2256 one thousand and eight times, and consecrate it with one thousand and eight recitations of the Krodharāja while displaying the consecration mudrā. He should perform this consecration three times in exactly the same way.2257 He can then perform any activity.
“He should magically empower white mustard seeds by incanting them with the mantra one thousand and eight times. He should procure the finest lotuses, cleanse and purify them, and grind them into powder as fine as ash. He should incant the powder with the mantra one thousand and eight times2258 and place it in a container. He should procure bdellium, sandalwood, agarwood, and fenugreek and incant them one thousand and eight times.2259 He should place all these ingredients, one by one, in the container, and place the container in the supreme maṇḍala. He should consecrate the container with the Krodharāja while displaying the consecration mudrā. He should perform all these rites whenever there is a task to perform.
“Using gold, silver, or copper, he should fashion a lotus with twenty-one petals, a pericarp, and filaments. It should be twelve fingers in diameter and include a diamond stalk sixteen fingers long. He should also make a noose of red yarn spun by a virgin; the perfect yarn would have the reddish hue of a lotus. He should incant these items one thousand and eight times2260 with the Amogharāja and consecrate them with the Krodharāja mantra while displaying the consecration mudrā.
“The learned vidyā holder should keep these items in a secret place. Whenever there is a task that needs to be performed, he will be able to accomplish it in an exemplary way. [F.243.b] He should keep the name of his guru secret and never reveal it to anyone.2261 [A.124.b] Those who easily break their samaya connection to the buddhas are contemptible; they may, all of a sudden, find themselves beset by obstacles. Those who commit the five acts of immediate retribution should know that they will not accomplish this practice but will forever be caught in the net of delusion.
“Those who, on the other hand, are devoted to their guru, practice the teaching of the Buddha, are kind to the noble saṅgha, and have a loving heart and compassionate nature can be the recipients of these instructions. It can be entrusted to them according to their personal circumstances. They will attain the supreme accomplishment as soon as they study and understand these instructions, and they will perform the corresponding activities according to their wishes. They will always experience happiness in this world and pursue the path of happiness in the next world. They will definitely go to Amitābha’s residence, Sukhāvatī, where they will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower, be adorned with all adornments, and have the ability to remember their current and former births.
“If the vidyā holder wants to manifest the amogha samaya2262 of a vidyā holder, he should purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, put on clean clothes, and observe a ritual fast day and night. He should place flowers and incense in front of the images of Vajrapāṇi and Noble Avalokiteśvara and offer them to both deities. He should then burn agarwood incense before Noble Avalokiteśvara and bdellium incense before Vajrapāṇi and offer a bali consisting of white foods to Noble Avalokiteśvara and a bali of various flavors to Vajrapāṇi. During the daytime he should recite the Amogharāja, and at night he should tirelessly recite the Krodharāja.
“Refraining from grimacing in anger [F.244.a] and remaining free from the stains of jealousy, the vidyā holder should keep reciting the mantras until the morning, at which time the image of Noble Avalokiteśvara will emit light. When the vidyā holder kneels before the image of Vajrapāṇi, Vajrapāṇi’s eyes will shed tears. The vidyā holder should take some and make a bindi on his forehead; this will render him invisible. If he anoints his eyes with the tears, he will be able to travel through space. If he takes the tears into his mouth, all the vidyā rites, mantras, mudrās, and maṇḍalas will remain prominent in his memory. He will obtain strength, swiftness, energy, and valor equal to Vajrapāṇi, and Vajrapāṇi will appear in front of him in person to grant him all desired boons. He will cause his image to move. The image will follow the vidyā holder, displaying the strength, energy, swiftness, and valor of Vajrapāṇi. This is how the summoning of Vajrapāṇi is to be performed.
“When the sun first dawns, the vidyā holder should smear his body with nothing but the great oil,2263 anoint his eyes with the eye ointment,2264 sprinkle his body with the powder,2265 make a bindi on his forehead with the bindi preparation,2266 and place the amulet2267 on his head. He should burn incense of bdellium and cover his body with saffron-colored garments.2268 Focusing his thoughts on the Buddha, his mind peaceful and composed, he should enter into the midst of a group of monks. The monks, though they may belong to thousands of different schools or different congregations,2269 will perceive the vidyā holder in the form of the Blessed One with his characteristics, marks, and deportment. They will see him with the twenty-eight marks2270 of a great being and surrounded by a halo extending for a fathom, sitting on a lotus seat, and accompanied by Śakra and Brahmā. The vidyā holder will be able to conjure the forms of various deities, even entire hosts of them.
“The monks, seeing the vidyā holder in the form of the Tathāgata with all the characteristics, will fall to his feet. The vidyā holder should not regard them with contempt, nor should he regard himself as superior. Merely by feeling contempt, all his merit [F.244.b] would wane. Being a mighty lord with the ten strengths, he should instead give them courage and comfort. The monks are the noble saṅgha—because of this, he should not look down on them. [A.125.a]
“The vidyā holder may likewise enter a city, a royal palace, or an assembly hall. He may enter villages, towns, provinces, and market towns. He may also enter the women’s quarters. In all these places, the women, men, boys, and girls will perceive him in the form of the Buddha with all his characteristics, marks, and signs. They will receive him with honors and worship him with large offerings. They will say, ‘He is the Buddha; he is the Tathāgata.’ He will receive worship that is due to a tathāgata.
“If the vidyā holder smears his head with mustard oil and sprinkles it with mustard seeds, he will be able to assume the form of any deva, nāga, yakṣa, gandharva, asura, garuḍa, kinnara, or mahoraga. If he smears his feet with the oil, he will walk in the air eight fingers above the ground. He will display the outward appearance of the Buddha until he washes off the ointment. If he wants to display the outward appearance of Lord Avalokita, he should get up at daybreak, purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. Standing on top of a house, he should cast mustard seeds daubed in oil into the four directions. The king and all the royal ministers, kṣatriyas, brahmins, ladies of the harem, women, men, boys, and girls will succumb to this great illusion.2271
“He should make a diadem with a row of four jewels2272 and fasten it on his head. He should put some on oil2273 on his limbs only, mark his forehead with a bindi,2274 anoint his eyes with the eye ointment,2275 and sprinkle his body with the powder.2276 He should don a pair of divine garments2277 and attire himself as a bodhisattva, with a jewel, a bracelet, an armlet, and a golden string fastened around his waist. [F.245.a] His body will appear adorned with all these various ornaments made of jewels,2278 silver, and beryl. If he then takes a lotus into his hand, he will appear in the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara. Depending on his intention, he will appear in the garb of Amoghapāśa, in the garb of Brahmā, as the protector from the eight fears, as a wish-fulfilling jewel, or as Vaḍabāmukha, Nīlakaṇṭha, or Hayagrīva. He will manifest whatever form he has in mind and remain in that form for as long as he wears the bindi. He will appear in a guise corresponding to the type of a diadem he wears.
“The wise vidyā holder should combine mustard seeds with sesame oil, blend them together, and smear his entire body. He should blend the mixture with costus2279 and, using his right hand with a vajra in it, mark his forehead with the bindi of Maheśvara. He should sprinkle himself with powdered lotus, tie a crest jewel onto his head, anoint his eyes with the eye ointment, and burn incense of bdellium. He will appear, in plain view, in the form of Vajradhara with a fierce gaze. There is no doubt about this. He will remain in this vajra form until he washes himself, but until then he can perform various activities. All the people in the world will perceive him as Vajradhara and think that it is him; there is no doubt about this.
“If the vidyā holder blends lion’s blood with the oil-jewel2280 and smears his body with it, he will appear in the form of the great Narasiṃha. If he applies the blood of a boar to his body, he will appear in the form of the great Vārāha. If he blends the oil with the powder,2281 makes a pigment by adding yellow orpiment and flame-of-the-forest2282 blossoms, and smears it on his body, he will appear in the form of Nārāyaṇa. If he blends the oil with the nara lotus2283 and smears it on his body, he will appear in the form of Maheśvara. If he blends the oil with the sap of giant milkweed and smears it on his body, he will appear in the form of Brahmā. If he blends the oil with the blood of an elephant and smears it on his body, he will appear in the form of the great Gaṇeśvara. [A.125.b]
“If the vidyā holder blends the oil with the blood of a goat [F.245.b] and smears it on his body, he will appear in the form of a goat. If he blends the oil with indigo dye, powdered lotus, and the blood of an elephant and smears it on his body, he will appear, in plain view, as Mahākāla in person. Anyone whose forehead he marks with a bindi2284 will appear as one of the hosts of mātṛs. If he blends the king of oils with the blood and skin of a snake2285 and smears his shoulders, spine, and armpits with it, he will appear in the form of a great nāga king. He will appear in the form of any animal whose blood he blends with the oil, or of any animal he brings to mind.
“If the vidyā holder wants to conjure a palace, he should daub mustard seeds with the oil, walk into the midst of an assembly of monks, and cast the seeds downward and upward. He should then put the powder all over the tip of a banner and set the banner at the place of honor;2286 this will cause a great palace, adorned with every ornament, to appear among the assembled monks. If the vidyā holder casts the seeds above the monks, each will appear in whatever form he has in mind. Some will appear in the form of kings, others in the form of ministers, others in the form of learned brahmins, and others as royal priests, while others still will appear in the form of the royal attendants. If the vidyā holder casts the daubed2287 seeds at the monks again, they will again appear as monks.
“If the vidyā holder daubs the mustard seeds with the sap of the giant milkweed, walks into an assembly hall of the congregation, and casts the seeds upon the beds and seats of the monks, all the monks will appear sitting there: some will be adorned with a diadem upon their knotted hair, others will appear old, holding a walking stick, with a hunched back, dwarfish, and with grey hair on their head and a feeble body. If the vidyā holder casts the mustard seeds upon the beds and seats all through the night, the altered forms will not change again.2288
“If the vidyā holder casts the seeds upon a bowl of lamb, the ribs of the rib cage will appear as black snakes2289 holding bowls in their mouths.2290 If he casts the seeds upon a vessel, the vessel will appear as earthenware. If he casts the seeds upon a drinking vessel containing liquor, the vessel will appear as a heap of dirt. [F.246.a] If he casts the seeds at gates around the city, the city will become invisible from all sides. If he casts the mustard seeds and powdered lotus all around the city, all the women, men, boys, and girls in that city will become invisible.
“If the vidyā holder casts the mustard seeds2291 mixed with the blood of a lion upon an animal, any quadruped will appear in the form of a lion—ferocious, wild, and beautifully shaped. If he casts the mustard seeds2292 upon a troop of soldiers, they will all appear in the form of a jackal and flee in the ten directions. If he casts the mustard seeds while in a battle or a fight, all his enemies will fall asleep, and all their weapons and shields will disappear. If he casts the seeds into the fire, the fire will appear invisible. If he casts the seeds into a fire fueled by sticks smeared with oil,2293 the fire will burn without ever going out. If he casts it into water, the water will become invisible.
“If the vidyā holder fills a jar with water and casts the seeds into it, all aquatic creatures will come out of the jar and stay on dry land. If he casts the mustard seeds into a forest, all the flowers and fruits will become invisible, or, if the trees in the forest are dried up, new flowers and fruits will appear on them. If he casts the seeds into the air in the four directions while in the midst of a congregation of monks, a meeting, or a large crowd, he will cause a rain of various colorful flowers to fall. A divine fragrance will spread, refreshing and delighting the mind.
“The vidyā holder should smear all the tools in a craftsmen’s workshop with the king of oils or rub them with the powder. He should also rub the surrounding area with the great powder made from lotuses. [A.126.a] He should cast the mustard seeds in the four directions. Thinking of an object of fine craftsmanship that he wants made, he should set the needed tools in motion. The object will then appear perfectly crafted, no matter the design. It will then be ready to be traded and will sell for exactly what it is worth. [F.246.b] Unless the vidyā holder applies a counteragent using mustard seeds with water, the conjured items will not disappear.2294 However, when he does apply the counteragent, they will disappear from their respective locations, wherever they have been taken within the radius of one hundred leagues.
“The vidyā holder should rub a potter’s wheel with the powder,2295 sprinkle it with mustard seeds, bind it,2296 and sprinkle it with the great powder made from lotuses.2297 He should place upon it a lump of clay2298 and mold the clay into whatever shapes he finds pleasing. Any vessels he produces, whatever their form, will appear to be made of silver, gold, copper, or iron2299 and inlaid with various jewels. A great variety of fine wares will appear, which will then appear to be bought and sold for a high price. If the vidyā holder again casts the mustard seeds, powder, and lotus powder2300 in all directions in the middle of a marketplace, all pots and vessels will disappear.
“If the vidyā holder casts the mustard seeds upon a rope, it will appear as a large snake.2301 If he casts the seeds upon the walls of a house, the door panels, the wooden fittings, and the pillars, snakes will appear everywhere in the house, within its walls, and in the surrounding estates. This magical creation2302 will remain until the vidyā holder applies the mustard seeds with water as counteragent. When the counteragent is applied, the snakes will disappear. If he casts the seeds in a monastery courtyard or upon the roof of a temple, large snakes will appear there.
“If he casts the seeds upon the image of a deity, anoints its eyes with the eye ointment, and makes a pill-like bindi on the deity’s forehead, the image will come alive and start moving. It will go wherever the vidyā holder wants it to go, and it will become stationary again if he applies the counteragent. If he smears2303 the feet of an image of the Buddha and sprinkles it with the powder, the image will start moving, get up, and walk about. It will become stationary again if the vidyā holder censes it with incanted sandalwood. If he sprinkles jars containing liquor, they will all move about until he applies the counteragent of mustard seeds and water, at which point they will become motionless again. [F.247.a]
“If the vidyā holder wants to make a vajra scepter move about, he should prepare a scented maṇḍala, strew it with flowers, and offer bdellium incense. He should sprinkle the scepter with the mustard seeds and the powder and recite the Amogharāja seven times. The scepter will rise up from the maṇḍala and move through the air. It will move horizontally, stop, blaze with light, and move here and there. It will go upward and fly about, emitting bright light. It will move about in the air until the vidyā holder applies the counteragent of mustard seeds and water, at which point it will appear in its original place again.
“If the vidyā holder wants to make a wheel revolve, he should draw a four-sided maṇḍala that is scented with various fragrances and brightened with colors. He should strew it with flowers and offer incense of bdellium. He should incant the wheel twenty-one times, smear it with the king of oils, and sprinkle it with the powder.2304 He should mark its hub with a bindi and place it in the center of the maṇḍala. He should then sprinkle the wheel with the mustard seeds and the great powder made from lotuses and then burn bdellium incense and cense the entire wheel. When he makes a sound by snapping his fingers, the wheel will rise up from the maṇḍala and revolve in the air. It will then cause all wicked beings to collapse, [A.126.b] will chop off the heads of all enemies if it descends into a battle, and will cause all wicked beings and all opponents to fall and perish. It will strike down all vighnas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, apasmāras, and grahas, and it will strike down and destroy all wicked nāgas. The wheel will revolve until the vidyā holder applies the counteragent of mustard seeds and water, at which time the wheel will settle back in the maṇḍala.
“If the vidyā holder wants to make a trident move about, he should draw a maṇḍala,2305 place a skull in it, [F.247.b] strew the maṇḍala with flowers, and offer bdellium incense. He should then smear the trident with the king of oils, sprinkle it with the powder, mark it with a bindi, sprinkle the three points of the trident2306 with the great powder,2307 place the trident on top of the skull, and sprinkle it with mustard seeds. When the vidyā holder pronounces the syllable huṁ and snaps his fingers, the trident will blaze with light, rise up, and move through the air. It will spin around and move through the ten directions, radiating light. It will move about until the vidyā holder applies the counteragent of mustard seeds and water, at which point the trident will settle back in the maṇḍala.
“The vidyā holder should smear a conch with the oil, place it in the maṇḍala,2308 sprinkle it with the powder, cast the mustard seeds upon it, and mark it with the bindi2309 inside and outside. If he blows the conch, all women, men, boys, and girls will dance for as long as the sound is heard. They will run around until they swoon, running throughout the ten directions. If he plays the conch in the midst of a battle, all the soldiers will drop their sharp weapons, battle implements, and coats of mail and will dance. They will strip naked and run in the ten directions.
“If the vidyā holder blows the conch seven times, all his opponents and the leaders of enemy armies will come to grief. They will grow agitated and run in the ten directions until they are sprinkled with scented water as counteragent. Once the counteragent is applied, they will become well again, and they will certainly concede victory and agree to the victor’s terms.
“Now I will teach a maṇḍala2310 whereby the vidyā holder can create true illusions and attain the mastery of magical displays, a perfect maṇḍala of magical, illusory transformation. The vidyā holder should sprinkle an adorned maṇḍala with the mustard seeds and smear it with the king of oils mixed with the powder. He should consecrate the maṇḍala2311 by applying a bindi of the great powder made from lotuses. He should apply the great powder with his hand while holding a lotus and displaying the consecration mudrā. [F.248.a] He should then pronounce the syllable hūṁ while simultaneously casting the mustard seeds. As soon as he does, all the vessels with the bali offering, the jars, pitchers, pots, and full bowls, and all the sharp weapons and battle implements will rise into the air and remain suspended above the maṇḍala at the height of four fingers. They will stay in the air for as long as all the required elements of the ritual remain fully implemented. The vidyā holder himself will remain suspended in the air at the height of four fingers above the ground.
“When all the parts of the ritual have been completed, the vidyā holder should consecrate the maṇḍala with scented water according to the maṇḍala procedure. All the bali articles, jars, pitchers, pots, and bowls will return by themselves to their respective locations and will remain there. If the vidyā holder always performs this maṇḍala procedure in this way, a similar display will always take place within its area as soon as the ritual performance has been completed.2312 There is no doubt about this, I say.
“Now I will teach the magical art of the lotus, one that is made of either gold, silver, [A.127.a] or copper. The lotus should be well formed and well crafted, complete with a pericarp, filaments, and a stalk, all in the right proportions. It should be half opened and encircled with sixty-four petals. The stalk should be one cubit long, and the stamens around the pericarp should be four fingers long. The vidyā holder should smear them with the king of oils, apply the lotus powder, eye ointment, and bindi, and place a single jewel inside the lotus’ stalk He should incant the lotus with the Amogharāja one thousand and eight times and consecrate it by reciting the Krodharāja seven times.
“He should maintain ritual purity, bathe thoroughly, and wear clean clothes. He should then smear his entire body with the same oil, apply the eye ointment and bindi, and fumigate his body with incense. Standing before the image of the Blessed One in the midst of the assembly and holding a jewel in his right hand and a lotus2313 in his left, [F.248.b] he should offer the lotus to the Blessed One a hundred thousand times. When the offering procedure is completed, one hundred thousand lotuses will appear. If the vidyā holder casts mustard seeds and water on them, they will no longer be seen.
“If the magically created lotuses are left in water, they will spin like a revolving firebrand, and a rain of one hundred thousand lotuses will fall. If the vidyā holder places a single lotus in a body of water, such as a pond, tank, rivulet, river, trench, lotus pond, or lake,2314 they will be filled with great numbers of lotuses. The clusters of lotuses will remain there until the vidyā holder takes the original lotus out of the water. The lotuses will remain there throughout the autumn, winter, spring, and summer.
“Equipped with mustard seeds daubed in the oil and mixed with the powder, the vidyā holder should enter a forest and pick any flower he likes. He should twirl the flower and cast the mustard seeds near the edge of the forest. All the trees will then burst into blossom, and all the flowers will bloom. If he twirls the flower in his hand and casts the mustard seeds in the midst of an assembly of monks, a royal household, or any place where people gather, a great rain of flowers will fall. He should always use the mustard seeds with water as the counteragent.
“If the vidyā holder takes a fruit in his hand and casts the mustard seeds, a rain of fruit will fall. If he takes a piece of cloth in his hand and casts the mustard seeds while waving the cloth, he will magically produce various fabrics and canopies. If he takes an ornament in his hand and casts the mustard seeds, he will produce various divine structures and ornaments from his hand. He will adorn everyone that gathers around him, so that they all have ornaments fastened to them. The counteragent for this is mustard seeds with water.
“The vidyā holder should daub some mustard seeds in the oil, mix them with the powder, add bovine bezoar, saffron, and vermilion, and blend everything with the sap of common milk hedge2315 until the mixture is homogenous. He should then leave the mixture in the shade until it is completely dry. He should place the product in his mouth and scatter2316 it in the four directions. His face will glow like fire,2317 and his body will blaze with light of various colors. [F.249.a] The bright multicolored light will continue to shine forth for as long as the mustard seeds remain in the mouth.
“The vidyā holder should grind some sickle senna2318 with the oil and make a wick for a lamp.2319 If he then fills a lamp with the king of oils and lights it, one hundred thousand lighted lamps will appear. If he places the lamp in the center of a fire pit, the flame of the lamp will blaze until he removes it. If he places the lamp in the hollow of a tree, the lamp will burn continuously until he removes it. If he places the lamp between firebrands, [A.127.b] it will appear as a blazing row of one hundred thousand lamps.
“If the vidyā holder sprinkles2320 the inside of a jar or a pitcher used for a bali offering, all the jars and pitchers will appear radiant with light. If he smears2321 all war implements and sharp weapons, they will appear as a single blaze of light. If he smears his body and places the secret wick on his head, his entire body will appear as if aflame, and it will blaze until the vidyā holder sprinkles it with the mustard seeds and milk, at which point it will appear normal again. If he smears his hands and feet and takes the lighted secret wick into his hand,2322 his hands and feet will appear engulfed in a single blaze of light. He will appear without limbs in a meeting, a large crowd of people, a royal household, or a group of learned men, or among brahmins conversant with the four Vedas. His body will appear complete again after he sprinkles it with the mustard seeds mixed with perfumed water.
“If he lights the wick at night, places it at a crossroads, and casts the mustard seeds equally in each of the four directions, hundreds of thousands of millions of lamps will appear clearly. As a counteragent, he should cast the mustard seeds mixed with water everywhere in the four directions. If he sprinkles them2323 within a large forest and places the secret wick by a single tree, all the trees, grasses, and bushes—the branches and the sprouts—will appear to be engulfed in a single blaze.
“If he lights the lamp on a mountaintop and sprinkles2324 the mountain in all directions, the surrounding mountains will appear to be engulfed in a single blaze, [F.249.b] to the amazement of all beings. All thieves, rogues, bandits, enemy armies, wicked opponents, and adversaries—all the wicked beings including the wild animals, birds, and so forth who live in those mountains—will flee that very night in the ten directions, uttering cries of woe. As a counteragent for this, the vidyā holder should use perfumed water. If he casts the substance2325 upon an image and places the lighted secret wick in front of it, all the images will appear to blaze with a single blaze of light. As a counteragent, he should use mustard seeds mixed with perfumed water.
“The vidyā holder should place the lamp at the eastern gate of a city and light it. He should place it in a maṇḍala in a clean place and arrange full jars following the procedure for the bali offering. He should cast the mustard seeds all around the city while displaying the mudrā of Amogharāja2326 and mindfully reciting the Amogharāja mantra. Subsequently, a row of lighted lamps will appear all around the city, burning with an identical flame. If he performs the same maṇḍala procedure at each of the four city gates and enters the city through the eastern gate, all the inhabitants of that city—women, men, boys, and girls—will be filled with intense affection and joy. Any bad people who are in that city, any opponents, adversaries, thieves, rogues, and bandits, any beings who look for and await an opportunity to cause harm, any bhūtas,2327 yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, piśācas, and apasmāras, and any nonhuman beings who dwell in that city, will become perplexed and tormented. Howling and uttering cries of woe, they will leave the city through its gates and flee in the ten directions. The city and its environs will become free from all misfortunes and calamities, and all dangers, misfortunes, calamities, accidents, and diseases will be pacified. If the vidyā holder casts the mustard seeds mixed with perfumed water at the city gates when the night is through, it will serve as the counteragent. [B19] [F.250.a]
“The vidyā holder should procure mustard seeds, great oil,2328 realgar, powdered rājapaṭṭa stone, the sap of giant milkweed, and the sap of phāggu2329 and grind them all into a homogenous fine powder together with the eyes and bile of a house lizard,2330 nāgapuṣpa,2331 and lotus stalks. [A.128.a] He should combine this with the powder prepared earlier2332 and make a pill by adding water. He should also wear another powder, blending homogenously this powder with the great powder made from lotuses. He should smear his body with the mixed powder and cast mustard seeds in the four directions. If he holds the pill in his mouth and pronounces the syllable hūṁ while squeezing the pill, water will flow from his body, including his ears. His body will produce divine water that has a pleasant scent, is refreshing, and brings every kind of success and victory.2333
“If the vidyā holder secretly2334 casts the mustard seeds mixed with the powder into the air while rolling the pill in his hand, a great rain will fall. If he throws the pill into the air, the rain will stop. If, in the midst of a great battle or war, he casts the powder mixed with the mustard seeds toward the sky while holding the pill in his mouth, turning his face upward, and pronouncing the syllable hūṁ, he will produce a powerful bolt of lightning that brings ruin and downfall.
“The vidyā holder should descend into water and sprinkle the powder mixed with mustard seeds. He should throw the pill into the water and cast the mustard seeds in the four directions. If he then rubs his body with the oil,2335 he will appear in the form of a great nāga. If he throws the pill into the air together with mustard seeds mixed with water, the seeds will assume the color of fire, a loud rumble of Rāvaṇa2336 will be heard, and powerful bursts of lightning will flash in the sky. Once the vidyā holder comes out of the water, these phenomena will no longer be visible. If he throws the pill upward at the center of a well, the water in the well will flow upward and overflow in all directions.
“The vidyā holder should smear a jar, pot, small pot, golden pitcher, or water vessel with the powder, cast mustard seeds inside it,2337 [F.250.b] and fill it with water. If he subsequently uses this water for ablutions, the water will be seen flowing, but the vessel will be invisible. He will be able to perform many other tasks with great success.
“The king of oils can be applied to large rocks, and the other oils to stones. By applying the king of oils, the vidyā holder will leave an impression wherever he places his hands or feet.2338 He will leave such impressions anywhere. The rock will become as soft as a freshly churned butter and will instantly give way and bend. It will assume whatever shape the vidyā holder has in mind. He can make it round like a wheel or, for that matter, assume the shape of a vine. He can make stone pillars bend by themselves and then straighten again.
“The vidyā holder should mix mustard seeds together with the great powder made from lotuses and infuse them with the king of oils. If he then casts the seeds throughout the four directions, all mountains will disappear from view. He can make them appear as a forest, and then as mountains again. He can populate mountaintops that no human can traverse2339 with lions, tigers, various gramineous plants, vines, trees, and wild plants with jointed and hollow stalks.
“If the vidyā holder wants to conjure the Potala palace where Noble Avalokiteśvara resides, he should subsist on food consisting of milk and barley for seven days. He should maintain ritual purity, bathe thoroughly, and wear clean clothes. He should go inside a cleft in a mountain, find a clean spot, offer one thousand and eight oblations of mustard seeds mixed with the powder and daubed in the king of oils, and combine them with rice grains. He should do this at the three junctions of the day for seven days, using sticks of fragrant wood for the fire.2340 He should offer a bali consisting of ‘white’ foods and then, on the eighth lunar day, fast all day and all night. He should purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, apply a perfume of an exquisite fragrance, [A.128.b] and put on impeccably clean garments of fine fabric.
“He should thoroughly anoint his body with the king of oils, rub his limbs with the powder, anoint his eyes with the eye ointment, [F.251.a] apply the bindi to his forehead, and fasten the amulet onto his head.2341 He should tie the amulet2342 around his neck, wrists, arms, and waist. He should then cast some mustard seeds mixed with vermillion into the four directions, so that the mountain is sprinkled with them. He should also cast the great powder made from lotuses in the four directions. Grasping a lotus and noose with his left hand and forming with his right hand the great amogha mudrā that represents the stainless glow of Avalokiteśvara,2343 he should recite the sūtra of Amoghapāśa one time. Potala Palace will appear on the mountain, just as described in the Amoghapāśa Sūtra.2344
“The vidyā holder himself will appear in the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara, and Potala Palace on the mountain will appear exactly as it is on Potala Mountain. The trees that grow on the mountain will appear as if fashioned from various jewels, and gardens will appear with various flowers and trees, such as sal trees,2345 palm trees, tamāla2346 trees, champak2347 trees, aśoka2348 trees, atimuktaka2349 trees, Arabian jasmine, kadamba2350 trees, nīla2351 trees, trumpet-flower2352 trees, flame-of-the-forest2353 trees, cluster-fig2354 trees, and karnikara2355 trees. Various rest houses will appear that are adorned with cotton rosemallows, jasmine, and kupaka,2356 all graced with various species of birds and made pleasant with the sounds of their chirping.2357 Flocks of various birds2358 and herds of deer will be seen all around it. If the vidyā holder wants to apply a counteragent, he should move to another place. He will be able to display any other feats that he can imagine or that come to his mind. All such feats can be accomplished merely by studying about them.
“This concludes the secret procedure of the vidyā holders, the great amogha maṇḍala. This practice comprises various procedures of magically producing illusory amogha displays.2359
“Now I will teach a maṇḍala in which various mudrās are drawn. The mudrās are emblems, true mudrā seals; [F.251.b] they are various implements that are held in two hands emerging from a blooming lotus. The lotuses should be drawn half open, each with a pair of hands emerging from it, either outstretched or contracted into fists, and should be encircled with a garland of flames.2360 The hands hold the emblems and implements and display the mudrā gestures. The implements are a sword, spear, javelin, trident, wish-fulfilling jewel, banner, vajra scepter, vajra disk, double vajra,2361 triangle, wheel, conch, hammer, noose, axe, and mace, a basket with flowers, a full jar, jeweled vessel, garland of lotuses, circle of vajra scepters, garland of blue lotuses, and garland of flowers, a pink lotus, blue lotus, and moon disk,2362 Mount Sumeru, a mirror, nāga, and sacred thread, the moon, the sun, a banner,2363 a parasol, a forehead,2364 the staff of Yama, the mouth of a crocodile, a string of beads, a circle of tridents, the threatening gesture,2365 a frown, the gesture of giving comfort, the gesture of granting fearlessness, the gesture of granting boons, the añjali gesture, a book stand, mendicant’s staff, alms bowl, parasol,2366 diadem, string of jewels, golden string, string of pearls, bracelet,2367 and armlet, earrings, and a stack of wood2368 for the fire pit.
“These mudrā emblems are placed in the hands that emerge from the lotuses. The hands thus hold various implements and are surrounded by a garland of flames and various other marvels. They should be drawn either on a cotton cloth, a maṇḍala,2369 a wall, or any other appropriate material, and they should be brightly painted in various colors. Those who see them will not be born in hell again, nor will they fall into lower realms. They will always receive boons from Noble Avalokiteśvara and will be freed from all their wrongdoings. Even if they have committed terrible evil, such as the five acts of immediate retribution, and are destined to be reborn in the Avīci hell [F.252.a] or other hells, [A.129.a] all their negativities will be purified upon seeing the mudrā symbols. Freed from old age2370 and death, these beings will cross the ocean of saṃsāra. Their current birth will be their last; never again will they be soiled by birth from a womb. They will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower, again and again, in the realm of Sukhāvatī, and will always visit places where the Guide is present. They will certainly be born in the presence of Amitāyus; there is no doubt about this.
“They will swiftly accomplish all their various tasks, the vidyā, and the maṇḍala. They will attain the level of not turning back. Through merely beholding these mudrā symbols, they will attain realization equal to that of the Buddha. They will plant the roots of supreme virtue equal to the buddhas of the three times, and they will accumulate a great amount of merit in both this life and the next.
“Now I will teach about a maṇḍala of mudrā emblems that produces genuine accomplishments, unfailingly fulfills all wishes in this world and the next, and instantly removes all evil. The terrible sins of those who have committed the five acts of immediate retribution and are now suffering torment in the Avīci hell will be completely eradicated. The doors to the hell realms will be closed and the doors to the heavens open; there is no doubt about this. They will be able to see all the buddha fields, and all the tathāgatas there will care for them. As2371 soon as they behold the lokeśvara Lord2372 in the maṇḍala of mudrā symbols, they will attain the level of not turning back. Beings who die after seeing the maṇḍala with its mudrā symbols will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī after they die. By merely entering this maṇḍala, they will swiftly proceed to the abode of Amitābha, home of the Guide and Sage.
“The maṇḍala should be rectangular, and every part of it should be beautiful. Its four sides and corners should be well measured and adorned with four doors, each with a flight of stairs. [F.252.b] The place on the ground should be swept clean and prepared well so that it has a soft surface as smooth as silk. The skilled vidyā holder should measure out its symmetrical shape with a measuring cord as required for a true maṇḍala. Having divided it into parts, he should draw the mudrā symbols grouped equally in the four directions. Within the maṇḍala he should delimit a square area surrounded by a veranda and a row of tridents.2373 In the center of the square area he should draw a hand2374 that displays the mudrā of Amoghapāśa and is surrounded by a halo of exquisite light. The hand should be adorned with ornaments that are drawn with various paints in vivid colors.
“The vidyā holder should carefully distribute the mudrā emblems outside the central area, spacing them at regular intervals. He should adorn the entire maṇḍala with streamers, flags, and banners and sprinkle it with black mustard seeds.2375 The four quarters of the outer zone of the maṇḍala that contains the mudrās should be covered in clay and cow dung. It should be swept clean, well prepared, and brightly colored with powdered dyes. The skilled vidyā holder should surround this zone with a veranda and a row of lotuses, draw the mudrā implements there, and demarcate the four doors.2376
“He should then offer a bali of ‘white’ food of various flavors that accord with each of the mudrā implements, adding an offering of argha water for the feet. He should fill pots, jars, pitchers, cups, and water jars with the bali articles [A.129.b] and place full jars and incense holders all around it. He should supplement the white bali with various flowers and fruits, strew the maṇḍala with flowers, and surround it with garlands. After arranging divine garlands, he should offer incense of agarwood, sandalwood, olibanum, sallakī,2377 fenugreek, bdellium, sarjarasa,2378 nameru,2379 musk, and camphor. They should be arranged around the maṇḍala and lit.
“Having thus offered a bali of food and flowers, he should enter the mudrā maṇḍala. Mindfully reciting the Amogharāja mantra, he should circumambulate the maṇḍala clockwise, [F.253.a] bow to all the mudrās,2380 and cast a flower. The mudrā upon which the flower falls is the mudrā of the secret essence. This mudrā will make the maṇḍala effective for obtaining whatever result it is employed for.
“First, the vidyā holder should prepare the mudrā maṇḍala, making it exquisitely beautiful, and afterward perform all the rites. He should purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and cause beings2381 to enter the maṇḍala as required by the maṇḍala procedure. The activities that he accomplishes depend on the maṇḍala rites he performs, and they will be accomplished as soon as he enters the mudrā maṇḍala, a maṇḍala that is supreme. He will come to know the samayas for all the mudrās, numbering millions of billions,2382 that are shared by all the buddha families and were taught by the sage Vairocana, and likewise he will enter the samaya of all the rites shared by these families.
“Those who enter the mudrā maṇḍala will have their future awakening prophesied by all the victors. All the tathāgatas will watch over them, place their hands on their heads, infuse them with ambrosia-like Dharma essence, charge them with vital energy, and instantly bestow upon them the amogha accomplishments that are taught in the maṇḍala of Vairocana. Those who enter the mudrā maṇḍala will swiftly obtain the supreme amogha accomplishment that is shared by all buddha families. They will obtain the roots of virtue from hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, equal in number to the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers, and they will accumulate a great amount of merit. They can expect special desirable qualities in this world, and later they will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower with the ability to remember their consecutive births. Their bodies will blaze with millions of light rays, and their lifespan will be hundreds of thousands of immeasurable eons.
“They will obtain the samādhi called the magical amogha display of the pure light of all the qualities. [F.253.b] By obtaining this samādhi they will manifest the magical ability to work miracles that are like great illusory displays. They will convey the blessings of all the maṇḍala deities and of the lineage wherein all tathāgata families are equal. All devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras,2383 and mahoragas—all nonhuman and human beings—will fall under their thrall and become their followers. All buddhas and bodhisattvas and all maṇḍala deities will appear to them and stand by in order to guard, protect, and defend them. All beings will regard them as worthy of their worship and become their followers. They will become deserving objects of worship and receive generous offerings from kings with their harems and retinues. They will become the sole teacher of everyone, all their diseases will disappear, and all their obscurations will be purified.
“Now I will teach, for the sake of vidyā holders, a maṇḍala for the homa procedure. This genuine sādhana, a supreme rite for realizing the sameness of all the families, is for their success. As soon as this homa is offered, all the tathāgatas will arrive from every direction and watch over the vidyā holder. [A.130.a] Bodhisattvas will care for him too. They will grant him the accomplishment of the vidyā and will always protect him. There is no doubt that Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara will swiftly arrive and appear before him in person with all his retinue. They will always fulfill vidyā holder’s every wish, grant him boons, and watch over him at all times, day and night. There is no doubt about this.2384
“Now I will describe the maṇḍala. The vidyā holder should carefully measure out a large maṇḍala with four sides. Its surface should be wiped clean and made soft. [F.254.a] It should be symmetrical, with four corners, four doors, and flights of stairs in a regular pattern. It should be executed to perfection. In the central area he should delimit the maṇḍala where the fire will be. It should be square in shape, with four sides and four flights of stairs around it. At the center he should draw a square with a mandatory lotus inside it. The lotus should be fully blooming, with a pericarp and a beautiful ring of petals. In the first corner, he should draw a fine garland of lotuses; in the second corner, a vajra scepter and a lotus; in the third, a lotus and a trident; and in the fourth, a lotus and a wheel. In the fifth area,2385 he should place a full jar.
“He should paint the sections of the maṇḍala in various distinct colors, draw leaves and sprouts all around it, and fill it with flower garlands and jeweled vessels. He should draw enclosures for swans with lotuses and different species of flowers, as well as a variety of ornaments and adornments. In the corners on the western side, he should draw a white lotus and a blue lotus and full jars on the bed of dūrvā grass.2386 Around the center of the maṇḍala he should trace out the veranda with a railing of spears.2387
“He should then use a measuring cord to delimit the surrounding areas, demarcating the four doors.2388 He should surround the maṇḍala with five threads2389 and paint a ring of flames all around it. In each corner he should draw the fire deity in the color of blazing fire. His body is blazing fire, and he holds a blazing flame in his hand. The vidyā holder should also draw various other symbols as required by the procedure. The maṇḍala should be fully decorated with arrows, banners, and threads in five colors according to the maṇḍala requirements.
“The skilled vidyā holder should arrange full jars, incense holders, and bali articles of various flavors and forms, including the three ‘white’ foods. All around the maṇḍala he should place water bowls, cups, jars, pitchers, and pots, each filled with the bali articles. He should add various fruits and strew the maṇḍala with flowers. [F.254.b] He should add various garlands and sprinkle the maṇḍala with grains of parched rice and mustard seeds. He should surround the maṇḍala with lighted lamps, including those that exude various scents,2390 and place fragrant powders and the offerings of food everywhere. He should include a pair of sacrificial ladles and always place dūrvā grass2391 all around the entire maṇḍala.
“He should use sticks of giant milkweed or śamī2392 tree for fuel, and the homa articles should include mustard seeds and rice grains mixed with ghee, freshly churned butter, olibanum, and white sandalwood. He should place them as required for the homa rite and offer them into the fire. This should always be done one hundred and eight times at the three junctions of the day. The vidyā holder should maintain ritual purity, wear clean clothes, and subsist on the three ‘white’ foods. He must not partake of other food.
“The vidyā holder who knows the maṇḍala rite should enter the maṇḍala through the western gate and sit down facing east in a cross-legged position on a seat of darbha grass. Before noon, he should assume a loving frame of mind, mindfully repeat the Amogharāja, and perform the homa rite. At midday he should bring his disciples into the maṇḍala. [A.130.b] In the afternoon he should perform the homa rite that is shared by all the families. Those who enter this true homa maṇḍala will be successful in every way. The procedure will also effect self-consecration. Among all fire offerings, this one is said to be supreme in every respect.
“The most prominent among all fire priests are said to abide everywhere. The chief priests Vyāsa, Vasiṣṭha, Ekaśṛṅga, Mārgāgeya, and Bṛhaspati are the same as the worldly fire priests. But those declared by the Teacher to accomplish supramundane rites and activities are the great vidyādhara Vajrapāṇi, Indra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. Blessed by all the tathāgatas, they are superior to ordinary fire priests.
“The vidyā holder who performs this and the following rites that involve fire sacrifice for seven days at the three junctions of the day will instantly obtain the five superknowledges, as declared by the guide of the world. [F.255.a] After performing the preparatory rites, he should commence the homa rite.2393 Through this homa offering alone he will accomplish all activities, devas will always approach him, all tathāgatas will be pleased with him, and bodhisattvas will instantly arrive and appear before him to grant boons.2394 All his wrongdoings and dreadful past karma will be completely incinerated as soon as the homa is offered, burning immediately like a moth in a blazing fire. This and other evils will burn; there is no doubt about this. Wicked opponents and adversaries and the terrible dangers posed by enemy armies and powerful kings will all disappear, without a doubt, as soon as the homa is performed.
“All diseases and life-threatening ailments will be pacified. By merely performing the homa, the danger of famine and other calamities will be removed, as will the danger posed by yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, vighnas, vināyakas, piśācas, apasmāras, pretas, grahas, and various other beings. They will all perish as soon as the homa is performed; there is no doubt. Peace and prosperity will always reign on the continents, and there will be no fear or danger. All beings will always be victorious in every respect. The kings with their armies and harems will all protect their subjects from danger and will always thrive; there is no doubt. All embodied beings will remain free from disease and enjoy a happy, pleasant existence, their wishes fulfilled.
“The fire deity will always appear to those who desire to see him continually. As soon as the oblation is offered, the fire deity will become the vidyā holder’s servant and will always follow him to perform all his tasks. Deities will always arrive and will appear to him at all times. [F.255.b] The nakṣatras, Candra, Sūrya, Yama, Varuṇa, and the Four Great Kings with their armies and mounts will always follow him and protect him day and night. There is no doubt about this.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the heart essence of Amogharāja, he should maintain ritual purity, bathe thoroughly, and wear clean clothes. Having fasted for one day and one night, he should light the fire using sticks of giant milkweed and offer one hundred and eight2395 homas of rice grains and lotuses smeared with ghee. He will succeed in purifying even the five acts of immediate retribution with as little as a single homa.2396 This should not be disbelieved or doubted.
“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the sameness of all tathāgata families,2397 he should light sticks of bodhi tree and offer one hundred and eight2398 homas of pink lotuses, blue lotuses, and white2399 mustard seeds, all daubed with ghee. [A.131.a] He will accomplish the sameness of all tathāgata families. This is a great rite, a great homa procedure in every respect.
“If the vidyā holder wants to uproot an enemy army, he should maintain ritual purity, bathe thoroughly, and wear clean clothes. He should light a fire using sticks of cutch tree and offer one thousand and eight2400 homas consisting of curds, ghee, mustard seeds, and bdellium.2401 Any foreign armies within the radius of one thousand leagues will be stopped.
“If the vidyā holder wants to crush an enemy army and wipe out its troops, he should light the fire using oleander sticks and offer a homa consisting of a skin shed by a snake, datura seeds, salt, and rice grains mixed together and daubed in kaṭukā2402 oil.2403 The enemy armies within the radius of one thousand leagues will be ruined by great thunderstorms with hail and cold winds. Met with this calamity they will be destroyed, and all enemies will perish. [F.256.a]
“If the vidyā holder wants to cause nāgas to send rain, he should fast for one day and one night, bathe thoroughly, and maintain ritual purity.2404 He should offer a homa consisting of various fragrances, flower garlands, mustard seeds, and śatapuṣpa2405 daubed in ghee. When he has done this at the three junctions of the night over the course of one night, the great nāga kings will release torrents of rain. The rain will fall all over Jambudvīpa for seven days. If it rains too much, the vidyā holder should cast some of the ashes left after the homa into the sky; this will stop the excessive rain.
“If the vidyā holder wants to summon the fire deity in person and see him, he should purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and, having fasted for one night, light the fire using sticks of sumanas.2406 He should offer one thousand and eight2407 homas consisting of rice grains mixed with ghee, sugar, molasses, the three spices,2408 and jasmine flowers. When he has made one thousand and eight2409 offerings, the fire deity will appear in its flaming body from within the fire.2410 He will say to the vidyā holder, ‘Command me, vidyā holder!’ The vidyā holder should reply as he deems fit, telling the deity what tasks need to be performed. The deity will grant him every boon. It will give him, from the tip of its mouth, the sacred agnimukha2411 fire called immortal flame. Flames will then appear wherever the vidyā holder breathes out2412 this agnimukha, this immortal flame. Wherever he blows it out, fire will appear. If he breathes while in darkness, fire will be seen.
“If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight homas of white sandalwood, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him in person. If he offers a homa consisting of seven citrons,2413 all his diseases will depart. To enthrall a king, he should offer a homa of rice grains. He will sow enmity if he offers a homa of chaff and salt. If he offers a homa of parched rice and mustard seeds, he will enthrall all beings. To summon a yakṣa, [F.256.b] he should offer a homa of mustard seeds mixed with bdellium and ghee. To summon a rākṣasī, he should offer a homa of oleander flowers smeared with bdellium and ghee. With a single performance2414 he will accomplish all the tasks.
“Now I will teach a maṇḍala practice procedure that involves a painting. It is suitable for performing any activity. This universal practice is supreme in every respect and is the ultimate means of accumulating merit. It allows the vidyā holder to see all buddhas, and it reveals the true nature of Amogharāja, who appears as a guide for the world in various forms and under various names and can use his power to grant various magical abilities. Individual forms of the guide of the world are the seat of and cause for various accomplishments. [A.131.b]
“The vidyā holder should skillfully draw Amogharāja’s form, either on cloth or on Chinese silk. He should be drawn one cubit tall, well proportioned, with eight arms, and having the color of a pink lotus. Each of his three heads has three eyes and a gentle expression. He holds a noose, lotus, trident, water pot, wish-fulfilling jewel, and staff, a rosary held in one hand that is displaying the comforting mudrā, and a vase with flowers. To his left is Śvetā, and to his right is Noble Tārā. Both have bowed heads and folded hands and are adorned with every ornament. Noble Avalokiteśvara’s2415 hair is in a topknot, adorned with a diadem, and crowned by Amitābha. Above his right face is the crescent of a new moon. He wears an antelope skin and a sacred thread, and he is adorned with every ornament and surrounded by a halo of light that extends one fathom.
“The vidyā holder should draw five lines surrounding him: the inner line should consist of a row of lotuses; the second line, a row of vajra scepters with hooks; the third line, a row of jewels and gems;2416 the fourth line, a row of tridents; and the fifth line, a halo of flames extending one fathom in all directions.2417 [F.257.a] Above and to the right, he should draw Indra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara holding various flowers, and above and to the left, the powerful gods Kumāra, Yama, Varuṇa, and Kubera holding colorful flowers.
“Behind the goddess Tārā, the vidyā holder should draw Amoghapāśa-Krodharāja in his wrathful, wild form.2418 He has four arms and a blazing black body adorned with all ornaments. His hair is in a topknot and crowned with Amitābha. He has three eyes and is adorned with a crescent moon that is to Amitābha’s right. He holds a sword, a noose, a trident, and an axe. Behind the goddess Śvetā, the vidyā holder should draw the three-headed Vidyārāja with a peaceful expression, adorned with all the ornaments. He wears a diadem adorned with the victorious Amitābha and holds a lotus and a precious great jewel.2419
“Below Amogharāja, the vidyā holder should draw Dūtī, Sarasvatī, Śaṅkhinī, Śrī, Vāsantī, Anaupamyā, Ekajaṭī, Śivadūtī,2420 the deity of crops, and the goddess Pṛthivī. He should also draw the Four Great Kings. Above and to the right and left he should draw the figures of buddhas sitting cross-legged, each four fingers tall. On the same canvas of fine cotton,2421 he should also draw the deities Candra and Sūrya along with the nakṣatras. He should draw a closed outer circle of hands2422 that display various mudrās and hold various implements. There should be fifty-eight hands in all. All this should be surrounded by flames.2423
“This painting procedure is the supreme basis for accomplishing the vidyā. It instantly removes all wrongdoings, including the five acts of immediate retribution. Once it has been successfully executed, this painting with its mudrās and maṇḍala reveals and actualizes the sameness of all the families. It is blessed by the buddhas of the three times and by the bodhisattvas. [F.257.b] This maṇḍala and painting truly embody the sameness of all the families. Blessed by the sage Vairocana, this painting bestows the amogha blessing. It truly manifests Amoghapāśa’s nature and secret essence.
“Anyone who beholds this painting will be liberated and obtain the prophecy of their future awakening. Merely by seeing it, they will win the supreme accomplishment of all rites. They will come to see, face-to-face, the great maṇḍala-retinue of Vairocana that numbers hundreds of thousands of millions of billions, equaling the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers. By this supreme vidyā rite, the rites of the unified buddha families—the tathāgata family, the lotus family, the true jewel family, and the supreme vajra family—are accomplished, as taught by the sage Vairocana. By beholding the painting, the vidyā holder perceives all families equally. This is what makes this rite special. [A.132.a] He will not fall into lower realms or hell realms again. The doors that lead to the lower realms will close, while the doors to the heavenly realms will open. When he sees the maṇḍala’s supreme mudrās in the painting, he will accumulate supreme merit.
“If the vidyā holder wants to see the Lokeśvara in his amogha form,2424 he should sculpt a figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa out of sandalwood. It should be eight fingers tall and well proportioned. It should be divided into sections, each a finger long, that correspond to his vital parts. His head, neck, hips, knees, calves,2425 feet, toes with their joints, arms, hands, and fingers with their joints and nails should all be evenly spaced. The vidyā holder should demarcate the deity’s knotted hair and crown it with the Victorious One,2426 who is the size of a fingernail. To the right of the Victorious One is the crescent moon. Amoghapāśa is of peaceful aspect, with three eyes and four arms, all fitting the correct pattern. His hair is adorned with every ornament, and his form is beautiful.
“In his left hands Amoghapāśa holds a noose and a lotus with Amitābha on it. [F.258.a] In his right hands he holds a trident and, invariably, displays the mudrā of granting comfort. He sits on a lotus seat flanked by Tārā and Śvetā. The Lord should be carefully designed, with a halo of light around him extending for one fathom.2427 He wears golden ornaments and jewelry made of jewels and pearls. Optionally, the vidyā holder can place relics in the diadem on Amoghapāśa’s topknot.
“The vidyā holder should then prepare a maṇḍala using white sandalwood2428 and worship it with offerings of saffron, musk, and camphor. In the center of the maṇḍala he should draw a lotus with thirty-two petals and complete with stamens and a pericarp. The skilled vidyā holder, wearing a turban, should place the figure of the Lokeśvara2429 in the center of the lotus and cense it with incense of agarwood and sandalwood. He should strew it with flowers and adorn it with flower garlands.
“The vidyā holder—ritually pure, thoroughly bathed, wearing clean clothes, and observing the ritual fast—should then sit in a cross-legged posture facing the lokeśvara Lord and offer him argha water for the feet. Adopting a loving frame of mind and recollecting the Buddha, he should cultivate the samādhi of indiscriminate compassion for all beings. Refraining from speaking, he should skillfully and carefully perform the preparatory rites, including the self-protection rite, the binding of the directions, the binding of the maṇḍala, and the protection rite for the assistants.2430 He should then commence the recitation by reciting the mantra one thousand and eight times and displaying the mudrā the same number of times. Noble Avalokiteśvara will glow with light and start moving. The vidyā holder, too, will glow with light, his flesh covered in goose bumps.
Noble Avalokiteśvara, granting him boons, will extend his right arm, place his hand on his head, and say, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! Your worship is supreme. You have completed the great mantra procedure. You have performed the supreme practice. [F.258.b] This procedure of the mudrā maṇḍala constitutes a secret rite of all tathāgata families wherein all the families are equal. Your accomplishment, O vidyā holder, was to accomplish their universal equality. You have accomplished the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. Please choose, O vidyā holder, any desirable boons you have in mind. As you wish, I will grant them all. This birth is your last in saṃsāra. You will henceforth be free from birth, old age, and death. You are free from having to enter the womb again. After you depart from this life, O vidyā holder, you will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower in the realm of Sukhāvatī, in the presence of the Tathāgata Amitāyus. You will see him face-to-face and receive Dharma teachings from him directly. Your life there will last uncountable hundreds of thousands of immeasurable eons, lasting until you attain the final realization of awakening.’
“The vidyā holder should then consecrate himself2431 with the Krodharāja mantra and mudrā and put on a crown of flowers [A.132.b] or lotuses. His own body will then become Noble Avalokiteśvara’s. He will be able to travel through space, attain the samādhi called the miraculous display of pure amogha wisdom, and win the great accomplishment of the vast maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa. This practice with the image is truly the best. If the vidyā holder finds himself in an unfortunate situation, such as being destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell after committing the five acts of immediate retribution, I will certainly appear before him in my own form as soon as he performs this unique practice. If, out of animosity, he resolves to draw blood from the tathāgatas and buddhas of the three times,2432 even then the tathāgatas and buddhas of the three times will bless him [F.259.a] with the great wisdom2433 samaya if he accomplishes this practice. I will appear to him in person in his dreams and fulfill all his wishes and hopes. I will let him choose any boons and purify all his wrongdoings and obscurations.
“The vidyā holder will attain the samādhi called the splendorous maṇḍala of liberation of the pure gaze. Having thus awakened, he will become worthy of everyone’s worship and receive generous worship throughout the entire kingdom. His obscurations purged, he will obtain the bodily purification called spreading pure light in all directions. All beings who see him will have their obscurations purified. All their diseases and afflictions will depart. Even if an outcast practices the three sādhana methods,2434 or any other rite,2435 with faith and respect, I will certainly fulfill all his wishes and hopes and will appear to him in person. How much more will this be true for people who observe their vows and follow me out of faith!2436 If such a person merely thinks of me, I will appear before him in person and fulfill all his wishes and hopes. This should not be doubted or disbelieved.
“However, even if a person is of high birth and prosperous, I still might not be able to grant him success in his vidyā practice. The monks and the vidyā holders who will come during the final time of the final period will be selfish, crooked, double dealing, and double tongued. They will be selfish and ungrateful, covet the possessions of others, and steal mantras and letters.2437 They will be full of vices and envy and steal the possessions of others. They will be ungrateful [F.259.b] and disrespectful toward gurus, preceptors, and masters who teach the mudrā maṇḍalas. They will show disrespect for the teachers of this vidyā ritual.2438
“It is not possible to give protection2439 to those who are greedy and ungrateful, or to explain to them what the accomplishment is. Such beings have much contempt for me. They disparage and disrespect me, hit me out of hostility, draw my blood, and cause me injury. They violate the samaya of the secret maṇḍala of all the tathāgata families where all the families are equal. They should be considered a disgrace. They break the samaya of the vidyā rites and should be regarded as outcasts. They should be known as breakers of all the tathāgatas’ secrets. They should be known as ravagers of the secret maṇḍala that is the heart essence of all the tathāgatas. They should be known as breakers of all the bodhisattvas’ secrets, as ravagers of the maṇḍalas and mudrās of the vidyā holders, and as evil, contemptible outcasts. Such monks and vidyā holders should be known as reprehensible. They burn the pillars that support them, and they separate themselves from the vidyā. [A.133.a] They desecrate the maṇḍala of all the deities by allowing it to be taken over by wicked vināyakas.
“Such monks are ruined in both the worldly and the supramundane sense. They strayed from the vidyā and are destined for rebirth in hell. Therefore, I am not at fault here, as I did not abandon them; the tathāgatas of the three times did not abandon them, [F.260.a] nor did the bodhisattvas of the three times abandon them. They themselves abandoned all the vajra samayas, maṇḍalas, and mudrās. They abandoned the samaya of the great samaya maṇḍala of the sage Vairocana. They abandoned the great samaya, the samaya of the maṇḍala, and will be seized by all the vighnas, vināyakas, wicked grahas, and spirits of disease. I am therefore not to be faulted, as I did not abandon them.
“Such monks burned the vidyā, they burned their samaya bond with the maṇḍala, they burned the mudrās to be displayed, they burned the secrets, and they desecrated all the tathāgata families and their samayas. These evil monks will therefore experience suffering for many long eons, as many as there are atoms in the universe. They will not find happiness in this world or the next.
“Consequently, beings who desire vidyā should attune themselves to vidyā and cultivate thoughts of loving kindness. They should cultivate respectful obedience toward the master from whom they acquire the secret vidyā of mudrās and mantras. They should cultivate thoughts focused on the likes of me and give them the respect that is due to a mother and father. They should cultivate respect for the preceptor and sacrifice their flesh, blood, and bone marrow for him. They should serve and worship him with offerings of clothes, ornaments, drink, food, cushions, and covers.2440
“When they do this, I become a recipient of offerings and worship.2441 They make me a master who is always bound to them. As soon as they think of me, I will appear before them in person and will always be bound to them. I will always be bound, spreading myself around them like a drop of oil on water.2442 I will completely contain them, just as the ocean’s shore contains the ocean.2443 Using my noose [F.260.b] and goad, I will retrieve all hell beings and establish them on the path of the sugatas. I will invest them with great strength, energy, and vitality, grant them every success in their practice, and bestow upon them every boon.
“Henceforth, seeing the sandalwood figure will be the same as seeing Noble Avalokiteśvara in person. I will always be present there myself. The site where this rite takes place should be regarded as the seat of holy relics and known as the place where the master and preceptor is present. It should be known as the abode of the buddhas and the meeting place of the tathāgatas of the three times who are bound by their common samaya. It should be known as the wondrous secret maṇḍala, the meeting place of all the deities. It should be known as the place of all the tathāgata families and to represent the seat of awakening, the turning of the Dharma wheel, the overpowering of Māra, and final nirvāṇa. That place on the ground should be known as a palace that has been magically displayed, decorated, and made of seven precious jewels. This should not be doubted or disbelieved.
“Now, if the vidyā holder wants to create a universal receptacle of great accomplishments and great miraculous illusory displays, if he wants to accomplish all his tasks, he should use various fragrant substances to fashion a figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara that is sixteen fingers tall and has a well-proportioned body with six arms and three faces.2444 The first face should have a gentle expression, three eyes, and the appearance of Brahmā. Its hair should be in a topknot adorned with a diadem and crowned with Amitābha and a crescent moon.2445 [A.133.b] [F.261.a] The face on the right, in the aspect of Krodharāja, should be grimacing in violent anger. It should have three eyes, and its upward-flowing, matted hair should be adorned with a diadem. It should be crowned with Amitābha and a crescent moon to Amitābha’s right. The face on the left should be frowning and have three fiercely gazing eyes. It should be adorned with a topknot and a diadem and crowned with Amitābha and a crescent moon to Amitābha’s right.
“The figure should be adorned with every ornament and have a halo of light extending for one fathom. It should hold a noose, lotus,2446 trident, and axe, display the mudrā of giving comfort, and hold a jeweled staff. It should sit on a lotus seat. To the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara is the goddess Tārā bowing with folded hands, and to his left is Śvetā bowing with folded hands. Both are adorned with every ornament and various flowers. The vidyā holder should be depicted kneeling at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara with flowers in his hands, looking at the face of the Lord. The vidyā holder should adorn the figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara and cover it in gold.2447 Using uncontaminated paints, he should sequentially paint the areas where the important body parts are, giving a fine finish to the eyes, eyebrows, lips, and fingernails. [B20]
“Now I will specify the materials. The skilled vidyā holder should procure fragrant substances such as sandalwood, tagara,2448 vetiver, cloves, nāgapuṣpa,2449 fenugreek, ukharvala2450 grass, gandhamāṃsī,2451 nalada,2452 saffron, musk, camphor, meru,2453 gandha,2454 beautyberry,2455 frankincense, sarkara,2456 lotus filaments, olibanum oil, and beeswax. He should grind everything into a fine, soft, smooth, and excellent powder.2457 Staying pure and following pure conduct, [F.261.b] he should fashion a figure of the noble sage Avalokita2458 that is beautiful and peaceful in appearance,2459 executing the task to perfection. He should incant the figure with the mantra one thousand and eight times,2460 making his practice supreme. To make everything complete, he should consecrate the figure with the mantra of Krodharāja. Only then can he commence the main rite.
“The skilled vidyā holder—ritually pure, bathed, wearing clean clothes, and perfumed with fragrances—should build a four-sided maṇḍala that is expertly laid out and has the surface area of a boat. This divine maṇḍala should be smooth and smeared with various scents. Its surface should be soft, smooth, and colored with white sandalwood and saffron. In the center, the vidyā holder should demarcate the ritual circle with a lotus in it that has one hundred and eight petals, stamens, and a pericarp. It should be well proportioned and beautiful. The vidyā holder should paint it with white sandalwood and saffron but should not apply any other paints.
“Because scented water should be part of a bali offering, he should arrange jars filled with scented water. All the bali articles that are available to him should be infused with various aromas. The maṇḍala should be of the right size and located in either a dwelling place, a forest, a house, or wherever one’s home is. It should measure one, two, four, or more cubits. The vidyā holder should set out incense of sandalwood, agarwood, frankincense, and olibanum. He should add color to the maṇḍala by placing banners in various colors around it. He should strew the maṇḍala with flowers, decorate it with garlands, daub it with scented oils, and surround it with a row of lamps.
“He should then place the fragrant figure of Avalokiteśvara upon the filaments of the lotus in the center of the maṇḍala, sit down in a cross-legged position facing the figure, and commence the mantra recitation without saying anything else. He should silently recite the mantra2461 one thousand and eight times.2462 [F.262.a] When the number has been reached, the body of Noble Avalokiteśvara will radiate light of various colors and shake intensely. The vidyā holder’s right arm will, likewise, blaze with light.2463 The following words will issue from the figure: ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! You have successfully performed the entire rite, thus accomplishing the magic of the amogha wheel. You will fully accomplish all required tasks through your practice. You have accomplished, as well as can be, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. [A.134.a] You have accomplished, in the best possible way, the elaborate practice procedure.’
“After that, the vidyā holder should complete the rite as the maṇḍala procedure requires, namely, ushering the disciples into the maṇḍala and performing the relevant samaya rite. Thereafter, the vidyā holder should perform the same worship as before, whenever there is a task to perform. By employing the figure of the Lord made from fragrant substances, he will accomplish anything that needs to be accomplished. Placing the figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara in front of himself, he should recite the mantra2464 one hundred and eight2465 times. Noble Avalokiteśvara will then indicate to him, in his sleep, the various things that need to be done, explaining everything as necessary.
“The vidyā holder should use white sandalwood to demarcate a maṇḍala in front of the figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara and offer him one hundred and eight homas of white sandalwood. Having then incanted the ashes with the mantra one hundred and eight times, he should rub them onto his entire body. If he then casts the ashes mixed with mustard seeds in the four directions, everyone will perceive him in the form of the Lokeśvara. He will appear in the form of the Lokeśvara until he applies the counteragent by sprinkling himself with mustard seeds mixed with perfumed water.
“If the vidyā holder enters a charnel ground while burning incense containing the same ashes, he will become the lord of the bhūtas, who will approach him with their army and retinue.2466 All the yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas [F.262.b] will approach and attend upon him. They will remain in his thrall2467 and become his servants, eager to carry out his orders. They will serve him both themselves and with their wealth.
“If the vidyā holder smears himself with the ashes and enters a group of people or a congregation of monks, they will perceive him as the Teacher. He will become a recipient of great honors and worship; he will be praised and receive offerings of great value. If he smears his body with the ashes and enters a nāga pond, sixty-eight thousand nāga kings will all fall under and remain in his thrall. They will carry out his orders and attend upon him for as long as he lives. If he smears himself with the ashes and enters a royal household, the king with his harem and retinue will fall under and remain in his thrall. They will become his servants, eager to carry out his orders. He will be worshiped and honored as a great teacher of the world, receive many offerings, and acquire great wealth. People will serve him for as long as he lives, as they would serve the Teacher, the Guide.
“Those who come in contact with the ashes will be cured of every disease as soon as they touch them. They will be purged of all their wrongdoings and obscurations, and the doors to unhappy rebirths will be closed for them. They will experience supreme happiness, and after they die, they will go to the world sphere of Sukhāvatī. The exceptions are those who are ungrateful, mantra outcasts, those who are disobedient and disrespectful to their teacher, self-important people who show contempt for others, the allies of Māra, and deluded, stingy, and narcissistic people. I do not see how they could possibly attain accomplishment. They will not be liberated for a long time. They are reproached by the tathāgatas of the three times, by bodhisattvas, and by the vidyā deities of the maṇḍala. Their lineages will not continue. They will burn and will destroy their chances of accomplishment in this world and the next. [F.263.a] This is not my fault at all.
“Such beings will suffer great pain before they can be liberated by the great compassion and concern felt by the Buddha. It will be possible2468 for the Buddha to liberate them after keeping them in his heart for an infinite eon. In the meantime, they will experience much suffering and pain, again and again.2469 One attains accomplishment through loving kindness, [A.134.b] with love and mantra2470 for armor. The sword of loving kindness, taken up for the sake of all beings who are like one’s beloved children, is the true practice, and it is the essence of the accomplishment as approved by the guides of the world.
“For those without a protector, to see the fragrant form2471 of the Lord of the World2472 is very special; simply to see it is the same as seeing the Lord of the World in person.2473 In truth, it is the same as seeing the faces of as many buddhas as there are grains of sand in ten million Gaṅgā rivers. It is emphasized that seeing the figure is the same as seeing the Lord himself.
“Whether the vidyā holder is a monk, a son or daughter of good family, a king, a queen dowager, or any other type of practitioner, if they want to attain the level of not turning back2474 and become a vidyādhara emperor, if they want to see the buddhas of the three times, if they want to see the abode of Noble Avalokiteśvara, if they want to see all the deities of the vidyā maṇḍala, if they want to see Noble Vajradhara, if they want to see the samaya that binds with all tathāgata families equally, they should perform the following practice procedure. If they are kindhearted and diligent, [F.263.b] they will soon be able to work magic and easily produce secret wondrous miracles that will be plainly seen by the entire world. This should not be doubted or disbelieved. One should not be skeptical or harbor uncertainty.
“The vidyā holder should fashion a golden figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara four fingers tall, wearing the garb of Brahmā, and adorned with a diadem upon its topknot. It should be of exactly the right size, dressed in fine garments, and well proportioned, and it should have two arms and three eyes. It should be crowned with Amitābha and a crescent moon to Amitābha’s right. It should hold a lotus and a water pot in its left hand and display the mudrā of granting fearlessness with its right. The figure should contain camphor, musk, and relics within its body. The goddess Tārā, to the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara, should be fashioned from silver, bowing with folded hands and adorned with golden ornaments. Śvetā should be to the left of Noble Avalokiteśvara, bowing with folded hands.
“Noble Avalokiteśvara sits on a lotus seat among miraculous displays.2475 Above and to the right is Amitābha, sitting in a cross-legged posture. Above and to the left is the king of the Śākyas, sitting in a cross-legged posture. Noble Avalokiteśvara is surrounded by a halo of light extending for one fathom. All his body parts—his hair, forehead, eyebrows, nose, ears, mouth, neck, arms, chest, hips, thighs, knees, calves, feet, hands, and fingers—should be made to size, be symmetrical, and have the appropriate figure.2476 The image should also be wearing a white sacred thread. The sculpting work should be executed to perfection.
“The vidyā holder, satisfied that the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara is now complete and perfect, should commence the construction of the maṇḍala. He should start on the full moon day during an auspicious nakṣatra or, alternatively, on the eighth, fifteenth, thirteenth, [F.264.a] or fourteenth lunar day. A suitable time to construct the maṇḍala would be an auspicious day during the nakṣatra of Puṣya. It should be a fine, symmetrical maṇḍala with four sides, the corresponding four sections, and the surface area of a boat. It should be adorned with four stairways and be no more and no less than three cubits wide. The surface should be wiped clean, smooth, pliant, and soft. The maṇḍala’s sections should be delimited with a multicolored thread. Such a maṇḍala is supreme.
“The maṇḍala should have four doors that are laid out symmetrically. Within the inner zone of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should paint the maṇḍala of the lotus family, the maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa. The outer zone of the maṇḍala should be divided into eight sections. In the southern section,2477 he should use various colors to paint the maṇḍala of the tathāgata family. In the northern section, [A.135.a] he should draw the maṇḍala of the vajra family and paint it in various colors. In the western section, he should draw the maṇḍala of the jewel family and paint it in various vivid colors. In the eastern section, the skilled vidyā holder should always demarcate the maṇḍala of the elephant family using various colors.
“At the eastern door he should draw Potala Mountain adorned with various trees and flowers and populated by mountain deities. At the southern door he should draw Mount Meru populated by the gods from the realm of Thirty-Three and with the nāgas Nanda and Upananda coiled around it. At the northern door he should draw Gandhamādana Mountain graced with various trees and with groups of gandharvas roaming about. At the western door he should draw Mount Kailash populated with the deities who dwell there and graced with various flowers, vines, and, as always, fine specimens of trees. To give it a perfect finish, the maṇḍala should be surrounded by a blazing row of tridents.
“The tathāgata family should include a tathāgata,2478 the vajra family should include a tathāgata, [F.264.b] and the jewel family should include a tathāgata. These tathāgata families2479 should each include Vajradhara, demonstrating the universal sameness of the families. The goddess Tārā should be located on Potala Mountain, Pāṇḍaravāsinī on Mount Sumeru, Anaupamyā on the top of Mount Kailash, and the seven Tārās on Gandhamādana Mountain. Śivadūtī with a retinue of seven dūtīs should be at the eastern door;2480 the rākṣasī Ekajaṭī with a retinue of seven rākṣasīs should be at the southern door; Vajraśaṅkalī with a retinue of seven śaṅkalīs should be at the western door;2481 and the queen Bhṛkuṭī with a retinue of seven bhṛkuṭīs should be at the northern door.2482
“The skilled vidyā holder should place a holy relic in the finished golden figure of the teacher, the protector of the world,2483 and then place this miraculous figure of Amogharāja in the illustrious maṇḍala of the lotus family.2484 In the four corners inside the maṇḍala, he should place the Four Great Kings with their armies, each wearing coats of mail, fierce in appearance, blazing with flames, and holding weapons.
“Miraculous manifestations of the sage Vairocana, who arises from the all-encompassing tathāgata family, are known to be of many types, including the miraculously manifested Amogharāja and other boon-granting lokeśvaras miraculously emanated to facilitate the accomplishment of Amoghapāśa.2485 Amogharāja’s maṇḍala of liberation2486 is truly for the benefit and welfare of all beings. When this maṇḍala is successfully executed, the mere sight of it will produce the supreme accomplishment as described. Therefore, an intelligent person should continually engage in the relevant practice.
“The skilled vidyā holder—ritually pure, thoroughly bathed, and wearing clean clothes—should decorate the divine maṇḍala with various streamers and banners and set out various dishes filled with delicious foods of sublime flavors. He should also set out golden and silver bowls with argha water for the feet and the bali articles of various flavors, including a variety of fruits. The different forms and varieties of bali articles should be of exquisite flavor. [F.265.a] The vidyā holder should strew the maṇḍala with various flowers.2487 Among the various vessels containing the bali, the skilled vidyā holder should include jars, pitchers, water pots, earthenware bowls, and pots, all filled with scented water and all kinds of bali articles.
“He should burn various types of incense, such as agarwood, sandalwood, fenugreek, frankincense, olibanum, bdellium, nameru,2488 pine resin, sarjarasa,2489 camphor, musk, saffron, and sarkara.2490 All these excellent types of incense are supreme aids to accomplishment. The knowledgeable vidyā holder should spread various fragrant substances, scented powders, and scented oils all around the maṇḍala. He should set out flowers made of the seven precious jewels, silver and copper flowers, and coral, pearls, sapphires, and rubies. The jars placed in the four corners should be made of the seven precious jewels, silver, and gold. [A.135.b]
“He should sprinkle a mixture of parched rice and mustard seeds all around this wondrous maṇḍala and surround it with flower garlands and rows of lamps. Having fasted for one day and one night, he should perform the mantra recitation in full, and the protection rite according to procedure. He should bind the directions and the entire maṇḍala and perform the required maṇḍala rites. Afterward, he should bring the disciples in. As a teacher, master, and preceptor, he should show the secret samaya maṇḍala and the mudrā to his father, to the king, and to the royal ministers.2491
Having thus shown them the Lord, the teacher of the world, and the wondrous maṇḍala, the vidyā holder, filled with joy and singularly focused on loving kindness, should offer flowers and the five types of incense, bow in homage, circumambulate the maṇḍala clockwise, [F.265.b] and worship the deity. He should then sit in a cross-legged posture2492 and, watching the wondrous sight, recite the heart essence mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times. He should consecrate the maṇḍala with the mantra of Krodharāja, sprinkle it entirely one hundred and eight times2493 with mustard seeds mixed with water and flower petals, and display the consecration mudrā, which is always done one hundred and eight times.
“The vidyā holder should offer flowers, incense, and fragrances, placing them all around the maṇḍala in worship of the lokeśvara lord Amoghapāśa while seeing him as a true amogha manifestation. After this he should worship the lord Vajrapāṇi, the supreme king of vidyās, then Tārā and all the goddesses, and then all the deities of the maṇḍala.2494 2495
“Now I will teach the amogha eye, the supreme accomplishment of illusion. It is a great accomplishment of Krodharāja, a supreme accomplishment that can be learned. Meant for vidyā holders, this instruction primarily concerns magical displays. It brings joy to the learned and true accomplishments to vidyā holders. This is the uttermost secret of the tathāgatas and the bodhisattvas’ means to attain magical abilities. For non-Buddhist practitioners who have faith, it is a pleasant diversion. This method is most effective in transferring riches2496 and acquiring goods such as clothes, beds, and seats.
“The vidyā holder will be widely worshiped everywhere and will accomplish all his activities. All his wrongdoings and obscurations will be removed, and all his vices destroyed. This method delights kings and frees their harems. It brings supreme joy to male lay practitioners and great fun to the female lay practitioners. It allows the vidyā holder to develop qualities of a king of vidyās and to attain true accomplishments.
“The vidyā holder should observe ritual purity, follow pure conduct, and wear clean clothes. He should maintain utmost secrecy and be undistracted and completely honest. He should have great faith in the Three Jewels and always be devoted to his teacher. His thoughts should be continually charged with loving kindness and compassion for all beings. He should take pleasure in generosity and feel love and compassion for all beings. This practice is supreme. If the vidyā holder embraces discipline in training, he will accomplish the great amogha net of illusion.
“He should procure bovine bezoar, fenugreek, uśīra2497 grass, sandalwood, realgar, asafetida, gandhamāṃsī,2498 nalada,2499 costus,2500 and bhadramusta.2501 He should take an equal amount of each of these ingredients, mix them all together, and grind them into a fine, homogenous powder. He should mix in camphor and musk paste and cook it all in white mustard oil. He should add śatavārī,2502 bel2503 fruit, śatapuṣpa,2504 blue lotus, gandha,2505 beautyberry,2506 tagara,2507 musta2508 grass, the root of white lotus, and licorice. After adding six parts water, the mixture should weigh seven āḍhakas. He should boil it down to only one āḍhaka, combine it with milk condensed by boiling, and cook it in two prasthas of oil.2509
“To perform the task well, he should recite the mantra and employ a bali maṇḍala, offering flowers and incense. If he follows the procedure, the cooking should be done in oil.2510 When he knows that the preparation is ready, he should drain off the oil2511 [A.136.a] and perform the protection rite. He should pour the oil into clean vessels and again recite the mantra twenty-one times. He should place the vessels in secret places.
“The vidyā holder can then undertake the intended activities. If he anoints his well-washed and perfumed body with the oil, it will become invisible as if it did not exist. People will hear the sound of his words but will be unable to physically feel him. He will remain invisible for as long as he does not wash his body. If he applies the oil to his forehead as a bindi and to each of his limbs while reciting the mantra one time, he will ascend into the sky and, in an instant, be able to play with the devas and the vidyādhara lords who travel through the sky. If he anoints his head with the oil, his hair will become wavy and curly and turn a deep blue color. He will become a powerful emperor of the vidyādharas and be accomplished the art of the oil.
“By merely coming into contact with the oil, the vidyā holder will obtain a lifespan of ten thousand eons. His body will turn the color of a white lotus and as hard as diamond. The doors to all abodes will remain open for him, and he will be able to enter them at will. This will indicate that the maṇḍala rite2512 has been accomplished. If the vidyā holder marks his forehead with a bindi and makes the jewel of Indra,2513 he will instantly ascend into the sky, thus manifesting the accomplishment of the maṇḍala. If the vidyā holder anoints his feet with the oil, he will be able to traverse the sky. If he anoints his body, he will become invisible.
“If the vidyā holder blends the oil with vermillion and applies it as a bindi to each of his body parts, his body will appear to be permeated by fire. The instruction for the vidyā holder to produce a magical display is this: if he incants mustard seeds daubed in the oil2514 and casts them onto the maṇḍala, the maṇḍala will begin to move, spinning like a wheel. All the vessels filled with bali articles, the full jars, will rise into the air eight fingers high. At the sound of the vidyā holder’s finger snap, they will start moving around by themselves, rising up again before returning to their respective places in the maṇḍala. This indicates that the maṇḍala rite has been accomplished perfectly.
“If the vidyā holder blends the oil with the blood of a lion and smears it on his body, he will appear in the form of the great Narasiṃha. He will remain in this form until he washes his body. He can also perform any other feats that may come to his mind, such as levitating, becoming invisible, or appearing to be ablaze. If he blends the oil with the blood of a boar, he will appear in the form of Vārāha and will exhibit great strength and speed. If he blends the oil with the blood of an elephant, he will appear in the form of the great Gaṇeśvara. If he blends the oil with the blood of a horse mixed with nīla2515 and smears it on his body, he will appear in the form of Hayagrīva. He will remain in this form until he washes his body.
“If he blends the oil with cow’s bile, he will appear in the form of the great Bull Mount. If he blends the oil with the bile of a fish, he will appear in the form of the great Varuṇa, the nāga king. If he blends the oil with the blood of the red snake,2516 he will appear in the form of the great Ajagara. If he blends the oil with the blood of a goat, he will appear in the form of a great goat.2517
“The vidyā holder should blend the oil with a lotus plant that has been entirely pulverized, including its roots, leaves, flower, and stalk. He should add some mustard and smear his body with the oily mixture. The expert vidyā holder should make a bindi on his forehead and apply the oil to each of his limbs. He will subsequently appear in the guise of a great king surrounded by a cabinet of ministers and will discharge various duties of a king. He will successfully accomplish any tasks that he may have in mind.
“If the vidyā holder blends the oil with realgar and collyrium and anoints his eyes with it, he will appear in the form of Avalokiteśvara. [A.136.b] If he casts mustard seeds into the sky in the midst of a great assembly while mindfully reciting the king of vidyās, he will conjure a rain of various fruits. A lotus lake will appear, and a great rain of lotuses will fall. If he blends the oil with the sap of a blue lotus, he will conjure a great rain of blue lotuses. He can cause a rain of any flowers whose sap he blends with the oil.
“The vidyā holder can conjure any combination of shape, color, and symbol by blending the oil with discarded sacrificial garlands and then arranging them into the corresponding shapes, colors, and symbols. He will subsequently conjure exactly the same form. He can conjure a palace. If he takes a jewel in hand and focuses his mind, he will conjure many different types of jewels. He will conjure various ornaments and pieces of clothing. If he takes a bowl in hand, he will conjure various types of bowls. If he takes a jar in hand, he will conjure hundreds of thousands of jars.
“If he anoints the soles of his feet with the oil, he will leave a footprint on any rock he places his foot upon, as if he were stepping on freshly churned butter. The rock will appear to be as soft as freshly churned butter. If he anoints a pestle, the pestle will become a penis.
“The vidyā holder should enter a maṇḍala shrine of the mātṛs and collect the powder used to worship the statues of each mātṛ goddess. He should blend the powder from each of them separately with the oil. By applying one of the mixtures to his face, he will appear in the form of the corresponding goddess. He can perform various other feats, and it will be possible for him to perform activities with his mind and will alone.
“Now I will teach a way to increase the intellect. If the vidyā holder ingests some oil together with milk, his power of recollection and intellect will greatly increase. After applying this method for three successive nights, he will be able to recite and memorize one hundred thousand verses. After applying the method for seven successive nights, the store of his intellect will be as vast as the great ocean. After applying the method for a fortnight, his lifespan will increase to one thousand celestial years.2518 After applying the method for three weeks, he will accomplish the elixir of immortality. His wrinkles and grey hair will disappear, his hair will turn wavy and curly, and his body will become soft and tender, with the hue of a lotus.2519 He will appear as a ten-year-old, and his strength will match that of one thousand elephants. If he applies the same method for four weeks, he will become as strong as Airāvaṇa. If he applies the method for five weeks, he will become as strong as the great garuḍa.2520 If he applies the method for six weeks, he will become like Rāhu, the lord of asuras, in his great strength and valor. If he applies the method for seven weeks, he will resemble the maṇḍala of Mount Sumeru. He will be accompanied by the nāgas Nanda and Upananda and be immovable and unshakable like Sumeru—the dominion of nonhuman beings who are impossible to touch or see. He will be saluted and honored by all devas and praised by all ṛṣis; yakṣas and rākṣasas will bow to him, all tathāgatas will bless him, and all bodhisattvas will extol him. He will rival all the vidyādhara lords and all deities, such as Indra and so forth, in his accomplishment and secret samayas. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara will address him with reverence, and all the nāga lords will serve him. He will develop hundreds of thousands of good qualities.
“This great king of oils used by vidyā holders in magical displays is called the magical wrathful display of Amoghāṅkuśa. If the vidyā holder anoints a sword with it, the sword will blaze with light as soon as it is anointed. He will become a vidyādhara emperor, the foremost among all the emperors who rule over sword-wielding vidyādharas. If he anoints a vajra scepter, the scepter will blaze with light. [A.137.a] He will become a vidyādhara emperor who is able to travel through space. He will become the emperor of all the vidyādharas who wield vajra scepters. If he anoints a wheel, the wheel will blaze with light. He will ascend into the sky and instantly become a handsome emperor of the vidyādharas who possess wheels, and he will be able to crush all enemies. If he anoints a trident, the trident will blaze with light. He will become a wheel-turning monarch who dwells in the sky, and he will be strong, valiant, and courageous like Maheśvara.
“In the event of any blisters, boils, abscesses, erysipelas, skin eruptions, leprosy, scabs, ulcers, asthma attacks,2521 tinnitus, fistulas, edema, enlargement of the spleen, or disorders due to wind, bile, or phlegm or any combination of these three, the knowledgeable vidyā holder should drink2522 water or apply an unguent infused with the oil. All these ailments will disappear as soon as he does. The oil will remove all diseases,2523 including pain in the flanks, dysentery, heart diseases, diseases of the spleen, constipation, and chronic constipation. They will all disappear as soon as the patient drinks the remedy; there is no doubt about this. In the event of injuries, macerations, fractures, or diseases with symptoms that are difficult to cure, the patient will regain their strength as soon as they are anointed with or ingest the remedy. They will be full of energy, contented, and well.
“Various types of body-seizing spirits2524 are known to exist. All such grahas and terrible apasmāras will perish as soon as they come into contact with the oil. There is no doubt about this. All the suffering caused by terrible kākhordas and the poisons of garas will disappear as soon as the patient comes into contact with the oil. All poisons, whether of animate or inanimate origin, will be neutralized. All poisonous bites, whether by gonāsa snakes, scorpions, worms, venomous gadflies, the nāgas Vāsuki or Takṣaka, or goat-swallowing snakes,2525 as well as the poison of snakes whose gaze is poisonous, the poison of terrible creatures who spread it with their breath, the poison of creatures who pass it by touch, the poison of the wicked halāhala snakes,2526 poisons such as red lead, poisons that are derived from roots, from the protruding parts of plants, from leaves, or from flowers, poison derived from the aja mineral,2527 and various other poisons, will be neutralized as soon as the patient comes into contact with the supreme oil.
“Those who lose their way and follow the wrong path will arrive at the king’s door.2528 Those sentenced to die, the unfree, those involved in disputes, quarrels, or squabbles, those held in enemy prisons, and those who fear enemy armies will all be freed from their predicament if they apply the oil. Their adversaries and opponents will all perish instantly. If the vidyā holder has incurred the king’s wrath, he will be able to engage him in a jovial conversation.2529 If the vidyā holder is in the middle of a battle or a fight and engaged in combat, the supreme king of oils will grant him complete victory. If the wise vidyā holder anoints his eyes, he will become inviolable in every way. He may employ the oil for any other tasks as well and will always be supremely successful. [V93] [F.6.a]
“Now2530 I will teach the unexcelled cloth painting of Krodhāṅkuśa that instantly eradicates all evil, removes all afflictions, pacifies all diseases, and brings the supreme accomplishment.2531 To see this painting is to see Krodhāṅkuśa in truth.2532 By merely seeing this supreme cloth painting, the viewer accumulates a great amount of merit and plants roots of great virtue, the same as if he had visited all the vidyā power places, or if he had had an audience with, served, worshiped, and honored hundreds of millions of billions of tathāgatas, fully realized worthy buddhas, equaling in number the grains of sand in the ninety-two Gaṅgā rivers. By merely seeing this cloth painting, he will accumulate the same great amount of merit and plant the same roots of virtue as he would in the presence of all these tathāgatas. [A.137.b] All the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, and deities will care for such vidyā holder.
“The vidyā holder should prepare a square canvas with all four sides perfectly equal. It should be tightly woven,2533 soft, smooth, and very fine. It should be two cubits across, the fringe left untrimmed, and the loose threads removed. Alternatively, he could prepare an exceedingly beautiful, four-sided canvas from pure silk.2534 The painter should observe purity in his speech, wear clean clothes,2535 be ritually pure, and observe the ritual fast. [F.6.b] Using uncontaminated paints kept in new bowls, he should paint Noble Amoghapāśa-Krodhāṅkuśa using various distinct colors. This form of Noble Avalokiteśvara should have four faces. The first face is peaceful, three-eyed, adorned with a topknot, and crowned with Amitābha and a crescent moon to his right. He has four arms and is adorned with all ornaments.
“The right face of Avalokiteśvara should be fierce and inspire dread, with teeth pressing on his lips and upward-flowing hair adorned with a topknot. The face on the left should be very fierce and grimace with bared, protruding fangs. Its upward-flowing hair should be tied into a topknot and crowned with Amitābha. This face laughs wildly. Above the middle, peaceful face that is adorned with a diadem on its topknot, the vidyā holder should paint the great Krodharāja enveloped in flames, with only half of his body visible. His body should have the color of blue lotus, and his wavy and curly red hair should be crowned with Amitābha. He should be adorned with all ornaments and have two hands, one holding a blazing sword and the other a blazing hammer.
“In one of his right hands Krodhāṅkuśa2536 holds a lotus with kernels and stamens enveloped in light. In the other he holds a trident-goad.2537 In one of his left2538 hands he holds the unfailing noose, and with the other he displays the mudrā of giving comfort and sends out a profuse rain of jewels.2539 Each of his hands is enveloped in light and radiates light rays of various colors. He should be painted sitting in the paryaṅka2540 posture on a lotus seat atop Mount Sumeru, around which the nāga kings Nanda and Upananda are coiled. The surrounding ocean is teeming with fish and sea animals and abounds in jewels, gems, and pink, blue, white, and red lotuses, as well as water lilies. It is graced by swans, cranes, ducks, and jīvaka birds. [F.7.a]
“The goddess Tārā should be painted to Krodhāṅkuśa’s right, bowing her head toward him with folded hands. She is modest in her demeanor and adorned with all ornaments. Mahāśvetā2541 should be depicted bowing toward him with folded hands. She is adorned with all ornaments and is of modest demeanor. The great rākṣasī Ekajaṭī should be drawn holding a skull cup moist with blood. She is wild and laughs loudly. Her gaze is directed at the blazing figure of Krodhāṅkuśa. She has four hands, in which she holds a sword, axe, noose, and vajra scepter, and is adorned with all ornaments.
“The lord of the yakṣas2542 should be painted to Krodhāṅkuśa’s left. He frowns, is wild in appearance, and has upward-flowing hair. Surrounded by flames and kneeling on his right knee, he inspires dread. He holds a sword and an axe in two of his hands, while his other pair is folded in the añjali gesture. He is adorned with all ornaments, and his gaze is directed at the figure of Krodharājāṅkuśa. The lord of the yakṣas should be painted with a halo of light extending around him for one fathom and emitting hook-shaped light rays of various colors in all directions.
“Above them, the vidyā holder should draw Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, and Kubera, each holding a vase with various flowers and worshiping Krodhāṅkuśa. Behind Amoghāṅkuśakrodharāja, he should draw a tree made of the seven precious jewels with branches, leaves, and twigs. The vidyā holder should draw himself kneeling at the foot of the lord of wrath,2543 holding various exquisite flowers and a rosary and gazing at the lord of wrath. [A.138.a] He should draw the fierce Dūtī at the Lord’s other foot, glancing sidelong and holding a sword. Her face is contorted, and her hands are folded in salutation. She is adorned with all ornaments.
“When all the stages of the painting have been fully completed and approved, the vidyā holder should install it in a secret place. [F.7.b] Maintaining ritual purity and abstaining from food, he should recite the mantra in front of the picture of Krodhāṅkuśa2544 one hundred and eight times. He should offer whatever flowers, incense, and argha water for the feet may be available. The practice of this painting procedure will bring wealth; there is no need to perform other elaborate procedures.2545 Therefore the vidyā holder, maintaining ritual purity and abstaining from food, should offer flowers and incense to the painting daily and mindfully repeat the mantra of Krodharāja one time in front of the painting. He can then perform all activities and accomplish all tasks. This practice, once learned, will bring genuine results. If the vidyā holder performs it in utmost secrecy, he will accomplish his activities.
“The first time that one simply beholds the cloth painting, all five acts of immediate retribution that lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell and all the acts of opposing the true Dharma will be completely purified. All one’s wrongdoings and obscurations accumulated over hundreds of eons, and all negativity, will be eradicated. One will be saved from all danger, disease, and vice, and all enemies, opponents, and adversaries will perish. The vidyā holder—be they a son or a daughter of good family, a monk or nun, or a male or female lay practitioner—who renders even a little service to the cloth painting by offering flowers, incense, scented oil, or cow dung; who consecrates a maṇḍala2546 and sets out full jars; or who merely removes some dust will plant the roots of virtue as if in the presence of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, equaling in number the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers.
“Such a vidyā holder will accumulate a great amount of merit and fulfill the six perfections. [F.8.a] His2547 five acts of immediate retribution will be cleared, his lifespan will increase to one hundred eons, and all buddhas and bodhisattvas will be willing to see him. When his present life runs out, he will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower with the power to remember his successive rebirths. Furthermore, this secret maṇḍala of liberation,2548 the illustrious maṇḍala of the lotus family, and the dhāraṇī of Amoghakrodhāṅkuśa that constitutes the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, all of them complete, will remain on the tip of his tongue. The secret samaya of all tathāgata families and the secret collections of mantras, mudrās, maṇḍalas, and rites will all remain immediately accessible to him.
“The vidyā holder will proceed from one buddha field to another, meeting all the tathāgatas face-to-face. He will acquire every good quality and attain all the perfections. He will plant the roots of every virtue and accumulate much merit. He will become the teacher of the entire world, whose speech is pleasant to hear, who is loved by the entire world, and who is worshiped everywhere. He will master every vidyā, and all his wishes will come true. He will accomplish all his tasks, and his intellectual abilities will be entirely unchallenged. [A.138.b]
“Now I will teach the maṇḍala of Krodhāṅkuśa, a supreme maṇḍala, and its secret mudrā, which is suitable for all rites. The vidyā holder should use soft clay and cow dung to construct a four-sided maṇḍala with a flight of stairs on each side. It should have the right measurements, be symmetrical, and have a total area equal to a boat. [F.8.b] Its surface should be carefully wiped, smooth, glossy, and soft. The vidyā holder should demarcate the sections of the maṇḍala using a thread and clearly set them off using a different color for each section. He should carefully demarcate the four doors and the four stairways so that they are distributed symmetrically. The doors should be adorned with archways.
“Inside this maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should carefully demarcate a smaller maṇḍala that is one cubit across. It should fit the measurements and have four equal sides. In the center of this inner maṇḍala, he should skillfully draw a well-proportioned lotus with twelve petals that is flanked by a goad and a trident. In the very center of the ring of filaments, on the kernels of the pericarp, he should draw Krodhapāśa.2549 He is of wild appearance that inspires fear, and he holds a sword and an axe in his hands. He wears a diadem upon his topknotted hair and is adorned with all ornaments. Half his body is wrapped in the noose.2550 He faces west and holds2551 a trident2552 and a lotus. In each corner the vidyā holder should draw a face, blazing with light, that is fixed upon a trident upon a lotus. The face2553 should be fierce and inspire great fear. It should be grimacing, with its terrible bared fangs protruding from its mouth. It should be visualized as being permeated with light.
“The vidyā holder should use different colors to draw an inner line2554 of hooked tridents,2555 glowing with inner light.2556 The second line drawing should consist of half-opened lotuses, their filaments blazing with light.2557 The third line should be drawn in the shape of a wheel with an outer rim consisting of hands displaying mudrā gestures and holding various implements, such as a sword, noose, trident, pair2558 of bala,2559 spear, conch, tirya,2560 discus, three-pointed spear, hammer, javelin, scimitar, jewel, tricchulya,2561 lance, double vajra, five-pointed spike, halberd, [F.9.a] triple vajra, lotus, and trident. They should be drawn blazing with light of various colors and surrounded by a decorative veranda. In the area of the maṇḍala outside the veranda, the vidyā holder should draw various symbols. He should draw a circle of the mudrā symbols that are shared by the four great families.
“Within the eastern section of this circle of mudrās he should draw the mudrās and symbols of the tathāgata family. In the southern section he should draw the mudrās and symbols of the great lotus family. In the western section he should draw the mudrās and symbols of the jewel family. In the northern section he should draw the mudrās and symbols of the vajra family. At the eastern door he should draw the krodharāja of the tathāgata family. At the southern door he should draw the krodharāja2562 of the great lotus-family maṇḍala. At the western door he should draw the krodharāja2563 of the jewel family. At the northern door he should draw the krodharāja2564 of the vajra family.
“The forms of the krodharājas2565 all have an inner fiery glow and are adorned with all ornaments. They should each be drawn with four hands in which they hold various implements. Firmly established atop Mount Sumeru,2566 they each sit in the partial cross-legged posture2567 with their bodies slightly inclined. Outside the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should draw circular lines of jewels, vajra scepters, flowers, and tridents, as well as a surrounding veranda-like structure that blazes with light. He should adorn the entire maṇḍala with streamers, banners, and flags and stretch a colored thread around it. [A.139.a] He should arrange dishes filled with bali articles of the best flavors available and then, following the procedure required for a bali offering, set out full jars, incense holders, water pots, and jars filled with the ‘white’ bali articles. He should add fruits, various fragrances, flower garlands, and scented oils, and he should strew the entire maṇḍala with flowers and sprinkle it with parched rice and mustard seeds.
“In the corners inside the maṇḍala, he should place silver bowls with the offering of argha water for the feet and scatter the seven precious jewels. [F.9.b] In the center of the maṇḍala, the knowledgeable vidyā holder should place a water pitcher filled with scented water, adorn it well, and tie silk cloth around it. He should place such pitchers filled with scented water and tied with silk cloth at each of the four doors. At each door, the learned vidyā holder should offer tasty bali articles that contain molasses, sugar, and honey. Near the tridents2568 he should place a bali consisting of the finest dishes of curds and milk, jars of cream, cakes, pastries, sweetmeats flavored with pine resin, and other divine delicacies.2569
“Continuing with the bali procedure, the vidyā holder should strew the entire maṇḍala with flowers, adorn it with garlands, and set out various types of grain and fruit. He should spread green grass and leaves and surround the maṇḍala with rows of lamps. He should burn incense made of agarwood, sandalwood, fenugreek, olibanum, pine resin, bdellium, and frankinsence mixed with honey and sugar.2570 This incense should be placed all around the maṇḍala, in incense holders that diffuse the scent, as an offering to the maṇḍala deities.
“Next, the vidyā holder should bind the directions and bind the maṇḍala. He should tie his hair in a topknot and perform the rites of self-protection and protecting others. He should then enter, look at the supreme maṇḍala, bow to it, and circumambulate it clockwise.2571 He should then grant the samaya. He should always perform these rites in secret, employing the mantra. Once he has completed all the stages of the rite exactly as required by the maṇḍala procedure, [F.10.a] he will be eminently successful in all his activities.
“Everyone who enters the maṇḍala will then join the retinue of the Victorious One corresponding to one of the four colors,2572 and they will all experience good rebirth. They will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī in the retinue of the Victorious One; there is no doubt about this. They will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower in the presence of Amitābha, with divinely beautiful forms that are adorned with all ornaments. They will attain great supramundane accomplishments; there is no doubt about this. They will win the supreme worldly accomplishments of the maṇḍala, the ritual, the mudrā, and the mantra of Krodharāja.
“This rite will instantly remove all the vidyā holder’s wrongdoings and obscurations and will eradicate all his vices. It will instantly suppress all his enemies, pacify all his diseases, and bring success, supreme success, in all his activities. He will be lord of the entire world, be loved and followed by everyone, and receive supreme worship from kings, ministers, and others. All people everywhere will run after him in order to see and worship him, including monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras. All women, men, boys, and girls will always love him and be filled with the utmost devotion for him.2573
“His words will be pleasant to hear, and he will always be protected by deities such as the thunderbolt-wielding lord of the realm of Thirty-Three, the great being with thunderbolt-like nature,2574 as well as by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Kumāra, Nandikeśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, and the Four Great Kings. They will always support a vidyā holder who has entered and seen the maṇḍala of Krodharāja, and they will be ever ready to protect him. [A.139.b] [F.10.b] There is no doubt about this.
“The knowledgeable vidyā holder will live a long life with few quarrels and will be successful in every respect. He will always delight in entering and looking at the maṇḍala and will be loved by all buddhas and bodhisattvas. Every buddha and transcendental2575 tathāgata will give him their blessing, comfort, and encouragement, as if he were their beloved son. His current birth will be his last, and he will never be soiled by birth from a womb again. He will be able to remember his successive births; there is no doubt about this.
“Continually progressing toward the awakening of a buddha, the vidyā holder will be able to see the victors as they truly are, and he will receive the Dharma teachings of all the buddhas directly from them. There is no doubt about this. His present birth will be the final one, before he fully realizes the awakening of a buddha. He will also be able to accomplish hundreds of thousands of various tasks and activities. Whatever his task, he should focus his mind and thoughts on Krodhāṅkuśa and mindfully repeat his mantra one time. He can then perform any activity whatsoever. This completes the practice procedure that can be accomplished through study.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, looked at the face of the Blessed One and smiled. He then pronounced2576 the dhāraṇī of the great Krodhāṅkuśa and simultaneously sent forth rays of multicolored light from his radiant body, illuminating the world spheres of the great trichiliocosm. When the world spheres in the great trichiliocosm became illuminated by these rays of light, a rain of seven types of jewels began to fall, each jewel permeated by inner light. A rain of various divine flowers and divine fragrances [F.11.a] fell upon the Blessed One and the noble lord Avalokiteśvara, filling the air with various scents and subtle fragrances.
With a heart full of joy, the noble lord Avalokiteśvara emitted from his forehead divine water that sparkled with light and diffused fragrance far and wide. The drops of this radiant spray of water looked exactly like pearls or nutmeg. As the water sprayed across the firmament of the sky, the drops embedded themselves there as stars. The drops emerging from his forehead, bright as the blazing sun, illuminated the ground in front of the Blessed One and formed the shape of a half-opened lotus, clearly visible at the Blessed One’s feet, with one hundred thousand bright and colorful petals, soft and silky kernels, and a radiant stalk the color of beryl. As tall as a human, it stood before the Blessed One, shining brighter than one hundred thousand suns.
Vajradhara, the great lord of vidyā holders, saw the half-opened, radiant lotus, its delicate petals shining with beryl-colored light, and became filled with wonder. His curiosity rose, so he prostrated at the feet of the blessed Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and asked, “O great being! I see something truly amazing. I see a great miraculous display. I am absolutely mystified, O great being, by what I see. Please satisfy my curiosity, O pure great being!”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, replied to Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, “I am the keeper of a mantra, a king of vidyās, sealed by mudrā as the deity of the maṇḍala. This mantra is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa called the unfailing lotus noose-goad as pure as a lotus.2577 [F.11.b] I will now proclaim this mantra in front of you, in this great assembly, in the presence of the Tathāgata. It is by the power of the Tathāgata’s blessing, [A.140.a] and by the power of this king of vidyās, that this miraculous display of magic has manifested itself. It is by its power that this lotus has appeared. I have caused this king of vidyās to emerge out of my forehead. This is accompanied by a vast and great miraculous display.”
Hearing these words, Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, saluted Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, by bowing his head to the Lord’s feet, circumambulated him clockwise three times, and made offerings. He then walked over to the blessed Śākyamuni, stood before him holding a yak-tail whisk,2578 and fanned him.
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni spoke to the blessed Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being: “Please pronounce, O great being, this mantra that is sealed by mudrā as the great deity of the maṇḍala, this king of vidyās, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, that is called the unfailing lotus noose-goad as pure as a lotus!2579 This teaching alone reveals the secret samayas of all the tathāgata families and their maṇḍalas, mudrās, and mantras. The maṇḍalas, now uncovered, will remain open to view. All the rites, mantras, samayas, and mudrās will be propitious for the vidyā holder. All the deities of the maṇḍala, the kings of vidyās, will stand by him, true to their samaya. His practice will bring genuine accomplishments; it will never again be otherwise. [F.12.a] If the required practice procedures are performed correctly, all his activities will be accomplished, and all the deities, the kings of vidyās, will always accompany him, following close behind.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, listened to this entreaty by the Blessed One. Motivated by compassion for all beings and the desire to bring supreme accomplishment to all vidyā holders, the accomplishment that is won through study and practice, he smiled as he pronounced, with an unblinking gaze, the king of vidyās in the presence of the Blessed One, in the midst of the great assembly:
“Homage be to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas established throughout the three times! Homage be to the vast, secret maṇḍala of all the tathāgatas, the mudrās, and the mantras!2580 Homage to Noble Vajradhara, the lord of the holders of the secret vidyā of all families!2581 Homage to all pratyekabuddhas, all noble śrāvakas, and the saṅgha of the past, present, and future! Homage to all the great kings of vidyās of the secret maṇḍala who bring the accomplishment of practice. Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great bodhisattva being! Homage to the kings of all vidyā maṇḍalas who have accomplished magical amogha powers! Homage to all the mūdras! The king of vidyās is:
[313] “Oṁ, pure lotus, innately pure, born in pure water, bright as the sun with one thousand rays, ablaze with a great mass of rays! Act, act! Act, act! Be alive! Lotus beyond and lotus within! You have two lotus arms.2582 Your body, pure as a lotus born in crystal-clear water, is adorned with jewels, gold, diamonds, beryls, sapphires, emeralds, coral, and various other great jewels and gems. Hold it, hold, O great lotus holder! [F.12.b] Para para, O holder of an axe2583 and a noose! Expand, expand, you whose light penetrates everywhere! You are a recipient of the secret blessing of all the tathāgatas! You fulfill the samayas of the families! Vara vara! You are enveloped by a vajra blaze. O vajra, vajra! O lotus, blessed by the vajra, hūṁ hūṁ! O jewel, jewel, great jewel! O holder of the wish-fulfilling jewel noose,2584 act, act! O lotus, lotus-white! You hold a lotus in one hand and display the boon-granting mudrā with the other. O amogha lotus! Oṁ, lotus lady,2585 [A.140.b] holder of a lotus, jewel, and vajra scepter! You are established in the samaya bond with all tathāgata families equally. You whose arms have a wide reach, carry, carry! Bring together! Bhuru bhuru, bhūraṇi!2586 Bhiri bhiri, O king of vidyās with panoptic vision! Expand, expand! O pure expanse! You are honored by all the deities of the vidyā maṇḍala. Cross, cross! Rescue, rescue! You make everything complete. You consecrate all bodhisattvas and are yourself amogha-consecrated by all the tathāgatas. Please consecrate me! You are invested with the samaya of all the families of vidyā maṇḍalas. Your hand displays the boon-granting mudrā of all the tathāgatas. O lotus white, lotus hued, you are like the interior of a half-opened lotus, hūṁ hūṁ! O vajra, vajra! O vajra, O lotus, blessed by tathāgata families! You grant amogha boons. You fulfill all wishes. You pacify all evil and all suffering. Please bring the accomplishment of the amogha essence! O pure being, hūṁ phaṭ! Oṁ, granter of boons with lotus-like arms, homage be to you! O inner lotus space,2587 svāhā!”2588
As soon as the great dhāraṇī—the king of vidyās, the unfailing lotus noose-goad as pure as a lotus,2589 the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, the essence of the samaya mudrā of the sameness of all tathāgata families whose light penetrates everywhere—was pronounced by the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the aforementioned lotus, complete with pericarp and filaments, opened fully like a gate in the city walls, and from it emerged a queen2590 who had four arms, was adorned with every ornament, and displayed a divine form of infinite brightness. Taking the form of Amoghapāśa, she held a lotus, a noose, a great jeweled banner crowned with a great wish-fulfilling jewel, and a trident. She had three faces, each with three eyes and crested with a crescent moon. She was of a peaceful and gentle aspect, with a smile on her face.2591 Her body, permeated with inner light, emitted rays of light of various colors. Seated on an open lotus supported by lions, [F.13.a] she stood up before the Blessed One and paid homage to him, bowing her head to his feet. She circumambulated him clockwise three times and, bowing her head low, stopped in front of the Blessed One with folded hands. She remained like this, gazing at the Blessed One with unblinking eyes.
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni asked Unfailing Lotus Noose-Goad as Pure as a Lotus, the king of vidyās who had assumed a female form, “Why are you gazing at me, O pure being, with unblinking eyes? Why, O deity, do you keep supplicating me?”
The king of vidyās2592 replied, “May I realize, O Blessed One, the sameness of the secret maṇḍalas of all tathāgatas! May I gain insight into the secret mudrās, mantras, and samayas they share!”
The Blessed One replied, “Listen, great king of vidyās!2593 You have been prophesied2594 by all the tathāgatas, including the Tathāgata Vairocana, who is the chief of every maṇḍala, to be the all-secret seal of the samaya maṇḍala.2595 I, too, declare that, as far as all the secret maṇḍalas, mudrās, and samayas of all tathāgatas are concerned, you are foremost. You are Tuṇḍā, Śvetā, Tārā, Bhṛkuṭī, Padmasundarī, Kelikilī, Mahādevī, Vajradūtī, Vimalākarī, Padmanetrī, Vajraśaṅkalī, the goddess Vajrabhṛkuṭikā, Padmaprabhāsinī, Padmacāriṇī, the great vidyārājñī Amoghapadmahastā, Bhogavatī, Śrī, Bhīmā, Anaupamyā, and Sarasvatī. You are Ekajaṭī with one thousand eyes, one thousand arms, and one thousand heads. You are Amoghapadmā, Caralā, and the goddess Ratnā. [F.13.b] You are the lokeśvara who is the master of vidyās and a source of jewels. You are a great goddess, the lady of the mudrās, [A.141.a] and the maṇḍala goddess of the families.2596 You are the deity of the activity of pacifying, propitiated through mantra recitation and homa offerings.2597
“You are the great vidyā Kulasundarī, and you are Vajrasundarī. You are a discus holder, a goddess who carries a sword, and a sword vidyādharī. You are the wrathful Krodharāja, and you are Kālarātrī with a grimacing face and protruding, bared fangs. You are Piṅgalī, and you are Svakāśi. You are a jewel holder and the goddess of the entire earth. You are the deity who procures power substances. You are the chief deity of the offering of argha water for the feet and of the bali offering. You are the deity of perfume, flowers, incense, garlands, and scented oils. You are an omnipresent goddess who is behind the enthralling power of every mantra.2598
“You are the chief king of vidyās in female form. You are the keeper of all mantras that contain the plea ‘Please rescue me!’2599 You are the chief king of vidyās2600 and the patron goddess of all vidyā holders. You are the secret mantra of all families taught by all tathāgatas. You are a great king of vidyās, a perfect priest,2601 and a lokeśvara. You are the goddess born from a drop of sweat between the eyebrows of Avalokiteśvara. You emerged from it resembling a star in form and appearance. Be the bearer of all forms, O Sarasvatī, the performer of all activities!
“Whoever upholds these names2602 will receive a prophecy from all the tathāgatas about his future awakening. Or, if he rises at daybreak and recites these names, he will win the accomplishment of all vidyās. He will obtain various accomplishments and accomplish all mantras, mudrās, and ritual procedures. He will obtain the amogha accomplishment and will manifest amogha results. He will display signs of scholarly accomplishments, in addition to other signs. He will accomplish every aspect of the maṇḍalas and mudrās shared by all the families. [F.14.a] He will both accomplish the maṇḍala-seal shared by them and create the samaya bond with those families.2603
“By merely remembering this king of vidyās, all the maṇḍala, mantra, and mudrā deities will arrive. They will all remain close by, merely through this act of remembering them; there is no doubt about this. All the deities from the maṇḍala of the king of vidyās will keep their samaya. For that reason, the vidyā holder should make every effort to uphold the king of vidyās that was taught by the king of the Śākyas and by the sage Vairocana. Such a vidyā holder will be watched over by all the tathāgatas, who will also follow him. Therefore, this deity, Avalokitapadmā, is the supreme king of vidyās.
“This king of vidyās grants the supreme, great accomplishments of the vajra and lotus.2604 It grants the accomplishment of the tathāgata family, the accomplishment of the great families of the maṇḍala,2605 and the accomplishment of the great jewel family. It grants the accomplishment of the samaya of these families. It grants the accomplishment of magical powers and the supreme accomplishment of the entire maṇḍala that constitutes the essence of Amoghapāśa.
“The vidyā holder will win the supreme accomplishments that arise in the vajra family: those of the divine vajra peak, vajra underground, and vajra garland2606 are considered a group. As soon as he mindfully repeats the names of Avalokitapadmā or Padmasundarī, she will immediately arrive and stand by him, as will the vajra lord, the vajra bearer, the great lord Vajrapāṇi.2607 They will stand by him continually. Therefore, the wise propounder of vidyā should always uphold the supreme name.2608 All the tathāgatas and all the bodhisattvas will continually watch over such a vidyā holder, and the sage Vairocana will certainly prophesy his future awakening. There is no doubt about this.”
As soon as the Blessed One gave this teaching on the king of vidyās, the earth quaked in six different ways: [F.14.b] it quaked gently and violently, shook gently and violently, and trembled gently and violently. It hummed softly and loudly, and it rumbled softly and loudly. A rain of divine flowers fell, flowers such as candraroca,2609 vimalaroca,2610 mahāroca,2611 the flowers of the coral tree and great coral tree, white, pink, red, and blue lotuses and water lilies, the blossoms of the aśoka tree and the trumpet-flower tree, punnāga2612 flowers, fragrant jasmine flowers, kontā2613 flowers, adhimuktaka2614 flowers, the blossoms of flame-of-the-forest,2615 [A.141.b] indigo flowers, mahānīla2616 flowers, champak blossoms,2617 and the flowers of saugandhika,2618 siddhavāriṇa,2619 nāgapuṣpa,2620 sumanas,2621 pūrvika,2622 navamallikā,2623 taraṇa,2624 maruvaka2625 and kupyaka.2626 It rained divine garments of various beautiful colors. It rained divine ornaments, adornments, jewelry, and the seven precious jewels. It rained divine golden flowers. It rained divine fragrant substances such as sandalwood, tamāla,2627 camphor, musk, saffron, and other divine perfumes and scented powders. It rained divine perfumed water. Musical instruments played without being touched.2628
The devas from the realm of Thirty-Three, hovering in the canopy of the sky, scattered various flowers. They threw various divine2629 jewels and items of clothing. They threw various divine pearl necklaces, bracelets, armbands, pearl necklaces made of moon-colored pearls and red pearls, and garments made from Vārāṇasī silk. Śakra the chief of the devas from the realm of Thirty-Three, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kumāra, the Four Great Kings, and the ninety-nine thousand gods headed by Īśvara threw various tools and implements created by the devas. They threw divine garments, flowers, fragrances, garlands, [F.15.a] scented oils, and various parasols fashioned out of the seven precious jewels. They threw them from the canopy of the sky, creating a great cloud of offerings for the blessed Śākyamuni, Noble Avalokiteśvara, Vajrapāṇi, and the assembly of the vidyārājas, worshiping them with these generous offerings.
Great miraculous events and magical feats were witnessed clearly, attesting to the great magical power behind them. All the tathāgatas with their retinues and assemblies in all the buddha fields in the ten directions became clearly visible. All the secret maṇḍalas of all the tathāgatas were laid open, and various celestial palaces could be clearly seen.
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, approached the Blessed One, circumambulated him clockwise three times, saluted him by bowing his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and stood in front of him, waving his vajra scepter. Smiling, he asked the Blessed One, “I see, O Lord, a great display of miraculous events. I see a great rain falling, with great clouds of offerings. I see, O Lord, the signs of great magical power. I see devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other nonhuman and human beings who have gathered in this great assembly. I see the great king of vidyās in plain sight. I see a great display of miraculous events. I see a display of magical creations. I see the arising of the great vidyā2630 of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being. What is the cause of this, O Lord, what is the reason? What does the display seen here portend? [F.15.b] What are these magical creations that I see? These questions, Lord, arise in my mind. Please explain these points, Lord, so that my uncertainty is dispelled and I know the answers to my questions. Please be so kind, Lord, to clarify this for me!”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni gave the following reply to Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, “Listen Vajrapāṇi! I will now explain these points. All these displays have been magically created by the illusory appearance samādhi of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being present here. He produces such miraculous displays, Vajrapāṇi, through magical powers particular to himself that are derived from hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of samādhis, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers, such as the vajra-like samādhi, the heroic gait samādhi, and so forth. [A.142.a] He amogha-creates miraculous displays, the great maṇḍala of the compassionate gaze, the mudrās, the rites, the mantras, and the dhāraṇīs, all through the kings of vidyās. He demonstrates the vidyā power of the king of vidyās, and through demonstrating this power these miraculous magical displays are seen.
“Vajrapāṇi, by merely beholding the king of vidyās, or by recalling its2631 name, the vidyā holder will plant the roots of virtue and accumulate an amount of merit as great as if he directly beheld or recalled the names of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas as numerous as the atoms in the universe or the grains of sand in twenty-two2632 Gaṅgā rivers. Attuned to their heart essence, he will activate the samayas of all the tathāgata families and all collections of vidyās, mudrās, and mantras. [F.16.a] He will enter the secret samaya maṇḍala and gain access to the rites of all the tathāgatas.
“By reciting the king of vidyās just once, the vidyā holder will, in the presence of all the tathāgatas, the blessed buddhas of the three times—past, present, and future—validate his practice of the set of great mantras and the samaya of the seal-maṇḍala that constitutes their heart essence. Why is this? Because, Vajrapāṇi, this king of vidyās has great magical power and tremendous efficacy. It allows the vidyā holder, in the presence of all the tathāgatas of the past, present, and future, to enter into the secret maṇḍala and the heart-essence seal and become one in essence with the king of vidyās, just like milk combined with water.
“This king of vidyās allows the vidyā holder to become one in essence with, and to gain entry to,2633 all the vidyā maṇḍalas,2634 the collections of mudrās, and all the rites. Because of this, O Vajrapāṇi, this king of vidyās is referred to as the universal entry. Consequently, Vajrapāṇi, if the vidyā holder—regardless of whether they are a son or a daughter of good family, a monk or a nun, or a male or a female lay practitioner—mindfully repeats the name of the king of vidyās just once, they will activate all the dhāraṇīs, mantras, mudrās, and rites of the secret essence in the presence of all the blessed buddhas of the three times.
“When the vidyā holder thus repeats the name of the king of vidyās with full understanding, he will, in the presence of the tathāgatas of the three times, [F.16.b] accumulate a great amount of merit and plant roots of great virtue. These tathāgatas, the blessed buddhas of the three times, will applaud him and grant him the vast and great amogha accomplishment, whereby he will become a supreme and accomplished being. He will accomplish the samayas of all tathāgata families equally and will attain the samādhi called the vidyā essence of magical creations of all the tathāgatas that constitutes a base of magical powers. He will be adorned with thoughts worthy of a bodhisattva, attain the six perfections, and develop a close samaya bond with all the deities of the maṇḍala of the king if vidyās.2635
“In this way, Vajrapāṇi, this king of vidyās possess great might and magical powers. It was blessed by all the tathāgatas and is used by all bodhisattvas for magical purposes. This king of vidyās, Vajrapāṇi, is thus extremely powerful. [A.142.b] By offering, Vajrapāṇi, a single flower in worship to the king of vidyās, or a single item of incense, perfume, scented oil, and so forth, even if it is offered just once, the vidyā holder will have worshiped the secret heart essence of all the tathāgatas of the three times. He will have propitiated and studied it. He will have worshiped the secret samaya maṇḍalas of all the tathāgatas and the totality of all mudrās, mantras, and dhāraṇīs that are used in sovereign rituals.2636
“As soon as the vidyā holder remembers this king of vidyās, all yakṣas, rākṣasas, vighnas, vināyakas, and the hosts of Māra will flee in the ten directions.2637 [F.17.a] All misfortunes, calamities, and disasters, all epileptic seizures and diseases, all the lies that are told during quarrels, disputes, and disagreements, all dangers and vices, and all opponents and adversaries will be pacified. The vidyā holder will be freed from all his evil and obscurations, and he will be completely free from all wrongdoings starting with the five acts of immediate retribution, as well as all obscurations and afflictions. He will be comforted by all tathāgatas, remembered and cared for by all bodhisattvas, and protected by all deities.
“Vajrapāṇi, the lord of the vidyādharas, will stand by as the great yakṣa general with a vajra in hand to guard, protect, and defend him. The Four Great Kings with their armies and retinues will protect him throughout the four quarters. He will be granted the supreme accomplishment of all rites, mantras, and mudrās and the great accomplishment of the samaya of all the tathāgata families. He will accomplish the great lotus maṇḍala—the maṇḍala of liberation that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa—and he will realize the secret amogha reality.
“All devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and rākṣasas will always stand by the vidyā holder and remain in his thrall. He will receive many offerings from all beings and be regarded as worthy of worship. All his wishes and auspicious thoughts will come true. The mantras of all the kṛtyas, kākhordas, vetālas, and ciccas, the magic of the ḍākinīs, [F.17.b] and all poisons, venoms, and toxic powder preparations will be neutralized. All spirits that cause fever—fevers that recurs every day, every two days, every three days, or every four days, daytime and nighttime fevers, or cold fevers—will depart.
“All disorders caused by the imbalance of wind, bile, or phlegm, as well as headaches, boils, scabs, eye diseases, hemiplegia, loss of appetite, fistulas, seizures,2638 constipation, earache, toothache, pain in the flanks, diseases of the spleen, dysentery, urinary diseases, uncontrollable purging, stomachache, pain in the hands, pain in the feet, and pain in any major or minor parts of the body, will disappear as soon as the patient remembers the king of vidyās. Spotted leprosy, boils, ulcers, blisters, festering abscesses, scabs, erysipelas, cutaneous eruptions, lice, wounds, and asthma attacks2639 will all disappear as soon as the patient is scrubbed,2640 never to occur again.
“This king of vidyās, O Vajrapāṇi, has a very broad range of applications. It constitutes the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, who has an amogha lotus-noose pure as a lotus. It was blessed by all the tathāgatas of the three times and arises magically through the samaya blessing of their secret vajra essence.”
Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, heard directly from the Blessed One about the great magical powers of the king of vidyās that auspiciously arise from the secret blessing of the tathāgatas. His curiosity was thus satisfied, [A.143.a] and was he was filled with delight. Elated and joyful, and with affection and kindness arising in his heart, he spoke to the Blessed One: “O Blessed One! This king of vidyās, which is so difficult to find, auspiciously combines all good qualities. It grants boons, [F.18.a] makes the roots of all virtue grow, and helps with the accumulation of all types of merit. This great king of vidyās, which is extremely difficult to obtain, grants the supreme accomplishment of the samayas of all secret maṇḍalas. It is regarded as equal to the Tathāgata himself, and it represents the seat of awakening of the tathāgatas. This king of vidyās, O Blessed One, creates the right circumstances for turning the wheel of Dharma. It resides in and emerges from the forehead of Noble Avalokiteśvara for the benefit of all vidyā holders, so that they may accomplish their practice and display their accomplishments.
“In order to accumulate virtue, there is no need to resort to any boon givers2641 other than the king of vidyās, the mere recollection of which allows the vidyā holder to accumulate an infinite amount of merit and plant innumerable roots of immeasurable virtue. This king of vidyās, O Blessed One, should always be kept in mind, day and night. It should not be forgotten for even a moment, let alone for the duration of breakfast, a day, a night, a month, or a year. If the vidyā holder were to forget this king of vidyās, O Blessed One, he would forget and forsake all buddhas and bodhisattvas, and his entire accumulation of merit would dissipate.”
The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni replied, “It is indeed so, Vajrapāṇi! It is exactly as you say. The roots of virtue planted by any being who was fortunate to obtain the king of vidyās are not small. A person, O Vajrapāṇi, who has neither studied nor understood this king of vidyā rites,2642 with its chapters on the mudrās, maṇḍalas, and samaya mantras, and has not thereby seen and served the hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas of the three times, as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers, will not, O Vajrapāṇi, [F.18.b] be fortunate to obtain this king of vidyās. He will not hear it, see it, or even pronounce the mere sound of its name.
“However, Vajrapāṇi, the fortunate person who obtains this king of vidyās will meet hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, the worthy, realized buddhas of the three times who are as numerous as the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers. He will obtain, from these tathāgatas, the samayas of all the families and the maṇḍalas, mudrās, and sets of mantras, and the rites that invoke the secret essence.2643 He will be able to visit and enter anywhere he wants and will know the right time and occasion for everything. He will master all vidyās and the sets of mantras and mudrās. He will be the most prominent and most senior among all vidyā holders. As the eldest son of the tathāgatas of the three times, such a vidyā holder will obtain a prophecy of his future awakening directly from them. He will plant roots of virtue and accumulate a lot of merit. Anyone fortunate enough to obtain this king of vidyās will become accomplished and will obtain all excellent qualities and the auspicious state of a buddha. This will happen to a fortunate person who obtains the king of vidyās.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, taught the king of vidyās [A.143.b] and watched it emerge from within the pericarp of the lotus, the lotus that was in essence himself. He then pronounced the king of vidyās,2644 the precious great jewel called the light of the wish-fulfilling amogha jewel before the Blessed One:
[314] “Oṁ, wish-fulfilling amogha jewel! The boon-granting lotus! You with blazing arms, blaze! Hūṁ!2645 [F.19.a]
“This is the root heart mantra of Unfailing Lotus-Noose Pure as a Lotus.”
As soon as the mantra was pronounced by Noble Avalokiteśvara in the presence of the Blessed One, all the blessed kings of vidyās who were sitting opposite the blessed Śākyamuni fixed their unblinking gaze on him and waited in anticipation. The Blessed Śākyamuni, for his part, gazed back at the king of vidyās, the precious great jewel, the Light of the Wish-Fulfilling Amogha Jewel, and consecrated his head.2646 As soon as the king of vidyās was consecrated by the Blessed One, the world spheres of the entire great trichiliocosm, along with their mountains, forests, and deserts, quaked in six different ways.
All the tathāgatas throughout the ten directions, the fully realized buddhas established throughout the three times, became clearly visible, appearing, through their magical power, to be suspended in the canopy of the sky. They applauded the blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni: “Good! It is good, Śākyamuni! This king of consecrations is extremely difficult to obtain. The king of vidyās was also consecrated by the former tathāgatas established throughout the three times. All of us declare with a single voice that each of us will also consecrate the great king of vidyās, the Light of the Wish-Fulfilling Amogha Jewel.”
Subsequently, each of the tathāgatas established throughout the three times extended his golden hand and consecrated the king of vidyās by anointing his head. Each tathāgata thus bestowed the mudrā consecration upon the king of vidyās.2647 The mantra for the mudrā consecration is:
Immediately after bestowing the great mudrā of consecration, each tathāgata congratulated the king of vidyās and disappeared, returning to his particular buddha field. [F.19.b]
The king of vidyās, understanding that he had just received the mudrā consecration from all the tathāgatas, circumambulated the Blessed One clockwise three times, saluted him, and stood before him with his cupped hands pressed together in reverence, deep in thought. The Blessed One, perceiving the thoughts arising in the king of vidyā’s mind, gave expression to these thoughts by bestowing upon him, the bearer of vidyā, the next consecration with the mantra:2649
[316] “Oṁ, the lotus consecration into the amogha maṇḍala! The precious vajra-like consecration from all the tathāgatas! Hūṁ!2650
As soon as the king of vidyās received both the maṇḍala consecration in the secret maṇḍala2651 and the samaya of the sameness of all the tathāgata families, the great earth turned into vajra. The great maṇḍala of liberation consisting of the tathāgata, lotus, vajra, and jewel families appeared before the Blessed One arrayed in a great circle. Based on the respective roots of virtue of all the vidyā deity-kings, their maṇḍalas appeared accompanied by a great display of miracles and extraordinary and amazing amogha magical creations.
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, saw this great miraculous maṇḍala and spoke the tathāgata consecration mantra—the one that conjures amogha offerings and bestows the blessings of the precious vajra—to the Blessed One:
[317] “Oṁ, amogha offerings, appear for the jewel, lotus, vajra, and tathāgata families! [A.144.a] Spread everywhere! Hūṁ!”2652
As soon as this mantra, the heart essence of the precious jewel of amogha worship, was pronounced by Noble Avalokiteśvara, there appeared a great variety of offerings, vast and opulent. These vast offerings appeared for their respective recipients and were distributed accordingly. Various divine and wonderful objects were arranged in a vast array that extended far and wide. A great vidyā maṇḍala could be seen, with a vast miraculous display created through the blessing and great magical power of the tathāgatas. [F.20.a]
The great king of vidyās named Unfailing and as Pure as a Lotus circumambulated the Blessed One clockwise three times, saluted him by bowing his head to his feet, and took a seat opposite Noble Avalokiteśvara, not2653 far from the Blessed One.
The Blessed One then addressed Vajrapāṇi, the great general of yakṣas: “Look, Vajrapāṇi, at the magical creations of Noble Avalokiteśvara! See the power of his samādhi and his special blessing! See the great power of his great mudrās, mantras, dhāraṇīs, and rites! These are the magical creations of Amoghapāśa, who belongs to the great secret lotus-family, and whose power is derived from accomplishing the heart essence of the king of vidyās. It accords with his samaya. The king of vidyās, which magically arises from the heart essence of all tathāgatas, is the source of good qualities. He fulfills all wishes and desires and grants every boon. It is because of Noble Avalokiteśvara that wishes are fulfilled and boons are granted. The king of vidyās will carry out the work of the Buddha in the final time of the final period. It will, at that time, bring light to all beings.
“The king of vidyās is the ultimate refuge; it fulfills all wishes and hopes, pacifies all evil, crushes all enemies, and destroys all vighnas and vināyakas. It pacifies floods and causes rain to fall during a drought. It stops cold spells, hurricanes, and hail, and it pacifies famines and calamities. It prevents all disease and eradicates all wickedness. It grants long life, promotes good health, and increases merit, influence, wealth, and stores of grain.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, then proceeded to explain the practice [F.20.b] procedure of the heart dhāraṇī of the pure amogha-lotus2654 and the accomplishments resulting from the study and practice of it.
“Once the vidyā holder has perfected the recitation of this heart dhāraṇī, he will be able, upon reciting the king of vidyās, to summon the deities of the maṇḍala. After reciting the dhāraṇī one thousand and eight times,2655 he will see the great lotus maṇḍala adorned with all its palaces, including those of the king of vidyās, the deities, the tathāgatas, and Noble Avalokiteśvara. He will see all the usual maṇḍala structures. He should cause the deities to enter it. He will gain the understanding of the samaya, receive the vidyā consecration into the maṇḍala, and be able to employ mudrās accordingly.
“The first time,2656 the vidyā holder will merely have a vision in his sleep.2657 The second time, he will see in his sleep the maṇḍala of the tathāgata family, along with all the tathāgatas, hosts of bodhisattvas, and vidyā deities of the maṇḍala. He will see it adorned with all the maṇḍala-ornaments, and he will see its palatial estates in all their detail. He will enter, gain the knowledge of the samaya,2658 receive the mudrā, maṇḍala, and mantra consecration, and accomplish the vidyā.2659
“The third time, the vidyā holder will see in his sleep the maṇḍala of the vajra family, along with all the tathāgatas, hosts of bodhisattvas, and vidyā deities of the maṇḍala. He will see it adorned with all the maṇḍala ornaments and its palatial estates in all their detail. He should enter it and display the samaya mudrā.2660 [A.144.b] He will then receive2661 the consecration and be consecrated to attain the great amogha accomplishment of all the vidyās. [F.21.a] He will obtain the samaya to attain the great accomplishment of the entire vajra family.
“The fourth time, the vidyā holder will see in his sleep the great maṇḍala of the jewel family, along with its mudrās and rites. He will see a well-adorned maṇḍala with all the tathāgatas, hosts of bodhisattvas, hosts of devas, and vidyā deities dwelling in the maṇḍala, including the king of vidyās. He should enter it and receive the mudrā, the samaya, the corresponding practice procedure, and the consecration. He will obtain great accomplishments and boons, and his consecration will be universally applicable.
“The fifth time, the vidyā holder will see the maṇḍala of the lotus family in his sleep. It will be arrayed as a maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa, a maṇḍala of liberation complete with the Potala palace. He will see all the tathāgatas, hosts of bodhisattvas, devas, and the king of vidyās, along with the other maṇḍala deities. Noble Avalokiteśvara himself ushers all beings into this maṇḍala. The vidyā holder will obtain the accomplishment of the samaya, mudrā, maṇḍala, mantra, and dhāraṇī. He will consecrate himself with the amogha vidyā-consecration, will be successful in every rite, and will obtain every boon.
“The sixth time, the vidyā holder will see the great maṇḍala in his sleep. He will see the thousand-armed Noble Avalokiteśvara and the hosts of bodhisattvas in their palatial dwelling, along with the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. He should enter it and obtain the mudrā, mantra, samaya, and consecration. [F.21.b] He will accomplish all vidyās and obtain every boon.
“The seventh time, the vidyā holder will have a grand dream-vision of the Tathāgata Vairocana sitting on the vajra seat, the seat of awakening. He will see him set the Dharma wheel in motion and overpower Māra. The Tathāgata Vairocana will extend his golden arm and usher the vidyā holder into the maṇḍala with his own hand. He will consecrate the vidyā holder himself and grant him the samaya of all the tathāgata families and the accomplishment of the mudrās and mantras. He will grant him every boon and will show him the buddha fields of all the tathāgatas.
“The vidyā holder will become the sole king of all worldly vidyā holders and be free from all disease. When the time comes to take another birth and he leaves his body behind, he will retain the memory of his present life. He will be spontaneously born, as is his destiny, from a lotus flower as an amogha emperor of vidyādharas in the realm of Sukhāvatī. He will meet, face-to-face, hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, worthy, fully realized buddhas, equal in number to the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers. All these tathāgatas will show him their respective buddha fields, and each will grant him their respective secret samayas, as well as the samaya of the Tathāgata Vairocana. They will grant him the power to remember his previous births as far back as one hundred thousand eons.
“The vidyā holder will obtain the ability to work miracles and will acquire the majesty of all tathāgatas. He will obtain the samādhis, the secret samayas, and the set of maṇḍalas, mantras, and dhāraṇīs. They will all remain prominent in his memory. He will remember his successive births, including the merit he accumulated and the roots of virtue he planted in each of them. He will be able to accomplish his practice procedure and perform pure activities everywhere, in all places and under all circumstances. [F.22.a] The accomplishment of the recitation practice of the root heart-mantra is indeed supreme, and it allows the vidyā holder to attain the ability to fulfill the wishes of all beings according to the practice instructions and to burn away all their negativities.
“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred and eight times, he will eradicate all his wrongdoings and obscurations. [A.145.a] Any karmic bond he may have will exit his body within seven days and stand before the vidyā holder in its own form and say, ‘All your wrongdoings are exhausted, and your roots of virtue are perfected. I, who resided in you, have been completely destroyed by your recitation.’ Having said this, it will disappear.2662
“In the event of fever, the vidyā holder should prepare a white thread and tie twenty-one knots in it while reciting the mantra one hundred and eight times.2663 All fevers will then subside. All diseases will be completely eliminated by rubbing the patient with the thread. Alternatively, the patient may be rubbed with an incanted knife, a peacock feather, or an arrow. The patient will then be freed from all disease.
“In the event of any type of seizure, the vidyā holder should prepare a five-colored thread and tie twenty-one knots in it while reciting the mantra one hundred and eight times.2664 He should then tie the thread around the neck of the person affected by seizures, rub it2665 seven times, and burn bdellium incense. After seven recitations of the mantra, whatever graha it is that causes the seizures will come out of the patient’s body and stand before the vidyā holder. Speaking of its own accord, the graha will say all there is to say, answer questions, and carry out any order.
“In the event of any quarrels, disputes, or disagreements, the vidyā holder will emerge victorious. He will also be freed by offering a homa of meditative concentration.2666 If he rubs his face2667 and enters the royal household, the king and his retinue will fall under and remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall. If anyone has drunk poison, the vidyā holder should give them water incanted with the mantra, and the poison will be neutralized. If he washes a wound from a poisoned bite with the water, [F.22.b] the poison will be neutralized. If the poisoning is caused by harmful mantras, garas, or kākhordas, the vidyā holder should incant a pitcher containing a mixture of perfumed powders one thousand and eight times with the mantra and spray the spirits with the mixture. They will all perish instantly upon being sprayed.
“If anyone suffers from wounds, weight loss, or emaciation, or if their body displays a lack of royal splendor, the vidyā holder should fill a brand-new pitcher with perfumed water, sprinkle it with mustard seeds, and incant it one thousand and eight times with the mantra. He should procure āntara,2668 saptabīja,2669 āṭa,2670 fruits of the wood-apple tree,2671 śatapuṣpa,2672 and śatāvarī.2673 Gazing at the same place2674 on the body, he should anoint that place with ghee and smear it with āṭa incanted one hundred and eight times with the mantra. He should make a lump of dough2675 in the likeness of that body part and cut it with a knife into eight pieces. He should place four pieces on four leaves and cast them into the four cardinal directions. He should place the remaining four on another four leaves and cast them into the four intermediate directions.
“The vidyā holder should then recite the mantra one hundred and eight times and, in a place abounding in verdant vegetation and close to a stream of water, perform ablutions with the perfumed water from the pitcher. He should put on new white clothes and worship Noble Avalokiteśvara with offerings. He should make offerings to the Three Jewels using whatever articles are available, and he should offer food to brahmins along with the required donation. After that, he should cultivate thoughts of loving kindness, eat the three ‘white’ foods prepared from whatever excellent articles are available, and drink refreshments until he is satisfied.
“As a result, the vidyā holder will be free from all misfortune and disease, all vighnas and vināyakas, and from anything that has been possessed by a bhūta, yakṣa, rākṣasa, chāyā, apasmāra, graha, or vināyaka. He will be free from any danger of indigestion or food poisoning2676 [A.145.b] and will have a perfect, complete body. [F.23.a] He will be free from all danger and fear, all his wrongdoings, obscurations, and afflictions will be eradicated, and he will enjoy a long life, free from disease. When he takes a new birth, he will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī and be able to recollect his successive births. All the tathāgatas will keep him in their hearts, and bodhisattvas and devas will care for him until his final realization of awakening.
“For eye diseases, the vidyā holder should incant, one hundred and eight times with the mantra, water infused with blossoms of flame-of-the-forest,2677 water infused with licorice, or water infused with flowers from a garland discarded after being offered.2678 He should rinse the eyes with the water, instantly pacifying any eye ailments. For headaches or hemiplegia, the vidyā holder should incant ghee and sesame oil with the mantra one hundred and eight times, blend it with śatapuṣpa,2679 and make it comfortably warm. He should anoint the head with it, which will cure all head ailments and hemiplegia.
“For a toothache, the vidyā holder should incant a tooth stick made of sumana2680 with the mantra one hundred and eight times and then chew it. The toothache will then go away. For an earache, he should incant some śatapuṣpa2681 and sesame oil with the mantra one hundred and eight times and fill his ear cavity with it. All types of earache will then go away. For mouth diseases, he should incant one hundred and eight times with the mantra some masura2682 broth mixed with ghee and drink it at a temperature that feels comfortable. He will then be free from all mouth diseases. For stomachache, he should incant salty water with the mantra one hundred and eight times and drink it. The stomachache will then go away.
“For chest pain, the vidyā holder should prepare a decoction of sauvarcala salt,2683 ajājī,2684 and the root of a blue lotus with three parts of water. The patient should drink the decoction after boiling it down to three quarters of the original volume. This decoction, incanted with the mantra one hundred and eight times, will remove chest pain, pain in the flanks, spleen diseases, fistulas, uncontrollable purging, and urinary diseases. It will, likewise, instantly remove any other disease. This was taught by the Lord of the World. [F.23.b]
“To help those who are afraid of a king, the vidyā holder should incant mustard seeds2685 and strew them at the entrance to the royal household. All dangers posed by the king will go away, and those who were afraid will be victorious in every respect. If the vidyā holder incants black pepper one thousand and eight times and puts one grain in the front of his mouth, he will enthrall anyone he speaks to while he has the grain in his mouth. He will obtain whatever he asks for, and he will achieve great victory and receive boons wherever he goes.
“To control nāgas, the vidyā holder should use a small, incanted branch of a pomegranate tree. The nāgas will send rain wherever he wants them to. If the vidyā holder goes to a nāga pond and offers an oblation of mustard seeds mixed with curds, honey, and ghee one thousand and eight times over seven consecutive nights, he will find a great treasure. If he wants to obtain influence, he should offer an oblation of mustard seeds and grains of parched rice daubed in ghee. After offering one thousand and eight such oblations, he will obtain great influence.
“If the vidyā holder wants to ruin his enemies, he should offer one thousand and eight oblations of rice chaff and salt daubed in white mustard oil. He will no longer have enemies, as all of them will be destroyed. If he wants to banish an enemy, he should take some ashes left after the oblations, incant them with the mantra twenty-one times, and strew them at the enemy’s doorstep. The enemy will not remain, even for one night, but will flee in the ten directions. If the vidyā holder wants to enter a battlefield, he should incant mustard seeds one thousand and eight times and cast them into the midst of the battle. All his enemies will be struck down, paralyzed, and stupefied. Totally defeated, the enemy will flee in the ten directions. The vidyā holder will be victorious wherever he goes, and he will be invincible in every respect, [A.146.a], heroic, and courageous.
“If the vidyā holder incants realgar with the mantra [F.24.a] one thousand and eight times and anoints his eyes with it he will become invisible. He will be invisible to all bhūtas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas. If he incants some bovine bezoar one thousand and eight times and marks his forehead with a bindi made of it, he will be able to enter all the secret terrestrial passages.2686 The doors to all these passages will fall open, and he will be able to go wherever he wishes. If he uses the bezoar to make a bindi on his chest, he will be honored with many offerings in any place that he visits, and he will accumulate much wealth and grain. If he smears both his hands with the bezoar, he will enthrall anyone he touches and obtain anything he asks for.
“If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a king, he should smear his right hand with the bezoar, incant his hand with the mantra one thousand and eight times, and slap the gate to the royal household. The king, his harem, and his retinue will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and will serve him themselves and with their wealth. If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a woman, he should incant some flowers and fruit one thousand and eight times2687 and offer them to her or send them to her via a messenger. She will become enthralled instantly. The vidyā holder will be able to visit any place that he wants and come back again.2688 Alternatively, he may call out her name and cast the fruits and the flowers into the air. Whichever woman’s name he calls, she will be drawn into his presence, arriving at night and leaving in the morning.2689
“If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a man, he should incant jāti and sumanas2690 flowers with the mantra seven times and give them to him. Alternatively, the vidyā holder can send them to him. As soon as the man touches them, he will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and will place at his disposal both himself his wealth. Whatever the vidyā holder says or asks of him, the man will do like a servant who is eager to carry out orders. If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a young girl,2691 he should incant some fruit one hundred and eight times and offer2692 it to her. Or he may dispatch it via a messenger. As soon as the girl takes it, she will fall under his thrall and become inseparable from him like a shadow. She will attend upon him for as long as he lives.
“If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a vaiśya, he should incant the flowers of vāśaka2693 with the mantra one hundred and eight times and give the flowers to them. [F.24.b] The vaiśya will fall under and remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall. If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a brahmin, he should incant a dish of curds or milk one hundred and eight times and give it to them. The brahmin will be completely enthralled. If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a kṣatriya, he should incant molasses with milk one hundred and eight times and give it to them. The kṣatriya will become enthralled. If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a śūdra, he should incant any item of food one hundred and eight times and give it to them. The śūdra will become enthralled immediately on consuming it. The vidyā holder will also be able to perform whatever other variety of tasks come to his mind. The accomplishment will be won through study.
“This concludes the instructions on the practice procedure of the root heart mantra of the amogha lotus.2694
“Now I will give the instructions for the practice of the amogha2695 mudrā consecration and the dhāraṇī.
“As soon as the vidyā holder remembers the dhāraṇī, reads2696 it, and displays the mudrā, he will remember the consecration mudrās, the secret mudrās that are the wish-fulfilling jewel of all the tathāgatas. By reciting the dhāraṇī, the king of vidyās, one thousand times, he will receive the secret mudrā consecration from all the tathāgatas established throughout the three times. As a result, he will see signs in his sleep.
“First, all the blessed tathāgatas, the buddhas established throughout the three times, will consecrate the vidyā holder in his sleep with the mudrā consecration, the wish-fulfilling jewel of Vairocana. They will usher him into the consecration maṇḍala of the tathāgata family and reveal it to him. They will each give him their secret [A.146.b] consecration and congratulate him. He will see the doors to all the buddha fields open, and he will be able to enter whichever field he wishes. Hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, the blessed buddhas who dwell there [F.25.a] in numbers equal to the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers, will follow him at all times for as long as he lives. They will always be apparent to him.
“After reciting the dhāraṇī one thousand times for the second time, the vidyā holder will see the second sign in his sleep. He will see those who dwell in the great maṇḍala of the lotus family, as well as the maṇḍala’s palaces filled with tathāgatas displaying the mudrā of the wish-fulfilling jewel.2697 He will see all these tathāgatas, who are established throughout the three times, in their palaces, each of them giving him the mudrā consecration of the great wish-fulfilling jewel specific to the lotus family. They will each bestow their respective secret mudrā consecrations upon him and show him their respective tathāgata maṇḍalas. They will personally bestow their respective consecrations upon the vidyā holder, saying ‘Good! Good!’ He will thus receive the general mudrā consecration into all the maṇḍalas of the great lotus, and also the great mudrā consecration of the wish-fulfilling jewel that conveys the blessing of all the tathāgatas. He will thus be accepted by all of them.
“After reciting the dhāraṇī one thousand times for the third time, the vidyā holder will see the third great sign in his sleep. All the tathāgatas of the vajra family, residing in their palaces, will give him their mudrā consecration. He will see all these tathāgatas, established throughout the three times, in front of him displaying the consecration mudrā that conveys the vajra blessing of the wish-fulfilling jewel. All these tathāgatas, established throughout the three times, will each bestow upon him the mudrā consecration of the vajra family, as well as the mudrā consecration of the wish-fulfilling jewel.2698 [F.25.b] Each tathāgata will bestow his respective mudrā consecration of the vajra family on the vidyā holder and will cause him to enter the samaya bond. Each one will say, ‘Good! It is good! You have received the vajra blessing!’ All these tathāgatas will demonstrate the accomplishments consistent with the blessing of the vajra family, and the vidyā holder will receive the all-inclusive mudrā consecration of the vajra family.
“After reciting the dhāraṇī one thousand times for the fourth time, the vidyā holder will obtain the mudrā consecration into the great maṇḍala of the jewel family.2699 He will see, in his sleep, the maṇḍala for the mudrā consecration of the jewel family that is performed by the tathāgatas of the three times. All these tathāgatas, established throughout the three times, will grant him the secret samaya of the jewel family and will grant him the mudrā consecration into the maṇḍala.2700 They will each give him their respective secret mudrā consecrations of the jewel family, mudrā consecrations of the wish-fulfilling jewel that convey the crown jewel blessing of the jewel family. They will show him the buddha fields of all the tathāgatas that make up the maṇḍala of the jewel family, and they will grant him the mudrā consecration of the wish-fulfilling jewel and the samaya consecration that leads to the accomplishment specific to the jewel family. They will applaud him saying, ‘Good! It is good!’ They will always follow the vidyā holder and bless him with the transformative blessing of all the tathāgatas and will keep him in their hearts until he attains buddhahood. Having thus received the mudrā consecration of the great family of the wish-fulfilling jewel, the vidyā holder will remain absorbed in the secret essence of all the tathāgatas of this family. [F.26.a]
“After reciting the dhāraṇī one thousand times for the fifth time, the vidyā holder will see a great sign in his sleep. He will see the great, all-inclusive consecration maṇḍala that will establish him on the level of not turning back. All the tathāgatas will then bestow upon him the consecration into the great maṇḍala of not turning back, and he will receive the great mudrā consecration into the entire maṇḍala. [A.147.a]
“After reciting the dhāraṇī one thousand times for the sixth time, the vidyā holder will again see a sign in his sleep. He will receive the consecration that conveys the blessing of all the tathāgatas who sit on vajra seats, the seats of awakening. He will see the tathāgatas of the three times sitting on seats supported by lions, and each of them will bestow upon him the consecration of not turning back, and they will applaud him by saying, ‘Good! It is good!’ They will keep him in their hearts unwaveringly and follow him until he finally attains buddhahood.
“After reciting the dhāraṇī one thousand times for the seventh time, the vidyā holder will again see a great sign in his sleep. He will see the Tathāgata, the fully realized one, setting the wheel of Dharma in motion, overpowering Māra, and bringing down the rain of the true Dharma. He will see the torch of Dharma blazing and the banner of Dharma raised aloft, and he will hear the conch of true Dharma being played. He will see all the tathāgatas displaying the mudrā of consecration, and he will receive from them the mudrā consecration that empowers him to turn the wheel of Dharma and overcome Māra. They will give him the mudrā consecration and applaud him, saying, ‘Good! It is good!’ They will grant him the consecration, thus inducing the accomplishment of the true nature of the great-seal maṇḍala, the all-secret maṇḍala of liberation.2701 Thus they will demonstrate the results of performing the procedure that is simply reading the dhāraṇī aloud or reciting it. [F.26.b]
“There is also the following practice procedure of the magical great seal dhāraṇī of Vairocana, the amogha jewel. As soon as the vidyā holder recites or merely remembers this dhāraṇī, he will enter the great maṇḍala of Vairocana, which is the maṇḍala of all the tathāgatas. He will gain the knowledge of the most conducive times and places for any set of circumstances. As soon as he recites the dhāraṇī or remembers Vairocana’s name,2702 he will obtain a direct vision of the Tathāgata Vairocana together with all the tathāgatas established throughout the three times. He will thereby uphold the names and the mudrās of Vairocana and all the tathāgatas. This is the greatest secret of all the tathāgatas.
“All the vidyā holder’s wrongdoings, obscurations, and vices, starting with the five acts of immediate retribution and including all his previously accumulated wrongdoings and obscurations, will be eradicated as soon as he recites the dhāraṇī. They will all be exhausted and brought to an end by reading or reciting the dhāraṇī just once. If any being has committed a nonvirtuous or evil act, such as the five acts of immediate retribution, and is destined to be born in the Avīci hell, the vidyā holder should bring the dhāraṇī to that being’s attention by reciting it in front of them three times.2703 As soon as the sound of the dhāraṇī reaches them, all their wrongdoings and obscurations, including all the acts of immediate retribution that lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell, will be completely purified. That being will be completely free from all evil.
“Alternatively, if the vidyā holder wants to generate merit for an evil person who has died, he should form the wish that merit will arise, incant mustard seeds2704 twenty-one times for the sake of that person, and strew them on top of their funeral pyre, in their house, around the area, upon their bones, or in the middle of the charnel ground. [F.27.a] As soon as the vidyā holder casts the mustard seeds, the body of that person, wherever they are reborn, will acquire the fragrance of the water of the great limbs of awakening. They will be instantly released from the body of a hell being, an animal, a preta, a denizen of Yama’s realm, or an asura. All their negativity and obscurations will be exhausted, and they will leave behind their unhappy existence and go to the realm of Sukhāvatī. This should not be doubted or denied.
“When somebody becomes very weak, the vidyā holder should recite the mantra into their ear one hundred and eight times. The weak person will then be freed from their chronic illness, become well again, [A.147.b] and be completely free from all disease and suffering. If someone is affected by a mudrā, the vidyā holder should mindfully repeat the dhāraṇī twenty-one times close to the victim’s fontanelle,2705 and they will instantly be freed from its influence. All the mudrās will be broken, even if they were sealed upon the victim by Mahākāla’s gaze. If the spirit who administered the mudrā does not release the victim quickly, his eyes will burst.
“If someone is seized by a graha of any type, the vidyā holder should incant a five-colored thread with the dhāraṇī twenty-one times, tie twenty-one knots in it, and tie it onto the victim. They will then be freed from all grahas and apasmāras. As a remedy for disease, the vidyā holder should use a white thread to free a patient from any disease. In the event of any quarrels or disputes, the vidyā holder should recite the mantra against his opponent one hundred and eight times. If he then keeps it on the tip of his tongue, he will emerge victorious in all verbal confrontations.
“The vidyā holder should incant some black pepper, tagara,2706 costus,2707 two2708 varieties of turmeric, and rasāñjana,2709 one thousand and eight times with the mantra and then grind them into a fine powder. He should mix this with collyrium and apply it to the eyes of someone seized by a graha.2710 [F.27.b] They will be freed from any grahas as soon as the ointment is applied. If a graha does not release its victim, its eyes will soon burst. Similarly, the vidyā holder should anoint the eyes of those afflicted by quartan fever; if the spirits that cause the fever do not release the patient, their heads will soon split into seven pieces, and their bodies will burst into flames. All fevers will depart as soon as the ointment is applied. If the fever spirits do not depart, their heads will soon split into seven pieces.
“If the ointment is applied to the eyes of someone bitten by a venomous creature, the poison will depart. Likewise, if the ointment is applied to the eyes of someone who has drunk poison, the poison will be neutralized. If the ointment is applied to the eyes of a corpse, the corpse will rise up and speak of everything it is asked about. It will then de-animate when sprinkled with water and mustard seeds. If the ointment is applied to the eyes of someone suffering from a headache or hemiplegia, all mudrās2711 will be broken. If the ointment is applied to the eyes of a person who has incurred a king’s wrath, or who has many opponents and adversaries bearing weapons, they will all become affectionate toward him. They will fall under the thrall of the one wearing the ointment and always remain so; there is no doubt about this.
“This concludes the amogha practice procedure of the heart dhāraṇī employed in the mudrā consecration.
“Now I will teach the amogha practice procedure of the precious heart dhāraṇī employed in the lotus consecration associated with the maṇḍalas of all the tathāgatas. As soon as the vidyā holder reads the dhāraṇī2712 he will realize the sameness of the maṇḍalas of all the tathāgatas families. After one thousand and eight recitations he will receive the great lotus consecration into the maṇḍalas of all the invincible tathāgatas and will be consecrated with the wish-fulfilling jewel lotus2713 that then attaches itself to his head. After reciting the dhāraṇī, he will receive a sign from the tathāgatas of the three times in his sleep. They will display a great wondrous spectacle before him, a vast and great maṇḍala full of marvels and miraculous displays. They will display great palaces inhabited by hosts of devas and full of wonders. [F.28.a]
“The tathāgatas will also cause the deities of the maṇḍala of the king of vidyās to appear. They will display the maṇḍala of the tathāgata family, the maṇḍala of the lotus family, the maṇḍala of the vajra family, the maṇḍala of the jewel family, the great maṇḍala of liberation that constitutes the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, and the great maṇḍala inhabited by Vairocana. Subsequently, each tathāgata will individually consecrate the vidyā holder into each of the maṇḍalas and will cause the deities2714 of the maṇḍala of the king of vidyās to appear. The tathāgatas will display the maṇḍala until the vidyā holder attains the seat of awakening, sets in motion the wheel of Dharma, and subdues Māra. These tathāgatas, established throughout the three times—the three2715 great maṇḍalas—will each bestow the individual maṇḍala consecrations upon the vidyā holder.2716 They will give him consecrations into all supreme maṇḍalas. [A.148.a]
“The vidyā holder, seeing this great display in his dream, will be overwhelmed with an intense feeling of affection. Because of the affection and joy swelling in his heart, he will obtain the consecration of the stainless amogha lotus and the corresponding samādhi. The tathāgatas will applaud him, saying, ‘Good! It is good! You have received, O great vidyā holder, the samaya consecration of the great maṇḍala where all tathāgata families are the same. You have become accomplished and have entered, O vidyā holder, the secret maṇḍala. May you become the eldest son of all the tathāgatas! May you become fully realized!’
“By merely reciting or reading the dhāraṇī, the vidyā holder will manifest the splendor of possessing many good qualities, and I will display ever more miracles to him. [F.28.b] If any vidyā holder—be they the son or daughter of good family, a monk or nun, or a male or female lay practitioner—wants to perform the rite of the consecration of offerings for all the tathāgatas of the three times, they should incant a necklace, diadem, bandana, or crown with the heart dhāraṇī, either one hundred and eight or one thousand and eight times, and attach it to their2717 head in order to receive the consecration of Avalokiteśvara.
“By this act, the vidyā holder—be they a son or a daughter of good family, a monk or a nun, or a male or female lay practitioner—will be consecrated into each and every secret, great maṇḍala. They will be consecrated by the tathāgatas of the three times and by the bodhisattvas with their retinues whose bodies are permeated with the glow of the seven precious jewels, who wear the great wish-fulfilling jewel as their diadem, and who radiate hundreds of thousands of light rays in various colors. They will be consecrated by all the tathāgatas and the bodhisattvas along with their retinues, who will place a strip of cloth on his head.2718 Accordingly, a vast array of worship and offerings items will appear to honor the tathāgatas of the three times, along with the bodhisattvas and the maṇḍala deities, with an act of service and worship.2719
“Merely by reciting this heart dhāraṇī, all the wrongdoings, obscurations, and faults of the vidyā holder will be pacified, eradicated, and completely destroyed, and his body, speech, and mind will be completely purified. He will be freed from all his afflictions and obscurations, accumulate a tremendous amount of merit, and plant many roots of great virtue. He will attain the supreme accomplishment [F.29.a] and will not be obstructed in any way. He will become an object of worship, his speech will be pleasant to hear, and his wrongdoings and moral stains will be purified. He will exude a pleasant fragrance, his breath will always give off the scent of a lotus, and his body will smell of sandalwood.
“Filled with love for all beings, the vidyā holder will be worthy of supreme veneration. He will attain great success, excel in everything, and be able to destroy all vighnas and vināyakas. All bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, and piśācas will flee at the mere sight of him, and the devas from far and near will attend upon him for as long as he lives.2720 He will always receive boons from Noble Avalokiteśvara and will be able to see him whenever he wishes. The king of vidyās will continually stay with him, always present and always in sight. His success will never leave him. He will be fully consecrated as the master of the maṇḍala and will attain the supreme amogha accomplishment and all that this entails.
“This concludes the instructions on the dhāraṇī employed in the amogha lotus consecration into [A.148.b] the maṇḍala.
“Now I will teach the amogha practice procedure precious amogha clouds of offerings.2721 If one merely remembers, reads, or recites this dhāraṇī,2722 a vast display2723 will be produced and great power generated. A great rain will arise through this great power, causing these good qualities to rain down clouds of offerings—a great rain of offerings for all the tathāgatas that magically accumulates a great amount of merit for the vidyā holder. As soon as this king of vidyās is remembered or recited, a great rain will fall, raining down clouds of offerings to all the tathāgatas and their vast retinues in all the buddha fields in the ten directions. It will rain down pink, blue, [F.29.b] and white lotuses and water lilies, and the flowers of mandārava, great mandārava, roca, great roca,2724 and mañjūṣaka plants. It will rain various divine flowers, pure and radiant as the moon, from plants that grow on dry land, including the flowers and blossoms of sal tree,2725 tamāla2726 tree, champak,2727 aśoka,2728 atimuktaka,2729 konta,2730 trumpet tree, nīla, great nīla,2731 kadamba,2732 karnikara,2733 sindhu,2734 vārṣika, sumanas, jāti, yūthikā, navamallikā,2735 taraṇa,2736 kupyaka,2737 maruvaka,2738 and different species of water lilies of various shapes and colors.
“Forest thickets gently swayed by mountain breezes, groves, parks, gardens, rivers, lakes, wild forests with lotus ponds, and waterfalls and secret hiding places will also appear. Immaculate flowers with divine scents, captivating with their colors and forms, fresh and refreshing to the touch, will magically appear and rain down. Abundant flowers and blossoms will appear and amass in great heaps before the Blessed One as offerings. Thus, by merely remembering or contemplating of the dhāraṇī, a great offering of flowers will be produced.
“By merely remembering or contemplating the dhāraṇī, offerings such as clothes and adornments, and masses of various other fine offerings for all the tathāgatas in the ten directions, will appear. It will2739 rain pearl necklaces, wrist bracelets, arm bracelets, earrings, golden strings, lattices of pearls, waistbands, double and triple strings of pearls, nakṣatra necklaces,2740 diadems, adornments shaped like the crescent moon,2741 golden bracelets, head adornments such as pheasant and peacock plumes, golden lattices, asvika, karṇāphalika, vrecaka, [F.30.a] tāmpha strings,2742 sacred threads, kampha necklaces,2743 golden necklaces, necklaces studded with jewels, small bells made of seven precious jewels, flower ornaments for the ears, turbans, headbands, and crest jewels.
“Great masses of offerings for all the tathāgatas will appear, including masses of offerings for the secret maṇḍalas of all the tathāgatas,2744 with individual palaces appearing for each and every one of them. Offerings of various pieces of clothing, dyed nice colors, will rain in great abundance for all the tathāgatas in all buddha fields in the ten directions and for the tathāgatas of all secret maṇḍalas. There will rain down masses of offerings that consist of well-fitting silk garments and other silk products, such as well-tailored clothes of Vārāṇasī silk dyed various colors, clothes of woven silk, and silks known as resplendence of the sun, brightness of the moon, and strong as a lion,2745 as well as silks from Vārāṇasī and Kośala.
“The fabrics2746 will match the brightness of the sun and the moon and will come in colors of pink or blue lotus, sauvarcala salt, golden bracelets, pearl, or phalaka.2747 They will be as bright as a nāga armor, celestial flowers, jasmine buds, and champak flowers.2748 [A.149.a] They will be as bright as the stars and the moon. They will be as pure as karṇikāra flowers and white lotus and will be brighter than the full moon2749 rising over the eastern horizon. They will come in spotted, bright varieties and have the colors of a yak’s tail,2750 crepe jasmine2751 (the best of flowers), jāti or sumanas,2752 or the colors of kandapallaka,2753 dakṣiṇādyaka,2754 cīnāsavartaka,2755 the face of a bhūta,2756 golden buda, [F.30.b] jewel buda,2757 the moon, fire, beryl stone, the sky, kanagnīśuka,2758 and beautiful curly hairs that are bright and shining.2759
“It will rain the all-bright vidyādhara headbands2760 and various pieces of clothing and magically produced articles as an offering for the Blessed One. Masses of such articles will rain down as an offering for all the vidyā deities dwelling in the secret maṇḍalas of all the tathāgatas, for all the bodhisattvas, for Vajradhara the lord of vidyādharas, and for all the vidyādharas with their retinues. Such articles of offering will appear by merely recalling the vidyā.2761 They will include articles2762 such as various perfumes, scented powders, and incense including gośīrṣa sandalwood, white sandalwood, tamāla2763 leaves, red sandalwood, padmaka,2764 surabhi,2765 pine resin, and saffron combined with various other fragrances2766 and scents. They will also include uśīra2767 grass, tagara,2768 olibanum, fenugreek, myrrh, sarjarasa,2769 nameru,2770 pine resin,2771 frankincense, sallakī,2772 the incense of bdellium, sugar, honey, the five āvartaka,2773 joka vallika and wooden vallika,2774 camphor, musk, and various other incense preparations and products.
“An assortment of perfumes and scented powders in various combinations will appear in great quantities and rain down as an offering for the tathāgatas. Various trees decorated with burning lamps will appear in all the ten directions, numbering hundreds of thousands of millions of billions, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. [F.31.a] The lamps will be scented with olibanum, champak,2775 blue water lily, sumanas, vārṣika,2776 konta,2777 adhimuktaka,2778 flame-of-the-forest,2779 sandalwood, nutmeg, vālā,2780 winter cherry,2781 and so forth.
“Other articles, such as food with hundreds of flavors, will also appear in great quantities as an offering to the tathāgatas. They will appear before all the tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas established in all places and times. They will include the tastiest sweetmeats and delicacies of various kinds that can be savored and relished, delightful sweets that satisfy when sucked or licked. Coming in all divine varieties and with various aromas, they will please and sate the blessed tathāgatas of the three times and their retinues, the bodhisattvas with their retinues, the multitudes of śrāvakas, and the deities of all vidyā maṇḍalas. Various fruits in hundreds of exquisite flavors, deliciously sweet, will appear before the blessed ones and their retinues, satisfying them.
“Large offerings will manifest to satisfy all the tathāgatas. They will include the pleasant sounds of celestial music using the five notes2782 and played with various instruments to the rhythm of drums. The vocals will be provided by female kinnaras and gandharvas, with female nāgas, asuras, devas, and apsarases singing along. They will sing in different voices and play various instruments. All these great sounds will be presented as an offering to all the tathāgatas of the three times and in the ten directions, [F.31.b] who will be praised in various hymns of praise performed for them. [A.149.b] They will be praised along with the secret rites, mudrās, and maṇḍalas in the right order. Included in the praise will be the bodhisattvas, vidyā deities, and maṇḍala deities, whose names will be mentioned and praised.
“Thus, the dhāraṇī2783 taught by Noble Avalokiteśvara is very important. It grants every boon and conjures up masses of all kinds of offerings. It is like the supreme wish-fulfilling tree. It produces the illusion-like samādhi with its various magical powers and abilities, and it confers special blessings upon all the vidyā holders, to whom it grants supreme and wonderful accomplishment. It is like the mother and father to all beings, fulfilling all their wishes. It grants the supreme accomplishment to all mantra practitioners and fulfils all their wishes. It completely purifies the negativities, afflictions, and obscurations of all beings. It eradicates all disease and terrible suffering. It destroys all crime, fulfills every benevolent wish, spurs all tathāgatas into action, and brings relief to all the bodhisattvas.
“This dhāraṇī summons all the vidyā deities of the maṇḍala and reveals the secret maṇḍalas of all the tathāgatas. It attracts and summons all nāgas and subdues all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, vighnas, and vināyakas. It grants all beings supreme accomplishment. It consoles the disconsolate, liberates those not liberated, is a refuge for those without refuge, and gives purpose to those without a purpose. [F.32.a] It is the protector of those without a protector, and it gives direction to those without a direction. It induces those who are not fasting to take up fasting, purifies the conduct of those who are not pure, and induces those who are not celibate and keep a lover to take a vow of chastity and not take a lover. It makes those without a vow of silence take the vow of silence, induces those who do not practice the Dharma to practice it, and causes those who habitually commit unwholesome acts to mend their ways and follow the path of virtue.
“This dhāraṇī gives fearlessness to the frightened, grants wealth2784 to the poor, increases the stores of grain of those without any, and gives all needed supplies to those affected by famine. It shows the way to those who have lost it, and it prevents the untimely death of those whose lives would otherwise be cut short. It grants vision to the blind, restores hearing in the deaf, restores the sense of smell to the anosmic, and swiftly restores the sense of touch to those who have lost it. It restores the ability to enjoy what one has cruelly lost. It restores memory in those suffering from amnesia, and sanity to those who have lost their mind.
“This dhāraṇī grants discipline2785 to those without it, fulfills the six perfections for those who shy away from generosity, grants supreme energy and strength to those who have lost them, grants patience and forbearance to those without them, grants meditative concentration to those who lack it, and brings the light of insight to those devoid of insight, giving them a lucid intellect and clear insight. [F.32.b] It gives samaya to those who do not know the samaya,2786 and it restores mudrās to those without them, and the efficacy of the vidyā mantras to those who have lost it.
“This dhāraṇī causes the followers of other religions to develop appreciation for religious paths that are auspicious. It grants the supreme realization of a buddha, even to those who turn away from it.2787 It causes those who have not crossed saṃsāra to cross it. It grants those steeped in darkness the means to dispel the darkness of their delusion, and it removes the mental blindness of those obscured by it. It purifies the five acts of immediate retribution in those who follow the destinies consistent with committing these acts, restores the faculty of speech in those who have lost it, and grants the supreme accomplishment to those without accomplishment. It purifies the moral stains of those who are morally stained, [A.150.a] and it grants supreme bliss2788 to those who are despised.
“This dhāraṇī grants final nirvāṇa to those who have not yet attained it and prophesies the awakening of those who have not received that prophecy. It allows those who are confused to attain supreme presence of mind, grants boons to those who have not received them, and sends great dreams to those who suffer from nightmares. It provides excellent food to the hungry, flavorful beverages to the thirsty, and various garments and cloaks to the naked. It grants them success. It removes lesions from those suffering from leprosy, and the white patches from those suffering from white leprosy. It dispels fever in the febrile, and it tames the stubborn grahas that cause all kinds of epileptic seizures.
“This dhāraṇī removes the enemies of those who suffer defeat, grants wealth to the poor, and causes the families of those who provide for them to thrive. [F.33.a] It gives the light of a torch, as bright as one thousand suns, to those who are blind. It gives great enjoyments to those wronged2789 by a king and unifies those who are predisposed to hostility. It breaks the cocoon of envy in those predisposed to envy, removes desire in those inflamed by desire, and removes delusion in those suffering from delusion. It sets the minds of those following the path of nonvirtue on the path of virtue consistent with the Dharma, grants fearlessness to those who are dependent on others, and causes their minds to turn to Dharma. It causes intelligence and insight to arise in those who have fallen into misfortune.
“This dhāraṇī crushes greed in the greedy, freeing them from it. It enables those unable to see the buddhas2790 to see them at will, produces a steady stream of the elixir of the Dharma for those unable to hear it, and allows those who have no opportunity to serve the saṅgha to serve the celestial saṅgha of the śrāvakas.2791 It fully restores the senses of those with impaired sense faculties, restores the limbs and organs of those with physical disabilities, and enables those deprived of the sight of the bodhisattvas to see great numbers of them at will. It causes those who have been forsaken by the deities to be embraced by all of them, and it causes those with afflictions and obscurations to be free from them.
“Thus, O Vajrapāṇi, this heart dhāraṇī, precious amogha offerings,2792 which was taught by Avalokiteśvara, possesses great magical power. It conjures up masses of offerings for all tathāgatas and bodhisattvas. It causes a copious rain of the seven precious jewels and masses of offerings to fall in all buddha fields, for all the tathāgatas established throughout the three times. [F.33.b] Masses of offerings will rain down from the great wish-fulfilling tree. This dhāraṇī demonstrates the true accomplishment of the essential practice of the vidyā maṇḍala that is based on the samaya connection to all tathāgatas families. It summons all the deities of the vidyā maṇḍala, including the kings of vidyās, and it summons and gathers all mantra deities. It fulfills the six perfections and reveals all secret doors.
“Vajrapāṇi, this heart dhāraṇī of amogha offerings can be employed at the time of drought, famine, or destructive floods. The vidyā holder should purify himself ritually, take a bath, and put on clean clothes. Focusing his mind one-pointedly, he should cultivate thoughts of compassion and loving kindness for all beings with all his heart. He should find a clean spot near a caitya or at an elevated and sheltered place, on top of a mountain, in a forest thicket, in a hermitage garden, in a Buddhist monastery, by a river, lake, lotus pond, or nāga lake, in a temple, or in a royal household. [A.150.b] He should find a clean spot and carefully delimit on the ground a symmetrical area with equal sides. Using a mixture of clay and cow dung, he should prepare a maṇḍala that is two cubits across, has four corners, and is divided into four sections. It should be swept clean and made smooth. He should daub the surface with water that has been perfumed with sandalwood and color it with saffron.2793
“The vidyā holder should draw various mudrā symbols, and among them, in the center of the maṇḍala, he should draw the nāga Navaśīrṣaka sitting in a cross-legged posture. Inside the four corners he should draw Amoghapāśa.2794 He should then surround the outside of the maṇḍala with mudrās and mantras as appropriate and carefully demarcate the four doors. Around the maṇḍala he should arrange a bali offering consisting of ‘white’ foods with various flavors as available, adding flowers, [F.34.a] incense, fragrances, lamps, jars filled with bali articles, and incense holders.
“To start the recitation procedure, the vidyā holder should mindfully repeat the Amoghapāśa mantra seven times and perform the consecration with a single recitation of the Krodharāja mantra. He should then mindfully repeat the Amoghāṅkuśa and the Krodhāṅkuśa mantras one time each, and the king of vidyās three times.2795 Then, facing the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should commence the main recitation procedure by reciting the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings one thousand and eight times. He should incant incense of nāgapuṣpa,2796 nalada,2797 tagara,2798 bdellium, and sandalwood combined with mustard seeds and granulated sugar, one hundred and eight times, and place it in an incense holder upon the belly of the nāga inside the nāga maṇḍala.
“When the vidyā holder has completed one thousand and eight recitations, the great Nāgapāśa will release torrents of rain, which will continue for as long as the vidyā holder wishes. He should then call the names of the nāga kings and recite the mantra. The names of the nāga kings are Sāgara, Nandopananda, Vāsuki, Takṣaka, Huluḍa, Lāmbura, Varuṇa, Manasvin, Elapatra, and Samantaparikarachattra. The vidyā holder should call any of these nāga kings, and, bound by oath, they will instantly release torrents of rain. The rain will fall within the radius of one league for as long as the vidyā holder wishes.
“Optionally, the vidyā holder should incant mustard seeds one thousand and eight times and offer them as homa upon the heart of the nāga king. The very instant the homa is offered, torrents of rain will fall, enough to fill a thousand cisterns.2799 If the vidyā holder offers one handful of seeds, the rain will fall incessantly for one day and one night. If he offers two2800 handfuls, it will rain three days and three nights. If he offers three2801 handfuls, the great nāga kings will send torrents of rain for seven days and seven nights. [F.34.b] It will rain exactly as much as required.
“Alternatively, the vidyā holder should prepare, on a square canvas made of fine cotton, a cloth painting of the nāga that is one cubit across. The vidyā holder should draw Noble Avalokiteśvara Vidyārāja2802 in the center, sitting in a cross-legged posture. In his four hands he holds a sword, trident, noose, and lotus. He should be depicted with a frowning face, adorned with all ornaments, and with a diadem atop his matted hair. His crest jewel is Amitābha, and his hair is adorned with a crescent moon. He has a halo one fathom wide, and he sits on a lotus in the middle of a lotus pond. Lying at his right and left knees respectively are the two nāga kings.2803 They should be depicted with their nāga hoods expanded and their hands folded in añjali, taking refuge with Vidyārāja.
“The vidyā holder should then sit facing the painting and recite the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings one thousand and eight times without speaking. He should incant some mustard seeds one thousand and eight times and strike the nāga king Sāgara with them. When the vidyā holder has struck him one thousand and eight times, torrents of rain will fall as if it had not rained for a thousand years. [A.151.a] There is no doubt that His Majesty will send rain instantly. When there is a cold spell, strong winds, or hailstorms, the vidyā holder should place the painting at the top of the house.2804 The cold, winds, and hail will not occur again, and there will not be cold, wind, or hail in the direction the painting faces. The weather will descend into the mountains or jungle instead.2805
“Optionally, the vidyā holder can take the painting to a lake inhabited by nāgas and install it there. He should incant a sweetmeat2806 by reciting the Amoghapāśa heart dhāraṇī of precious offerings2807 one thousand and eight times2808 and cast it into the lake. As soon as the sweetmeat is cast, the nāga dwelling there will appear in the form of a boy emerging from the water up to his waist. He will bow to the painting and say, [F.35.a] ‘Please command me, vidyā holder! What can I do for you?’ The vidyā holder should reply, ‘Have a good look, O great nāga, at the continent of Jambudvīpa!’ The nāga boy will then look in all the four directions and report to the vidyā holder any signs that he sees, reporting all that he sees, both the good and the bad.
“The vidyā holder should then say, ‘Send rain, O great nāga! Nourish the grasses, the trees of the forest, and the mountain thickets, valley meadows, and groves across Jambudvīpa! Release torrents of rain! May the rain fall over the entire continent! Send torrents of rain for all beings!’ The nāga youth will reply, ‘Hey vidyā holder! Please give me the best elixir of longevity!’ The vidyā holder should say, ‘Receive, O nāga youth, the best elixir there is!’ The nāga youth will wait in anticipation, facing the vidyā holder with folded hands. The vidyā holder should say, ‘Listen, great nāga!’ and explain dependent origination, the four truths of the noble ones, the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha, and the eightfold path of the noble ones. He should also present the sūtra of Amoghapāśa.
“When the vidyā holder presents the Dharma teachings of the Tathāgata in this way, clouds of incense smoke will issue from the body of the nāga and spread across the canopy of the sky. The moment the Dharma teachings are over, torrents of rain will fall. The rain, however, will not fall on the lake inhabited by the nāga, the painting, or the vidyā holder.2809 The nāga youth will worship the painting with offerings and will also offer due worship to the vidyā holder, piling up offerings for him. He will say to the vidyā holder, ‘Please enter my dwelling, [F.35.b] O vidyā holder. This fine house of mine is now yours.’ The vidyā holder should reply, ‘I will enter your house if you and your retinue take up the path and practice the ten virtues. If you do not practice them, I will not enter.’ If the nāga youth decides to practice the ten virtues, he will remain in his own divine form with a diadem upon his curly hair and be adorned with all ornaments. If he decides not to practice them, he will disappear and will never be seen again in this youthful form.
“If the vidyā holder wants to meet a nāga king with great magical powers, he should write the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings upon a copper plate, smear the plate with honey, [A.151.b] sprinkle it with mustard seeds incanted one hundred and eight times, and throw it into a lake inhabited by nāgas. He should light incense made with one karṣa of bdellium and wait until only half of it remains. At that moment Sāgara, the great nāga king, will emerge from the nāga lake in the form of a brahmin and will greet the vidyā holder.
“The vidyā holder should say, ‘Hey, are you in good health? Listen to the meaningful words of the Dharma! Protect the many teachings and the world!’ The brahmin will be pleased and say, ‘Why, O vidyā holder, would one want meaning? Tell me what is it that constitutes meaning.’ The vidyā holder should explain everything. The brahmin will thus learn the names of the seven great tathāgatas, the eight2810 great bodhisattvas, and the four great śrāvakas. Having heard the teachings and being eager at heart, he will applaud the vidyā holder with the words ‘Good! It is good! [F.36.a] These auspicious names you know are indeed most illustrious and worth hearing. You have proclaimed names that are extremely difficult to come by. It is very rare, O vidyā holder, to meet you,2811 you who uphold the names of such praiseworthy beings, such precious amogha creations, and tell others about these supreme beings.’
“While saying these words, the brahmin will cast off his apparel and the form of a brahmin and stand before the vidyā holder, in his own form and apparel, as the nāga king Sāgara, complete with all his characteristics and mannerisms. He will say, ‘Please ask for a boon, vidyā holder. I will grant anything you ask for.’ The vidyā holder should state what boons he desires, and Sāgara will either grant all of them himself or employ Uttara. All the nāga kings with their retinues will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and attend upon him. They will carry out all activities as soon as they are ordered to do so. One should not harbor doubts about this or hold thoughts to the contrary. Every task will be accomplished as soon as the nāgas apply themselves to it.
“If the vidyā holder mounts the painting upon a banner and walks clockwise around any garden or field, it will be free from any danger of cold spells, strong winds, heat waves, hail, gadflies, mosquitos, locusts, rats, mongooses, dogs, jackals, creeping animals, gonāsa snakes, scorpions, tṛmbuka,2812 horse flies, snakes, and āśīviṣa snakes. All of them will leave immediately. All crops, flowers, and fruits will grow well, ripen fully, and taste delicious.
“This concludes the practice procedure of causing the nāgas to send rain by the means of the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings.
“If the vidyā holder wants to pacify all quarrels, disputes, disagreements, invasions by foreign armies, [F.36.b] or dangers encountered in the wilderness, all he needs to do is draw the king of vidyās on the edge of his garment. He should have the form, color, and characteristics of the goddess Śrī, be adorned with all ornaments, and be crowned with Amitābha as his crest jewel. The vidyā holder should also draw the Four Great Kings and paint them in various bright colors. He should mount the painting upon a banner and enter the capital city2813 while mindfully reciting the same heart dhāraṇī of Amoghapāśa of precious offerings.
“As soon as they see the banner, the women, men, boys, and girls in the city will be cured of all disease and freed from every danger. All their obscurations, evil, and ailments will be completely eradicated. [A.152.a] They will be free from the effects of all their evil deeds, and the dangers caused by garas, kākhordas, poisons, venoms, poisonous powder preparations, and enemies will vanish. The people will be free from all their impurities. When they see the deity2814 mounted upon the banner, they will be free from their previously accumulated obscurations and wrongdoings, including the five acts of immediate retribution and the ensuing destinies. One should not harbor any doubts about this, or thoughts to the contrary.
“The moment the banner is brought into the capital city, all pestilence, famine, calamity, disaster, catastrophe, accidents, and troubles will be pacified. All grahas, bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, piśācas, chāyās, apasmāras, vighnas, vināyakas, and other terrifying beings will also be completely pacified, as will the danger of quarrels, disputes, disagreements, killings, armies, opponents, adversaries, thieves, rogues, and bandits. [F.37.a] All bad dreams, bad omens, and inauspicious phenomena will disappear. Safety will be restored in all villages, towns, forest settlements, cities, and the capital city of the realm, and all the beings that live there will enjoy prosperity and happiness without misfortune or health problems. They will all feel strong mutual affection and will delight in their interactions with their hearts filled with love.
“The vidyā holder, after fasting for one day and one night, should focus his mind one-pointedly on the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings and commence the following rite on the night of fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon. He should maintain ritual purity, bathe thoroughly, wear clean clothes, and sprinkle himself with the five products of the cow and perfumed scented water. He should then sit in a cross-legged posture in front of the painting of the king of vidyās and recite the dhāraṇī through the night without interruption. He should make many offerings, burn lamps of scented oil, and recite the dhāraṇī. The recitations will multiply infinitely, with each individual repetition being multiplied one hundred thousand times. He should keep reciting until the king of vidyās in the painting radiates light in various colors.
“The vidyā holder will be thrilled, his head will beam with light, and he will hear a voice coming from the sky that says, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! You have performed the supreme recitation procedure. You have accomplished this supreme procedure of the vidyā holders, the maṇḍala of liberation that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa revered by all the bodhisattvas. You have accomplished the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings. You have accomplished the heart dhāraṇī for all secret maṇḍalas and mudrās of all tathāgatas. Choose, vidyā holder, [F.37.b] a boon, and I will grant it in full, whether it is the accomplishment of a mantra, the obtainment of a dhāraṇī,2815 the accomplishment of a rite or of a maṇḍala shared by all tathāgata families, the secret accomplishment of a samaya mudrā, the ability to walk on air, the ability to become invisible, the ability to assume various physical forms, the ability to create magical illusions, the ability to display magical powers, or the ability to conjure the palaces of nāgas, devas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, or mahoragas, the palaces of the sun, moon, stars, or nakṣatras, the palaces of rākṣasas, or any kind of palaces designed according to your wish. Please accept any of these. You can accomplish any task by merely reading or reciting the dhāraṇī; it will be accomplished upon recitation. Hey vidyā holder! Accept various gifts such as the knowledge of alchemy, geology, and gems, [A.152.b] or the siddhi of the noose, the siddhi of the eye ointment,2816 or the siddhi of the bindi. Please accept the position of a powerful king, minister, or senior priest, the obtainment of great power and many enjoyments, the position of a ruler of the realm, the obtainment of influence, an increase in wealth, the ability to transfer treasures, the ability to buy and sell profitably, the ability to summon and bring beings together, the ability to enter hidden passages,2817 mountains, groves, fire, or subterranean paradises, the ability to compel nāgas to send rain, the ability to stop the rain, the ability to stop and start hail, the ability to conjure a posse of men, and the ability to instigate a battle, become a vidyādhara, and see buddha fields. Please accept the siddhi of a realgar ointment for the eyes, the siddhi of the sword, the siddhi of the vajra scepter, the siddhi of the trident, the siddhi of the discus, the siddhi of the conch, the siddhi of the mace, the siddhi of the axe, the siddhi of the javelin, the siddhi of the hammer, and the siddhi of the bell. Please accept the ability to produce power substances, [F.38.a] medicines, and the elixir of longevity, the ability to raise a vetāla,2818 the ability to induce spirit possession in healthy beings, the ability to cause spirits to enter someone’s clothes, the ability to induce possession by the spirits of fever, the ability to cause a dead body to rise, the ability to induce possession by grahas, the ability to cause a spirit to enter a skull cup, jar, pitcher, pond, bell, hammer, sword, mirror, lotus, woman, man, boy, or girl, and the ability to make them beautiful and cause them to dance.
“ ‘You will attain all these boons as soon as you recite the dhāraṇī, attaining them through mere recitation. Accept them, vidyā holder! You will be successful in everything, obtain infinite wealth,2819 and see all your wishes come true. You have won, vidyā holder, the auspicious accomplishment of vidyā. You can successfully perform all tasks, both mundane and supramundane. When you die, vidyā holder, you will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, attain the level of not turning back, and receive a prophecy from the tathāgatas of the three times regarding your future awakening. Your present birth is your last impure birth from a womb. You will be born spontaneously from a lotus flower with the ability to remember your successive births. You will consummate all your roots of virtue. All secret maṇḍalas, mudrās, mantras, dhāraṇīs, and rites of all tathāgatas will be clearly known to you, as if in front of your eyes, until the final realization of awakening.’
“Having spoken these words of prophecy, the king of vidyās will disappear. Then, the king of vidyās in the cloth painting will emit rays of bright2820 light of various colors from between his eyebrows and illuminate the surrounding space. Shining forth, the rays will fall on the vidyā holder’s body and merge with it, instantly rendering him invisible. He will obtain hundreds of thousands of samādhis,2821 including the samādhi of not turning back, [F.38.b] the luminous samādhi,2822 the samādhi of facing all directions, the samādhi of the halo of light, the samādhi of the broad halo of light, the samādhi of amogha miracles, the samādhi of precious amogha offerings, the samādhi referred to as amogha jewel, the samādhi referred to as the splendor of accomplishment, the samādhi of the compassionate gaze, the samādhi of the set of mudrās, the samādhi of the secret maṇḍala, the samādhi of the amogha dhāraṇī, the precious sovereign samādhi of compassionate gaze, the samādhi referred to as moving on with time, the samādhi referred to as supreme lotus, the samādhi referred to as lotus gaze, the samādhi referred to as firmly established noose, the samādhi referred to as perpetually awake, the samādhi referred to as victorious light, the samādhi referred to as seeing the nakṣatras, [A.153.a] the samādhi referred to as the accomplishment of pure light, the samādhi referred to as the brightness surrounding a jewel, the samādhi referred to as the immaculate lordly power, the samādhi referred to as illuminating rays, the samādhi referred to as correctly apprehending intellect, the samādhi referred to as being fully awake, the samādhi referred to as mudrā gaze, the samādhi referred to as lotus-like mudrā gaze, the samādhi referred to as sending continuous rain, the samādhi referred to as pure essence, the samādhi referred to as vast accomplishment, the samādhi referred to as abounding in flowers, the samādhi referred to as panoptic gaze, the samādhi referred to as universal purifier, the samādhi referred to as at the tip of the tongue, the samādhi referred to as pure syllable,2823 the samādhi referred to as the one that purifies water, the samādhi referred to as fiery energy, the samādhi referred to as vast blessing, [F.39.a] the samādhi referred to as attracting intelligence, the samādhi referred to as strewn with flowers, the samādhi referred to as miraculous display, the samādhi referred to as the stainlessly pure aspect of the dhāraṇī, the samādhi referred to as physical glow, and the samādhi referred to as universal purity.
“The vidyā holder will obtain this abridged list of samādhis as soon as he recites the dhāraṇī, attaining them merely through reading or recitation. One who attains worldly accomplishments by his practice will obtain worldly samādhis brought on by the mantra as soon as he recites it. He will obtain worldly samādhis and whatever siddhis they produced.2824
“The supramundane samādhis are different, Vajrapāṇi. They are obtained by those who attain the supramundane accomplishments and are obtained by merely reading or reciting the dhāraṇī. They induce the realization of the secret sets of maṇḍalas, mantras, and mudrās of all tathāgatas and of the sameness of all tathāgata families. The vidyā holder will obtain the samādhi called the perfection of seeing, the miraculous power of which will elicit the mastery of samādhis, maṇḍalas, secret mantras, and mudrās, as well as the ability to see the top of the head of all the tathāgatas of the three times.2825 These secret mudrās, mantras, and rites will remain with the vidyā holder as a secret sigil of all the tathāgatas. They will remain in front of him like a raised banner as he experiences his death and rebirth while fully conscious.
“The supramundane samādhis are the display of amogha wisdom, heroic progress, the ring at the top of a banner, the master of dhāraṇīs, the pure freshness of flowers in bloom, visible on the head,2826 lion’s play, [F.39.b] blazing torch, blazing with fiery energy, the mine of jewels, the dhāraṇī seal, luminous essence, pure light, the great rain of jewels, the pure amogha master, deep amogha roar, the noose of amogha accomplishment, the amogha banner, and the great light of the wish-fulfilling jewel.
“These are the main supramundane samādhis that the vidyā holder will obtain. Additionally, as soon as he recites the dhāraṇī he will obtain hundreds of thousands of other supramundane samādhis. He will accomplish them merely by reading or reciting it. They will miraculously produce great qualities, great benefits, and great magical powers.2827
“This heart dhāraṇī, the king of vidyās taught in the section on the ritual of Amoghāṅkuśa, [A.153.b] is called precious amogha offerings.2828 It is taught as a heart dhāraṇī of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa and is certain to benefit all beings. It plants the roots of every virtue and purifies all wrongdoings and obscurations. By merely reading or reciting the words of this dhāraṇī, the heart essence, the vidyā holder will obtain magical powers.2829 He will accomplish all the following acts without formal practice, in a single recitation or reading session2830 while fasting.
“His activities will thus have a vast scope,2831 and he will accomplish the nature of reality.2832 He will obtain mastery of the great dhāraṇī that brings vast riches and enjoyments. He will obtain the secret samādhi and dhāraṇī that are called gazing at the vast display. [F.40.a] He will also obtain the dhāraṇī called bounteous rain falling from the wish-fulfilling tree, and he will produce a corresponding display. He will obtain the banner of panoptic gaze dhāraṇī, which is like a great wish-fulfilling jewel, an ocean, and a rain of the seven precious jewels, and he will obtain the secret ability to rain down riches. He will obtain the banner of a wide-extending golden rain dhāraṇī and the ability to produce a vast amogha panoptic display. He will obtain the banner of the uṣṇīṣa of all the tathāgatas dhāraṇī and produce the corresponding magical results.
“He will likewise obtain the ability to clearly see the secret heart maṇḍalas of all the tathāgatas and will obtain all the vast maṇḍalas of liberation. He will obtain these great, miraculous benefits and blessings and will be blessed by all the tathāgatas. The vidyā holder who merely recites the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings will obtain many good qualities and miraculous benefits.”
Vajrapāṇi, the great general of yakṣas, was thrilled with great joy and covered in goose bumps. He prostrated at the feet of the blessed Śākyamuni and said, “This heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings taught by Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, is, O Lord, extremely rare. This heart dhāraṇī, so difficult to find, is a wish-fulfilling jewel. It has great power, brings great benefits, produces great qualities, and creates great miraculous displays. Tell me, O Lord, if a vidyā holder—whether the son or daughter of good family, a monk or a nun, a male or a female lay practitioner, an ascetic, a brahmin, or a kṣatriya, a woman, [F.40.b] man, boy, or girl—would accumulate a great amount of merit and plant the roots of virtue merely by mindfully reciting or reading the dhāraṇī just once. Would, O Lord, the wrongdoings of such a vidyā holder be eradicated? Would they obtain worldly accomplishments? Would they clear the path to supramundane accomplishments? Would, O Lord, the tathāgatas watch over them? Would Noble Avalokiteśvara always grant them boons? Please Lord, explain these things to me! I am, O Lord, beset by profound uncertainty and filled with extreme curiosity.”
The Blessed One replied, “Good! It is good, Vajrapāṇi! It is very rare indeed to be asked questions like these. I will now explain how it is; please listen. As soon as this dhāraṇī becomes audible when recited or read aloud, the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara will be delighted, and he will appear before the reciter in person and place his right hand on his head [A.154.a] and give him comfort and encouragement.
“To reiterate, this secret heart dhāraṇī is the natural body2833 of Noble Avalokiteśvara in its pure aspect. It is his amogha heart-essence.2834 This dhāraṇī is a magical product of the illusion-like samādhi, manifesting the true nature of Noble Avalokiteśvara in his eleven-faced form. It manifests all his forms and the multitude of his magical emanations. It manifests the forms of Nīlakaṇṭha, Nārāyaṇa, Trailokya, and Hayagrīva, and it manifests the great secret lotus maṇḍala. It conjures masses of offerings for all the tathāgatas [F.41.a] and manifests the great vajra essence. It is by nature a great, chief principle.2835 It manifests various forms by nature, including amogha forms, and performs amogha miracles. Because it pulls everyone, it is called a “noose.” Because it is an unfailing wish-fulfilling jewel, it is called the heart dhāraṇī of offerings. It is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, the true nature of Noble Avalokiteśvara that is capable of manifesting other natures. This heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings is able to manifest all of this.
“As soon as the vidyā holder reads or pronounces this dhāraṇī, he will become the sole heart-son of all the tathāgatas of the three times. He will be just like the tathāgatas, with a body that is perfectly pure and shares their tathāgata nature. All the tathāgatas of the three times will prophesy his attainment of the level of not turning back and his subsequent supreme realization of the awakened state. He will be able to see and meet any bodhisattva at any time and will receive comfort and encouragement from all the devas.
“All māras and other such beings, all bad dreams, and all vināyakas will be restrained, bound with the five types of fetters, and suppressed. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, pretas, kumbhāṇḍas, apasmāras, and brahmarākṣasas will flee. All the different kinds of fever and disease, all ulcers, boils, cuts, festering abscesses, fistulas, scabs, leprosy, and cutaneous eruptions, will disappear, and all aches and pains will cease. The body of the vidyā holder will become as pure as crystal, just like the body of a tathāgata; [F.41.b] his speech will be pleasant to hear, and all his mantras and rites will be successful.
“The vidyā holder will be loved by the entire world and venerated by all royals, brahmins, kṣatriyas, and householders. He will be the foremost recipient of offerings from all beings, his wealth and stores of grain will increase, and all his wishes and desires will be fulfilled. He will experience no danger from fearsome thieves, bandits, and rogues, or from all wild animals, falls, being stranded away from home,2836 killings, and imprisonment.2837 The vidyā holder will not be affected by fires, deadly floods,2838 hurricanes, heat waves, cold waves, or hail. He will no longer face danger from any enemies, as they all will become friendly toward him. All women, men, boys, and girls will fall and remain under the vidyā holder’s thrall. These worldly benefits will be obtained, and many good qualities and miracles will arise, as soon as the dhāraṇī is recited.
“At the time of death, when the vidyā holder leaves this existence, he will meet face-to-face with ninety-two times one hundred thousand million billion tathāgatas. They will say, ‘Come, O son of good family! Proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī! You have purified your path. After your corpse is laid to rest [A.154.b] you will be spontaneously reborn, according to your destiny, from a lotus flower with a body adorned with all ornaments and with uninterrupted memory of your successive births. As soon as you meet the Tathāgata Amitābha face-to-face, you will attain the level of not turning back and will receive the prophecy of your future attainment of unsurpassable perfect awakening. The rites for the entire perfect great lotus maṇḍala, the secret maṇḍala of liberation that constitutes the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, will be revealed to you directly. These rites will remain immediately accessible, and you will remember the secret maṇḍalas and mantras of all the tathāgatas. From buddhas in every buddha field you will receive the same prophecy of your future attainment of perfect awakening. [F.42.a] After giving their prophecy, they will never abandon you until you attain buddhahood and pass into final parinirvāṇa. These supramundane benefits will be obtained, and miraculous events will occur, as soon as the dhāraṇī is recited.’2839
“Now I will teach the accomplishments that depend on the number of recitations. If the vidyā holder recites the dhāraṇī for the time it takes to eat breakfast, he will purify the five acts of immediate retribution and other evil acts that would lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell. He will eradicate the wrongdoings and obscurations he had previously accumulated over one thousand eons, an amount that would fill each and every pore of his skin with a heap as large as seven great Mount Sumerus. He will eradicate all these wrongdoings and karmic obscurations if he recites the dhāraṇī for the time it takes to eat breakfast. He will exhaust them completely. In one short session he will be free from all the wrongdoings that would inevitably lead to rebirth in the sixteen great hells.
“If the vidyā holder does a single session of recitation while fasting, he will obtain great peace and the auspicious state of the tathāgatas of the three times in their buddha fields. He will be inducted directly into the maṇḍala of liberation of the great lotus—a tathāgata family that is a direct manifestation of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa—where he will be included, in every respect, in the great samaya.2840 Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before him in his own universal form. The tathāgatas of the three times will remain close by in their own universal forms. All the deities of the maṇḍala will be clearly visible and will follow him to constantly watch over him and show him great affection. All the kings of vidyās will also remain clearly visible and bound to him.
“If the vidyā holder recites the dhāraṇī one hundred thousand times, he will obtain the steadfast vajra tongue. His tongue will share the same essence as a vajra, and its color will resemble that of lotus petals. [F.42.b] He will never again experience unpleasant tactile sensations, nor will it be possible to trample or assault his body,2841 which will be stainlessly pure and have the color of a white lotus. It will by nature be invisible to all wicked beings, opponents, and adversaries, to all bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, vighnas, and vināyakas, and to all terrifyingly wicked nāgas or deities from Māra’s circle.2842 He will be followed by deities attentive to his needs, the divine fragrance of blue lotuses will waft from his mouth, and his body will exude the divine fragrance of sandalwood.
“The hands and feet of such a vidyā holder will be soft and delicate, his eyes beautiful, and his glances charming. His face will have a perfect rounded shape, and his voice will be pleasant to hear. He will smell divine, and his body will be pleasant to touch. His hair will turn blue-black,2843 become curly, and form into nice locks. Never again will he experience flatulence or produce bad odor; [A.155.a] all physical impurities will be removed. His speech will be soft, gentle, and suave, and his voice will have a divine sound—deep, sweet, and soft like the voice of a kinnara. Its sound will be as pleasant and sweet as the sound of a cuckoo.
“Such a vidyā holder will have beautiful feet2844 and will walk in a dignified way. The palms of his hands will be soft and his fingers long. His handwriting will be strikingly beautiful. His gait will be like that of a lion with a wide stride, and his path will never be obstructed. He will be the primary object of worship for all beings, and the glorious Vaiśravaṇa will be kindly disposed to him and follow him. Whether he agrees or disagrees,2845 his speech will be pure in every respect. [F.43.a] These will be the worldly accomplishments he obtains through recitation.
“As for his supramundane accomplishments, when taking his next birth, he will be born, as is his destiny, in a golden body adorned with all ornaments. He will be born spontaneously from the pericarp of a lotus flower in front of Amitābha and meet him face-to-face. He will be able to remember his successive births, and he will receive a prophecy of his future final awakening from all the tathāgatas established throughout the three times and will be consecrated by them. The prophecy, the consecration, and the blessing he receives will be attended by miracles. These will be the supramundane accomplishments he obtains through recitation.
“Now I will describe the merit he will accumulate.2846 By completing the recitation,2847 the vidyā holder will acquire abundant merit and plant many roots of virtue. Whether he2848 is the son or daughter of good family, a monk or a nun, or a male or a female lay practitioner, he will accumulate an amount of merit unmatched—not even a sixteenth part of it2849—by the merit of someone who worships the tathāgatas of the three times by making daily offerings, to each and every one of them, of this great trichiliocosm with its world spheres completely filled with the seven types of jewels and golden and silver flowers.2850 By simply reciting the dhāraṇī, he will accumulate that amount of merit and plant such roots of virtue. He will accumulate various types of worldly merit and a great amount of supramundane merit. [F.43.b]
“When he recites the dhāraṇī, he makes an offering to each and every tathāgata established throughout the three times that consists of hundreds of thousands of millions of trichiliocosms filled with the seven precious jewels, or of flowers made from the seven precious jewels and from gold and silver. There arises a great cloud of offerings that does not diminish for as long as it takes the vidyā holder to attain the seat of awakening, the final realization. He thus obtains a great store of merit, a great amount of merit that becomes his great provision of merit.
“By successfully completing the recitation,2851 the vidyā holder will obtain both worldly and supramundane merit and master the six perfections. In this way, this great recitation procedure brings great benefits and great miracles. It entails great, selfless generosity and continuously produces a great cloud of offerings. In the process, the vidyā holder obtains excellent qualities, and his ritual performance produces miraculous results.
“The vidyā holder should engage in this recitation procedure continually and at all times. He will always be able to see any bodhisattvas at will, [A.155.b] and he will continually plant roots of virtue. If, Vajrapāṇi, even just an echo of the words of the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings recited in this rite of the king of vidyās falls upon someone’s ears, or if they merely see the dhāraṇī written down as letters in a book or an inscription on a wall or on a canvas painting, their wrongdoings, O Vajrapāṇi, such as the five acts of immediate retribution, will be completely and definitively exhausted. All the previously accumulated wrongdoings and obscurations that would otherwise lead to their rebirth in the Avīci hell will be exhausted and eradicated.
“When the vidyā holder leaves his present existence, he will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower and will never again be soiled by birth from a womb. [F.44.a] Right up until his final awakening, he will be born from a lotus flower in any number buddha fields and will retain the memory of his successive births.”
Vajrapāṇi said, “How, O Lord, should this sovereign ritual, the rite of the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings, be written down? What merit, O Lord, will accrue for someone who writes it down? What roots of virtue will he plant?”
The Blessed One replied, “Vajrapāṇi! The qualities and benefits that arise for the person who writes down this heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings, this king of vidyās, the Amoghāṅkuśa, are infinite. He who writes down this king of vidyās, the Amoghapāśāṅkuśa, this heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings, will generate infinite merit and obtain infinite benefits, which will result in infinite miracles. Imagine, Vajrapāṇi, a great sea, a great ocean that extends for eighty-four thousand leagues and is eighty-four thousand leagues deep and eighty-four thousand leagues across. Imagine that someone tries to determine the number of drops of water it contains, counting them one by one. Imagine that off to the side he then excavates a pit meant to contain a second great ocean of the same size, and then into that he transfers each and every drop from the first ocean, counting each one individually. The volume of water in the first great ocean will decrease, drop by drop, until the ocean has dried up and the second great ocean is filled. Similarly, it is not possible to grasp the amount or extent of the merit accumulated by someone who writes down this rite of Amoghāṅkuśa, the king of vidyās, this heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings. The qualities produced by this sovereign ritual, the rite of the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings, are equally vast, equally profound, and equally great.
“Also imagine, Vajrapāṇi, the great Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains that is eighty-four thousand leagues tall and disappears into the depths of a great ocean that is eighty-four thousand leagues wide. [F.44.b] It would be possible for a powerful man2852 to cast mustard seeds from the top of Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, and build a second Mount Sumeru, the great king of mountains, on the other side of the great ocean. It would not be possible, however, to fathom the amount of merit and the roots of virtue acquired by someone who proficiently writes this sovereign ritual down. Not even all the tathāgatas, endowed with the eye and speech of a buddha, would be able to grasp it. This dhāraṇī is thus blessed and empowered to produce vast qualities and benefits, to accumulate a great amount of merit, [A.156.a] and to plant roots of great virtue.”
Vajradhara asked, “How, Lord, should one write down this rite of the king of vidyās and its mudrās?”
The Blessed One replied, “Listen, Vajrapāṇi! The vidyā holder—whether a son or daughter of good family, a monk or nun, a male or female lay practitioner, an ascetic, brahmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra, a woman, man, boy, or girl—who writes down this sovereign ritual with its sets of mudrās and mantras, its maṇḍalas and ritual performances that include this heart dhāraṇī of Amoghamaṇipadmapāśa2853 that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa; who writes down this maṇḍala-seal, a magically created circle of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the magical noose of the nāga Mahāmaṇḍalin, should do so with complete purity in their speech, mind, and heart. As a scribe, they must have a respectful attitude and great devotion, and their writing should be an ultimate act of worship.
“The vidyā holder should adopt supreme respect and devotion, abstain from food that is not appropriate, and subsist instead on any suitable natural foods that are of the best flavors. [F.45.a] He should use flowers, fruits, and beverages that are natural and gratifying. He should use bovine bezoar to respectfully demarcate the maṇḍala area and then strew it with flowers, perfume it with fragrances, cense it with incense, and adorn it with streamers. He should draw it while sitting on a Dharma seat.2854 He should then purify himself by bathing, anoint his head with fragrances, cover his body in clean garments, and make offerings.
“On the eighth or the fifteenth lunar day, the vidyā holder should carefully delimit the sections of the maṇḍala and offer a bali of foodstuffs. Cultivating deep affection, he should offer a golden flower bud, along with other presents, and complete the act of writing as an act of devotion without giving up.2855 The vidyā holder should extend his hand and carry out the task with all due care, and in so doing he will transmit the sets of secret maṇḍalas and mudrās and the secret samayas of all tathāgata families, namely the tathāgata, jewel,2856 lotus, and vajra families. He should write down everything that pertains to the great maṇḍala that houses the Tathāgata Vairocana. Just as all the water of a great river merges inseparably with the great ocean, or just as darkness turns to light when the sun rises, in the same way this heart dhāraṇī of Amoghāṅkuśa, of precious amogha offerings, and of Amoghamaṇipadmapāśa2857 is the heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara. It is the great maṇḍala-seal, a magically created circle, and the magical noose of the nāga Maṇḍalin. It secretly merges with all tathāgatas equally. It truly is the essence of the samaya seal that originates equally from the tathāgata families of the three times. [F.45.b] It produces a magical cloud of offerings shared equally among them.
“This dhāraṇī is the true essence of the speech of the tathāgatas who are established throughout the three times and as numerous as the atoms in the universe. This heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings, of Amoghamaṇipadmapāśa, is the heart dhāraṇī of Noble Avalokiteśvara.2858 It is the great maṇḍala-seal, a magically created circle, the magical noose of the nāga Maṇḍalin that has been taught in full by the Tathāgata Vairocana. It is blessed with a unique secret samaya. For this reason, performing the amogha ritual practice of Amoghapāśa brings power and accomplishment. This dhāraṇī is said to be the heart essence of Amoghapāśa and his miraculous transformation.
“Thus, the vidyā holder who writes down this sovereign ritual plants roots of great virtue and accumulates a great amount of merit. [A.156.b] This essential secret ritual of Amoghapāśāṅkuśa is equal to the secret rites of all tathāgatas. Writing, reading aloud, studying, or reciting its dhāraṇī conjures cloud-like masses of offerings and conveys blessings. The vidyā holder should therefore apply himself to these pure activities with resolve. With his aim clearly defined, he should undertake the task of writing with supreme joy and peaceful composure. Employing the mudrā and the mantra with due care, he should write down the heart dhāraṇī2859 and the mudrā and maṇḍala instructions, which are the magical creation of the nāga noose.
“In weakness and in strength,2860 the vidyā holder should read this maṇḍala of liberation, listen to it, and read it aloud to others. In weakness and in strength, he should write it down. In weakness and in strength, he should worship and honor it. In weakness and in strength, he should treat it with respect that is due to the true Dharma. When writing it, he should keenly and respectfully obey his teacher. [F.46.a] This maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa is supremely secret.
“There are two secret great dhāraṇīs,2861 precious as gems, that are each a secret maṇḍala-seal of all the tathāgatas and a vessel of their blessing. One of them is the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings, and the other is the heart dhāraṇī of Amoghamaṇipadmapāśa. Both dhāraṇīs2862 constitute a great maṇḍala-seal circle that has been magically transformed from the heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara. Both possess the miraculous properties of the magical noose of the nāga Mahāmaṇḍalin. Both are a precious wish-fulfilling jewel, and they are an unfailing wish-fulfilling tree that produces great offerings. Both are the heart essence of all tathāgatas and a secret unfailing noose blessed by all the tathāgatas. Each is a wish-fulfilling jewel, a magical amogha creation of the illusion-like samādhi that is the true essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara, and each is very precious for vidyā holders.”
Vajrapāṇi—together with all the chief vidyādhara lords and their retinues of many hundreds of thousands of vidyādharas, with many hundreds of thousands of king of vidyā deities, and with many hundreds of thousands of maṇḍala deities; together with Indra the lord of gods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara; together with hundreds of thousands of divine sons from the realm of the Pure Abode; together with Yama, Varuṇa, and Kubera; and together with thousands upon thousands of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas—was very pleased after hearing this superb talk. He felt uplifted and inspired, and he swelled with affection and happiness.
After hearing the teaching on the two precious great jewel–like dhāraṇīs, [F.46.b] he and all the others, led by the Four Great Kings, walked up to the Blessed One and offered worship using various types of flowers, incense, fragrances, garlands, scented oils, musical instruments, and drums. They also made offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and the king of vidyās, and they circumambulated the Blessed One hundreds of thousands of times.
Vajrapāṇi then applauded the Blessed One: “Good! It is good, Lord! These two great dhāraṇīs, precious as gems, are extremely difficult to find. They are both magical transformations of the essence of Amoghapāśa, a maṇḍala of liberation that has been established in Jambudvīpa through your blessings, Lord. Taught by Noble Avalokiteśvara, they represent the secret essence shared by all tathāgatas. Noble Avalokiteśvara taught all the secret sets of mudrās and mantras, the maṇḍalas, and the magical creation of the clouds of offerings for all the tathāgatas, all of which are so difficult to find.
“Accordingly, Lord, I and all the others will remain connected and bound to this king of vidyās.2863 [A.157.a] We will do so by upholding it, reading it aloud, worshiping it, honoring it, writing it down, causing it to be written, listening to it, and reciting it. We will always remain close by in order to guard, protect, and defend vidyā holders who do the same. We will grant accomplishments to them whether they are sons or daughters of good family, monks or nuns, male or female lay practitioners, ascetics, brahmins, or kṣatriyas, women, men, boys, or girls. [F.47.a] We will grant them even to those who merely hear the name of this sovereign ritual.2864
“I, together with all the others, will remain bound to such practitioners in order to guard, protect, and defend them. I will grant them strength, energy, vitality, and joy.2865 I will pacify all their wrongdoings and obscurations and remove all their diseases. I will pacify all dangers, quarrels, disputes, and disagreements and prevent the danger of accidents, misfortunes, calamities, and tragedies, including famine, pestilence, and plague. I will grant them happiness, comfort, and supreme joy.2866 I will guard and protect them, prevent them from falling into poverty, and provide them with wealth by giving them all kinds of riches and granting them boons. May the practice of the full ritual procedures of the Blessed Lord2867 flourish!”
The Blessed One then applauded Vajrapāṇi, the Four Great Kings who attended upon him, and all the celestial kings of vidyās, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas who accompanied him: “Good! It is good, my esteemed friends! You should indeed act in this manner, guarding and protecting practitioners and granting them success. I entrust to you, friends, this sovereign ritual with its mudrās,2868 maṇḍalas, mantras, and rites, so that you duly protect it, and so that you guard and protect all beings. They need to be protected.”
Turning to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the Blessed One said, “Please teach, Avalokiteśvara, the mudrā and maṇḍala [F.47.b] procedures for the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings. This secret dhāraṇī brings the supreme accomplishment to all vidyā holders: the accomplishment of the universal common essence.”
Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, then taught the procedure of the mudrā, the maṇḍala, and the cloth painting for the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings, the procedure that constitutes a sovereign rite of Amoghāṅkuśa.
“Now I will teach the maṇḍala for the supreme rite of the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings. Using clay and cow dung, the vidyā holder should build a symmetrical, carefully delimited four-sided maṇḍala. Its surface should be swept clean and made smooth. The vidyā holder should delimit the sections2869 of this supreme maṇḍala using multicolored thread of various bright colors. The inner area should be one cubit across, symmetrical, and have four doors demarcated on its four sides. This maṇḍala, common to all tathāgata families, is secret in every respect. In the center of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should draw a lotus with thousands of petals that have the immaculate color of a white lotus and are arranged in groups of five.2870 Fitting within the size of the lotus’ pericarp and filaments, he should draw a wish-fulfilling jewel, a lattice, right and left hands that form mudrās, and lotus rings.2871
“In each of the four corners, the vidyā holder should draw, as required, a well-proportioned wish-fulfilling tree. [A.157.b] He should draw a line of various flowers and fruits within the maṇḍala. He should skillfully draw various ornaments, adornments, and pieces of clothing adjacent to the line of flowers, and garlands of white and blue lotuses next to the line of ornaments. Outside the garlands he should draw a line of various jewels and gems, and outside of that line, the syllables from the maṇi mantra nicely arranged in a blazing row. He should also draw garlands of jasmine and champak flowers2872 outside the line of gems.
“Surrounding all this, the vidyā holder should draw [F.48.a] a terraced mountain covered in various trees and vines and adorned with various blossoms and flowers. He should then draw streams of water flowing on all sides so that they surround this inner maṇḍala. Outside of this, in the outer maṇḍala zone, he should draw various mudrā gestures and a variety of flowers, jewels, bowls, pitchers, and jars filled with offerings. He should draw hands displaying mudrā gestures and holding various jewels, branches, white and blue lotuses, various types of cloth, and adornments. Surrounding all this, he should draw garlands of various flowers such as lotuses and water lilies, mandārava,2873 atimukta,2874 vārṣika,2875 champak,2876 blue lotuses, sumanas,2877 trumpet-tree blossoms, yūthika,2878 and kadamba2879 blossoms.
“At each of the four doors the vidyā holder should place an earthenware pot filled with offerings and adorned with all ornaments and decorative vines. He should also adorn the maṇḍala with arrows and banners and set out full jars, various flowers and fruits, and various foods of exquisite flavor. He should burn various types of incense in incense burners arranged all around the maṇḍala.
“He should then purify himself ritually, take a bath, put on clean clothes, and perfume himself with nice scents. He should fumigate himself with fine incense and smear himself with the five products of the cow. He should then recite the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings one thousand and eight times. While reciting, he should visualize great clouds of offerings for all the tathāgatas of the three times, who are as numerous as the particles of dust in the universe. He should make offerings to all the blessed buddhas dwelling in all the buddha fields in the ten directions. He should offer great clouds of offerings, like those piled up in the maṇḍala, to each and every one of these tathāgatas established throughout the three times, in every buddha field, as numerous as the particles of dust in the universe. He should make offerings to each tathāgata individually, and he should continually send great clouds of offerings to the blessed ones, offerings that consist of hundreds of thousands of visualized maṇḍalas [F.48.b] piled with offerings.
“The offerings should include various pieces of clothing, ornaments, and adornments, various divine flowers, exquisite fragrances, fine incense, various divine fruits and flowers, various types of delicious food with hundreds of superb flavors, and various trees lit with lamps. To each and every tathāgata and his retinue, the vidyā holder should offer these items by the hundreds of thousands in the form of great unceasing clouds of offerings. He should also offer cloud-like offerings of divine music of five types. In this way, all the tathāgatas of the three times in all the buddha fields in the ten directions, as numerous as the particles of dust in the universe, should individually, one by one, along with their retinues and followers, be worshiped with great clouds of offerings. Such offerings are produced effortlessly, ceaselessly arising in cloud-like multitudes from the enclosure of the great maṇḍala.2880 [A.158.a]
“All beings who enter this maṇḍala—brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, ascetics, women, men, boys, and girls—will attain mastery of the six perfections. All those who are eager to see it, rejoice in it, associate themselves with it, or merely hear about it will attain the level of not turning back. They too will attain mastery of the six perfections. They will selflessly practice generosity on a large scale and thus plant the roots of virtue and accumulate great amounts of merit. They will each plant the roots of virtue and accumulate great merit as if they were in the presence of each of the blessed buddhas, who are as numerous as grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers.
“The moment they see the maṇḍala or rejoice in it, their wrongdoings, such as the five acts of immediate retribution, will be instantly exhausted; they will be completely free from every disease and will each become a favorite teacher of all beings. When the time comes to depart this life and take a new birth, [F.49.a] they will see ninety-two times a hundred thousand million billion tathāgatas, face-to-face, at the culmination of the death process. They will show them the way and give them comfort and encouragement. These beings will then proceed to their destined buddha fields, where they will be spontaneously born from lotus flowers and be adorned with all ornaments. The moment they are born there, they will be able to recall all their successive births.
“The entire maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa, complete with its rites and its sets of mudrās and mantras that are common to all tathāgatas, will be clearly known to them as if it were in front of their face. All samādhi states will remain at the top of their banner2881 until their final attainment of buddhahood. The current birth will be their last from a womb.
“The offering2882 maṇḍala is indeed supreme. At the very least, it will ensure that even those born as animals—as wild animals or birds—will all attain the level of not turning back and obtain mastery of the six perfections. What need is then to mention human beings? This great offering maṇḍala procedure thus brings great qualities and benefits.
“This concludes the practice procedure, with its miraculous benefits, of the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings.
“Now I will teach a painting procedure for a king of vidyās that brings benefit to all beings. It instantly removes all evil, prevents all disease, brings every accomplishment, and grants every boon. The vidyā holder should procure a canvas of woven cloth, or of another type such as Chinese silk, that is four cubits square. The painter should maintain ritual purity and execute the painting in a clean place. He should take a bath, put on clean clothes, and perfume himself with various scents. He should then execute the supreme painting, using uncontaminated paints of various vivid colors kept in new pots.
“In the center of the canvas, the vidyā holder2883 should paint the Tathāgata Śākyamuni sitting on a lion seat on the top floor of his palace, which is surrounded by a lotus lake from which the nāga kings Nanda and Upananda cast flowers toward the Blessed One. [F.49.b] To the Blessed One’s left he should paint Noble Avalokiteśvara in his form of Amoghapāśa, sitting in the ardhaparyaṅka2884 posture, adorned with a diadem atop his topknot, and wearing the garb of Brahmā and all kinds of ornaments. Amitābha sits as his crest jewel, and he has four arms and three eyes and leans toward the Blessed One. He holds a trident, a lotus, a noose, and a precious jewel.
“To the right of the Tathāgata Śākyamuni, the vidyā holder should paint the four-armed king of vidyās in the guise of Noble Tārā. [A.158.b] Amitābha is her crest jewel, and she is adorned with all ornaments and wears various items of clothing. She holds a lotus noose,2885 a sword, a great jewel, and a jeweled victory banner. She sits in the ardhaparyaṅka posture and leans toward the Blessed One.
“Behind Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should paint the goddess Tārā adorned with all kinds of ornaments and leaning toward the Blessed One with folded hands. Behind the goddess Tārā, he should paint Pāṇḍaravāsinī adorned with all kinds of ornaments. He should paint her smiling, with arched eyebrows, and casting sidelong glances at the Blessed One. Behind the king of vidyās he should paint Noble Śrīkānti adorned with all kinds of ornaments. She looks at the Blessed One and carries a vase with various flowers. All these goddesses sit in the ardhaparyaṅka posture upon lotus seats.
“The vidyā holder should then paint the great Krodhāṅkuśī behind Pāṇḍaravāsinī, and Amoghāṅkuśī besides Śvetā. Below the king of vidyās, he should paint Ekajaṭā with eight arms and fangs bared. Her knotted hair flies upward, and she is adorned with every ornament. She holds various implements in seven of her hands—a scimitar, axe, noose, sword, trident, vajra scepter, and lotus—and displays a threatening gesture with her remaining hand. She sits in the ardhaparyaṅka posture and looks up at the Blessed One with an upturned face.
“The vidyā holder should paint Amitābha at the center of the seven tathāgatas above Śākyamuni’s palace, all worshiping the Blessed One. To the right, he should paint Vajradhara fanning the Blessed One with a yak-tail whisk held in his left and right hands.2886 [F.50.a] He should paint Vajradhara-Krodharāja to the left,2887 the Four Great Kings below and to the right, and Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra below and to the left, each holding their respective implements. All of them should be depicted to be singing. The vidyā holder should be painted below the Blessed One, kneeling on the right side of the lotus lake and looking up at the Blessed One. He holds an incense burner, flowers, and a rosary.2888
“Around the outer edge of the canvas, the vidyā holder should paint a ring of mountains strewn with various flowers and blossoms, adorned with various jeweled trees interspersed with flowing streams of water, and teeming with wild animals and birds. The mountains should be graced with various mountain deities and pheasants, and they should be dotted with the expanded hoods of various snakes. The vidyā holder should also paint other mountain inhabitants in their respective abodes. He should then apply various bright colors to finish the painting.
“Then, the vidyā holder should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, and be thoroughly bathed. He should sit in a cross-legged position facing the painting2889 and observe silence. He should then recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times and the dhāraṇī of the king of vidyās another one hundred and eight times. The cloth painting will subsequently blaze with light and radiate rays of various colors that illuminate all ten directions.
“Covered in goose bumps, the vidyā holder will tremble with excitement. He will understand that he has now accomplished Amoghāṅkuśa, the king of vidyās, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. From then on, he will be able to perform all activities, both mundane and supramundane, and accomplish all of them perfectly. Any son or daughter of good family, [A.159.a] any monk or nun, [F.50.b] any male or female lay practitioner, any king, minister, brahmin, kṣatriya, householder, or male or female lay practitioner,2890 or any woman, man, boy, or girl who sees this great painting will be freed from their wrongdoings, such as the five acts of immediate retribution and other moral stains, as soon as they see the painting.2891 They will instantly be freed from their wrongdoings and obscurations that would otherwise lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell. They will accumulate a great amount of merit and plant roots of virtue.
“Now I will teach the maṇḍala of the king of vidyās that fulfills all wishes, brings all desired accomplishments, and allows the vidyā holder to realize the sameness of the tathāgata families. This maṇḍala is a receptacle for the blessing of all tathāgatas and is the source of the accomplishment of the samaya and the essence that they all share. This supreme maṇḍala constitutes the vajra seat of awakening, and it effects, by its very nature, the turning of the wheel of Dharma. It brings the vidyā holder close to final and ultimate awakening and establishes him on the level of not turning back. It is a secret maṇḍala of all the tathāgatas that grants the magical ability to reach any location and serves as a maṇḍala suitable for all rites. Its mudrā summons the power of all mudrās and allows the vidyā holder to enter all the buddha fields.
“The vidyā holder should find a suitable place on a suitable spot on the ground. He should look for the right spot in places such as a monastery courtyard, a forest hermitage, an inaccessible mountain cave or wilderness, a city, a royal capital, a crossroads, a residential estate, a monks’ recreation ground, a garden, park, grove, pleasure ground, river, pond, or pool, a lake adorned with lotuses, or a place pleasing to tathāgatas such as a verdant spot abounding in fresh greenery or a flower garden. [F.51.a]
“Once he has found a clean spot,2892 the vidyā holder should set up the maṇḍala there. He should build it using a mixture of clay and cow dung to form the shape of a square with sides measuring four cubits each. Its surface should be wiped clean, be soft and smooth, and have the color of beryl.2893 The vidyā holder should delimit the sections of this divine maṇḍala using a thread of various colors, making the sections the same shape and size. He should thus demarcate the four corners, the four sides, and the four doors that constitute a supreme maṇḍala.
“Within the central area of this maṇḍala the vidyā holder should use the thread to demarcate an inner maṇḍala that is one cubit across and has five parallel lines.2894 All along these lines he should skillfully draw various shapes: a row of lotuses along the first line, a row of tridents along the second, a row of vajra scepters along the third, a row of blue lotuses along the fourth, and a row of precious great jewels along the fifth. Each is surrounded by a blazing garland of flames.
“In the center of the inner maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should draw a puṇḍarīka lotus2895 that has thirty-two petals, stamens, and a pericarp. He should draw the vidyā goddess there, skillfully executing her specific features. He should draw the figures in this maṇḍala as precisely as if he were drawing them on a canvas of fine cotton. On the petals2896 of the white lotus he should draw the deities of the maṇḍala in their various divine forms, some peaceful and some grimacing wrathfully. They each hold various implements and are to be depicted according to the conventions of the maṇḍala. They are adorned with all kinds of ornaments and wear various garments. Sixteen of them possess a male form and sixteen a female form,2897 with the two genders alternating in sequence. The vidyā holder should draw all these deities seated on lotus seats and holding a lotus.
“The vidyā holder should draw the Four Great Kings on the inside of the four corners, each with their cuirasses and coats of mail fastened on and in forms that inspire dread. Outside the maṇḍala he should draw a surrounding row of various emblems that are evenly spaced and hands displaying various mudrā gestures, all supported on lotus seats. [A.159.b] In the four doors he should draw, respectively, the maṇḍala deities Gaṅgā, Śītā, Bhīmā, [F.51.b] and Anaupamyā. He should also draw the maṇḍala deities2898 Maṇibhadra, Kelin, Kelikila, and Vikaṭānana.2899 Surrounding the outside of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should draw rings of mountains covered with various flowers, trees, and vines, painting them in various distinct colors.
“The vidyā holder should complete the maṇḍala in every detail and then skillfully adorn the entire maṇḍala with hundreds of variously shaped banners in five beautiful colors. He should skillfully arrange brightly adorned vases filled with a bali offering, bells,2900 and jars and pitchers filled with water perfumed with various scents. He should offer nicely arranged bali articles of various flavors, including bowls of rice pudding,2901 as well as various fragrances, scented oils, and incense. He should strew the maṇḍala with flowers and wreaths and sprinkle it with rice grains and mustard seeds. He should set out various fruits and food products, including a variety of delicious fruits,2902 and place rows of lamps all around it. He should include silver and golden vessels filled with fragrances.2903 He should offer all these articles according to their availability and the size of the maṇḍala, but more is preferable to less. He should perform the maṇḍala tasks according to the strength of his devotion and energy.
“He should then purify himself ritually, take a bath, and put on clean clothes. He should perform the rite of protection and bind the directions, maṇḍala, and the area. He should also perform the great protection.2904 After all that, he should perform the supreme ritual sequence that involves reciting the mantra and displaying the mudrā. He should then usher in the disciples who wish to be initiated into the maṇḍala, and when they have all entered, he should display the samaya mudrā to them. They should all bow to and circumambulate the maṇḍala clockwise. [F.52.a]
“The vidyā holder should then summon and receive the deities, perform the bali procedure, and offer flowers and incense. When the required mantra recitation is over and the ritual complete, he should perform the rite of dismissing. He should also perform the bali procedure for the deities who dwell in the maṇḍala,2905 offer them flowers and incense, and then dismiss them all.
“When the entry mantras are recited, the ground will shake violently, and in the same instant the painting2906 will blaze and radiate rays of light.2907 The vidyā holder beholding the maṇḍala will instantly rise up and hover in midair, and at the same moment he will obtain samādhi. Once he has entered the maṇḍala, he is certain to obtain all accomplishments. He will quickly obtain the supreme accomplishment of the rite, and a voice will issue forth from the center of the maṇḍala of the king of vidyās, applauding the vidyā holder.
“The vidyā holder will attain an accomplishment of Amoghapāśa, the supreme accomplishment of the king of vidyās. He will soon be able to retain memories of whatever arises in his mind, and he will attain both worldly and supramundane accomplishments. There is no doubt about this. All beings who enter this maṇḍala will not be liable to turn back. They will obtain the prophecy of their unsurpassable perfect awakening, of sitting on the seat of awakening, and of turning the wheel of Dharma. Those who see this maṇḍala will be cleansed of all their wrongdoings and obscurations such as the five acts of immediate retribution that would otherwise lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell. All their negativity will be destroyed, and they will swiftly attain buddhahood.
“Now I will teach, as part of this great rite of Amoghāṅkuśa,2908 the mudrā of the sameness of all tathāgata families. I will teach it as part of this great maṇḍala that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa in his form of the king of vidyās Krodhāṅkuśa.2909 This mudrā auspiciously accomplishes all activities, [F.52.b] makes all bhūtas panic and flee, terrifies yakṣas and rākṣasas, [A.160.a] and burns all vighnas with fire. It makes the devas of the desire realm grow faint, makes wicked nāgas tremble and send rain upon the earth,2910 and brings a rain of divine flowers, various jewels, divine clothes, and ornaments.
“This mudrā rouses all buddhas and invites the tathāgatas of the three times from throughout the ten directions. It summons all the devas who dwell in the realm of Thirty-Three and enlivens all bodhisattvas. It summons all the deities in the maṇḍala of the king of vidyās. It brings all enjoyments and pleasures and establishes the vidyā holder irreversibly on the path to awakening. It brings the vidyā holder to the seat of ultimate awakening and compels him to turn the wheel of Dharma. It is the blazing light of the Dharma torch, the sound of the Dharma conch, and the raising of the Dharma banner. It brings the ultimate accomplishment of all mantras and rites.
“This mudrā makes all wishes come true and grants every boon. It supports all mantras, and in particular it brings the accomplishment of dhāraṇīs. It allows the vidyā holder to enter every maṇḍala and establish the secret samaya with all tathāgatas equally. It allows him to enter all the places where the eight sages, Vairocana and so forth, are present.2911 It eradicates all wrongdoings, purifies all obscurations, and burns away all the afflictions. It always pulls beings out of saṃsāra, rescues them from Māra and other wicked beings, and always serves as a supreme Dharma bridge. It frees one from old age, death, and rebirth via an embryo2912 into the terrible prison of existence.2913
“This mudrā grants forbearance, beauty,2914 discipline, renunciation, energy, [F.53.a] meditative states, insight, and samādhi. It grants the mastery of the six perfections and always brings much wealth and many precious things. It can be used to worship all buddhas, bodhisattvas, and deities, and it fulfills all hopes. This mudrā conveys the blessing of all tathāgatas and reveals all samādhis that display illusion-like miracles. It can conjure all forms, produces various magical creations, and hones magical powers. It reveals the nature2915 of the dharmadhātu, which is the seat of tathāgatas’ miraculous creations. It is a magical tool of all tathāgatas that destroys all wicked beings. It always subdues grahas, cures all diseases, and restrains all adversaries, opponents, and foreign armies. It grants fearlessness to all afflicted by the terrible eight fears, destroys garas and kākhordas, and neutralizes poisonous potions. There is no doubt about this.
“To form this mudrā, both hands should be held in an inverse position at the heart,2916 with the thumb2917 and index fingers of both hands bent, and the other three fingers extended. This is the mudrā of Amoghāṅkuśa, which is the same as a wish-fulfilling jewel that grants boons. When it is displayed, it is as if two hundred thousand million mudrās are displayed. These other mudrās are those that may belong to the tathāgata family, to the great lotus maṇḍala of the lotus family, to the vajra family, or to the jewel family. [F.53.b] It is as if all these mudrās, numbering in the hundreds of thousands of millions, are displayed one by one.
“This mudrā of Amoghāṅkuśa generates a great amount of merit and, like a wish-fulfilling jewel, grants boons. It constitutes the heart essence of the lokeśvara Lord, the protector of the world, and unfailingly2918 accomplishes all activities. It is the most secret asset of all the tathāgatas of the three times.2919 It reveals the secret samaya of the sameness of the tathāgata families. When this mudrā is displayed, all wishes are realized, and every boon is granted.
“After forming this same mudrā, the vidyā holder should bend the thumb by pressing on it with the middle finger, make the threatening gesture2920 with the index finger, and extend the ring and small finger while keeping them together. With the fingernails [A.160.b] pressing against each other, he should hold his hands against the middle of his chest, assume a wrathful gaze, and press his hands while pronouncing the syllable hūṁ. This is the mudrā of Krodhāṅkuśa, the best among all the wrathful mudrās. By displaying this mudrā, he displays all the hundreds of thousands of millions of mudrās shared by the tathāgatas families.
“As soon as he displays this mudrā, he displays all the wrathful mudrās that are said to belong to the tathāgata family and to the lotus family, and also the mudrās of vajra wrath—the intensely fierce mudrās said to belong to the vajra family. When this wrathful king is displayed, all the wrathful mudrā kings are displayed, including the wrathful mudrās of the jewel family that obliterate wicked beings. This superior mudrā is declared to be the supreme wrathful king. By merely displaying this mudrā of Krodhāṅkuśa, the vidyā holder can crush hundreds of thousands of Sumeru mountains and dry up the surrounding oceans. [F.54.a] The Sumeru mountains will crumble into as many particles as there are atoms in the universe, all the oceans will dry up, and the mountains will be destroyed.
“As soon as this mudrā is displayed, the wicked asuras, including Rāhu, the lord of asuras, will be burned along with their dwellings, as will the wicked nāgas and yakṣas, the terrible rākṣasas, bhūtas, and grahas, the wicked deities who create obstacles, and the devas from the realm of Māra. Consumed by one immense blaze, they will be destroyed instantly. They will all certainly perish. As soon as the mudrā is displayed, all opponents, adversaries, and wicked beings will be struck with fear and seek refuge.2921 All endeavors will turn successful,2922 and all mudrās, mantras, maṇḍalas, and rites will become accomplished. The practices will succeed without fail.
“After forming the first mudrā, the vidyā holder should fold his index fingers into the shape of a vajra scepter. Only the middle fingers should be folded in; the ring fingers and thumbs should be bent with their fingernails touching,2923 and his little fingers should be extended. He should hold his hands at the center of his chest. This is the great mudrā of the king of vidyās, the marvelous amogha mudrā that belongs to the maṇḍala of all tathāgatas, is shared by all tathāgata families, and is supreme among all mudrās of the kings of vidyās.
“This mudrā is praised by the Lord of the World,2924 taught by all tathāgatas, and declared to be the greatest mudrā in the tathāgata family, the lotus family, the vajra family, and the jewel family, and it is the greatest among all mudrās in the mantra maṇḍala of all kings of vidyās. [F.54.b] When this mudrā is displayed, hundreds of thousands of millions of mudrās are displayed, mudrās as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. All wrongdoings, terrible afflictions, and impurities are eradicated, a great amount of merit is accumulated, and hundreds of thousands of roots of virtue are planted.
“As soon as he displays this mudrā, all tathāgatas will direct their gaze at the vidyā holder and keep him in their thoughts. There is no doubt about this. All bodhisattvas will always grant him boons, and deities will continually protect him. This mudrā is known to bring benefits, as specified before, that are impossible to measure, count, or fully assess. There is no doubt about this. Great merit is generated by merely seeing this mudrā displayed.
“The vidyā holder should extend the palm of his right hand and bend his arm. His ring finger and thumb should be bent, and his little finger folded in. The tip of his middle finger, which touches his ring finger, should be folded,2925 and his index finger should be extended. He should then hold his hands against the middle of the chest to generate the mudrā’s power.2926 The vidyā holder should take some flowers, perfume, incense, flower garlands, scented oils, clothes, adornments, or ornaments in his left hand and offer them [A.161.a] to all the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, and deities, as well as the kings of vidyās and maṇḍala deities. They all thus become recipients of offerings. This worship is supreme.
“The vidyā holder should thus convey the best of the best articles in a continuous act of worship. They should include various types of food with a hundred flavors, various fruits, beverages, [F.55.a] and the elixir of longevity. These offerings will be projected throughout the ten directions, and as soon as this mudrā is displayed, a rain of seven precious jewels, superb golden and silver flowers, and various colorful jewels, bright as the sun, will fall. This mudrā, which is always like a wish-fulfilling jewel, is called the mudrā of precious amogha offerings.
“This mudrā and the secret mantras2927 will cause anything that is visualized by an inspired mind to manifest in a visible form, exactly as visualized. All the offerings will issue forth continually, as if from a wish-fulfilling tree, and spread throughout hundreds of thousands of millions of billions buddha fields, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. The offerings will be presented in a continuous act of worship to each and every tathāgata of the three times in every buddha field. This worship, arising through the power of the mudrā, is unexcelled. For this reason, the vidyā holder should always display this mudrā.
“Through this mudrā the vidyā holder will master the six perfections. By displaying this mudrā he performs a supreme act of worship, manifesting infinite offerings with a little effort and only a few material offerings. Due to his inconceivable and unparalleled generosity, he accumulates a great amount of merit, the same as if the vidyā holder had filled the world spheres of the great trichiliocosm with hundreds of thousands of millions of heaps of the seven precious jewels, each as big as Mount Sumeru. When he displays this mudrā, each and every tathāgata is included, and each will receive such offerings. This mudrā, which brings the mastery of magical creations in this manner, has been blessed by lords and guides of the world.
“Forming the same mudrā, but with the index and middle fingers touching, the vidyā holder should consecrate the maṇḍala, create a protective boundary, summon and receive the deities, enter the samaya, and perform the circumambulation. He should offer flowers, incense, fragrances, lamps, garlands, [F.55.b] scented oils, and a bali of food. He should perform the ritual ablutions and the sipping of water, put on clean clothes, and tie his hair into a topknot. He should perform the rite of self-protection and the protection of others, including his assistants. Reciting the mantra and in a state of equanimity,2928 he should sit in a cross-legged posture and perform a homa rite. He can perform other rites, such as summoning. If, however, he summons the mantra deities, his practice will be successful. When displaying this mudrā, he can accomplish any task whatsoever. He can visit any place and accomplish any task there. This supreme mudrā can accomplish all rites and activities without fail. It will produce all good qualities that are particular to the maṇḍala where all tathāgata families are equal. This mudrā is an unfailing accomplisher; it accomplishes amogha rites and amogha2929 activities. It is referred to by the name amogha granter of boons.
“These five great mudrās exhibit an extraordinary nature. They cause amogha hearing, amogha results, and the amogha accumulation of merit to manifest. They amogha-destroy evil, amogha-exhaust all obscurations, and amogha-eradicate all afflictions. They amogha-enable the vidyā holder to see the buddhas and the buddha fields. They amogha-increase the lifespan and amogha-bestow accomplishments and boons.
“These mudrās, taught by the Lokeśvara,2930 partake of his true nature. He taught them in order to benefit all beings, but in particular the vidyā holders. The vidyā holder should practice them during the day, at night, and at the junctions in between. They will bring supreme fortune, merit, purity, and the eradication of evil. [F.56.a] They truly grant amogha accomplishments and the corresponding boons, [A.161.b] including the boon of liberation—the supremely auspicious state of nirvāṇa.
“The following mantras accompany the five mudrās and are to be pronounced when the mudrās are displayed:
[318] “Oṁ, Amoghāṅkuśa, blaze! Hūṁ!2931
[319] “Oṁ, the fangs of Amoghakrodha! Hūṁ!2932
[320] “Oṁ, the lotus of the king of vidyās, blaze! Hūṁ!2933
“Now I will teach the mantras that auspiciously accomplish all activities. By their very nature, they bring universal success and allow the vidyā holder to enter any place or state.2936
“The mantra for cleansing the ground:
[324] “Oṁ, the ground! You withstand everything! Hūṁ!2938
“The mantra of water:
“The mantra of consecration:
“The mantra of applying colored paints:
[330] “Oṁ, blaze with various colors of finest jewels! Hūṁ!2945
“The mantra of ablutions:
[332] “Oṁ, water of accomplishment! Amogha intelligence! Hūṁ!2947
“The mantra of putting on garments:
“The mantra of tying the topknot:
“The mantra of self-protection:
[335] “Oṁ, granter of the boon of protection! Hūṁ!2950
“The mantra for the general protection and happiness of others:
“The mantra of salutation:
“The mantra of circumambulation:
“The mantra of flowers, fragrances, garlands, scented oils, and incense:
[341] “Oṁ, bearer of amogha flowers and the best of fragrances! Be victorious, be victorious! Svāhā!2957
“The mantra of lamps:
“The king of vidyās of omnipresence that allows one to visit all places:
“If the vidyā holder employs these vidyā mantras, he will be able to perform all activities. He can also use this mantra2961 to dismiss the deities. He can also perform all other activities to their full extent using this king of vidyās. He can perform activities and tasks for his own sake and successfully accomplish all other tasks.
“These great mantra deities, the kings of vidyās Amoghāṅkuśa and Krodhāṅkuśa, are unique heroes.2962 They can be relied on to accomplish the mantra activities of all tathāgatas. The root vidyā2963 alone can accomplish all activities. No other vidyā can accomplish this. The vidyā itself is accomplished through recitation, thus the vidyā holder should make a great sustained effort toward a clearly defined goal. He should perform the tasks according to his means, according to the expected standards, and according to his individual abilities.
“He should maintain ritual purity, perform ablutions, and wear clean clothes. He should remain pure, respectful, and kind to the greatest possible degree. He should speak the truth, convey the truth, and be firmly committed to the truth. He should not say negative things behind anyone’s back, engage in backbiting, or resent the success of others. [A.162.a] He should be openhanded. Pursuing the path of the buddhas’ awakening, he should continue to practice by reciting the vidyā until reaching accomplishment. [F.57.a] He should be wholly motivated by compassion for all beings.
“This great sovereign ritual taught here should be copied, commissioned to be copied, recited, studied, worshiped, venerated, and fully mastered. This wonderful maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa is honored by all bodhisattvas. It is secret because it establishes the samaya with all tathāgata families equally; it is secret because it pertains to every maṇḍala; it is secret because of its mudrās and mantras. It was taught by Noble Avalokiteśvara in this manual of rites.”
Once his discourse was finished, the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and humans who were in this great assembly approached2964 Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and the Tathāgata. Facing them, they bowed to the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and said with folded hands, “We take it upon ourselves, Lord, to guard this sovereign ritual, this sovereign ritual of Amoghāṅkuśa, so that it does not disappear but spreads far and wide.”
This sovereign ritual is now complete, written down just as it was received.
Colophon
Primary Colophon
Tibetan Addition to the Colophon
Following the text’s primary colophon, a lengthy colophon was added by later redactors of the Tibetan translation to describe how an initial version of the translation was emended and improved based on a more complete Sanskrit manuscript. No attempt has been made here to match the sections listed in the Tibetan colophon with the Sanskrit manuscript used for this translation, and we have not aligned the phrasing of the Tibetan with the extant Sanskrit translated above. This was done for the sake of preserving this unique colophon as written. It reads:
This text was apportioned to and translated by four learned translators of the past, but because there were omissions throughout the text and because the concluding chapters were missing, the omissions were later incorporated and the concluding chapters translated with the encouragement of the great Kālacakra master Chödrak Pel Sangpo based on a Sanskrit manuscript he had acquired. In book 10,2967 material was added beginning with the words “it can accomplish the goal of any activity” and ending with “perform the mantra recitation excellently.” In book 12, material was added beginning with the words “moreover, Blessed One, for the sake of the distinctive purpose” and ending with “the body of the vidyā holder will blaze.” In book 13, material was added beginning with the words “by merely hearing this maṇḍala rite” and ending with “excavate an area the size of a human.” In book 14, material was added beginning with the words “incant lotus, water, and mustard seeds” and ending with “wash with a white cloth.” At the transition to book 15, material was added beginning with the words “eight silver vessels” and ending with “in all other types of places he will perform any tasks he sets his mind to.” At the break between books 16 and 17, material was added beginning with the words “now I will teach the homa procedure” and ending with “the mudrā rite and the rite for practice.” Finally, at the break between what was called book 17 and book 18, material was added beginning with “now I will teach a maṇḍala rite that involves continuous recitation” and ending with “the homa will release the light rays of the protector of the world.” These omissions were rectified, and the conclusion completed by the Śākya monk Rinchen Drup. The scribe was the accomplished Yoga practitioner Pel Sangpo. The text starting with “all goddesses everywhere” up to “if the treasure trembles” is not in the Sanskrit manuscript. May this be of benefit to all wandering beings!
Abbreviations
Abbreviations and sigla
A | Sanskrit manuscript of the AP (China Library of Nationalities) |
---|---|
AP | Amoghapāśakalparāja |
APH | Amoghapāśahṛdaya |
F | Tibetan Degé translation of the AP |
T | Kimura 1998 and Kimura 2015 |
[#] | Mantra numbers in Kimura 1998 |
[B] | Bampo |
Codes in Sanskrit quotations
° (ring above) | truncated text |
---|---|
• (middle dot) | lack of sandhi or partial sandhi |
Bibliography
Primary sources (Sanskrit)
Āryāmoghapāśahṛdaya [The first part of the Amoghapāśakalparāja]
Kimura, Takayasu, ed. (1979). “Āryāmoghapāśanāmahṛdayaṃ Mahāyānasūtram.” Taisho Daigaku Sogo Bukkyo Kenkyujo Kiyo 1 (1979): 1–15.
Āryāmoghapāśakalparāja
Manuscript no. 69 in the Catalogue of Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Manuscripts Preserved in the China Library of Nationalities. Beijing.
Kimura, Takayasu et al., eds. (1998–2011). “Transcribed Sanskrit Text of the Amoghapāśakalparāja.” Taishō Daigaku Sōgō Bukkyō Kenkyūjo Nenpō (大正大學綜合佛教研究所年報) [parts 1–7:] 20 (1998): 1–58; 21 (1999): 81–128; 22 (2000): 1–64; 26 (2004): 120–83; 32 (2010): 170–207; (2011): 32–64.
———, eds. (2015–17). “Amoghapāśakalparāja: A Preliminary Edition and Annotated Japanese Translation.” Taishō Daigaku Sōgō Bukkyō Kenkyūjo Nenpō (大正大學綜合佛教研究所年報) [parts 1–3:] 37 (2015): 41–68; 38 (2016): 95–126; 39 (2017): 79–97.
不空羂索神變眞言經 (Bukong juansuo shenbian zhenyan jing). [Facsimile edition of the manuscript owned by the China Library of Nationalities, Beijing.] Tokyo: Taisho University, 1997.
Primary sources (Tibetan)
don yod pa’i zhags pa’i cho ga zhib mo’i rgyal po (Amoghapāśakalparāja). Toh 686, Degé Kangyur vol. 92 (rgyud, ma), folios 1.b–316.a; vol. 93 (rgyud, tsa), folios 1.b–57.b.
don yod pa’i zhags pa’i cho ga zhib mo’i rgyal po. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 92, pp. 3–928.
don yod zhags pa’i snying po (Amoghapāśahṛdayasūtra). Toh 682, Degé Kangyur vol. 106 (rgyud, ba), folios 1.b–515.b.
’jam dpal gyi rtsa ba’i rgyud (Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa). Toh 543, Degé Kangyur vol. 88 (rgyud ’bum, na), folios 88.a–334.a (in 1737 par phud printing); 105.a–351.a (in later printings). English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2020.
ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po (Samādhirāja). Toh 127, Degé Kangyur vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1.b–170.b. English translation in Roberts 2018.
sdong po bkod pa (Gaṇḍavyūha). Toh 44, ch. 45, Degé Kangyur vol. 37 (phal chen, ga), folios 274.b–336.a; vol. 38 (phal chen, a), folios 1.b–363.a. English translation in Roberts 2021.
mdzangs blun gyi mdo (Damamūkasūtra). Toh 341, Degé Kangyur vol. 74 (mdo sde, a), folios 129.a–298.a.
Secondary literature
Barua, Ankur, and M. A. Basilio. Amoghapāśa: The Bodhisattva of Compassion. Riga: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2010.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī (Toh 543, Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Meisezahl, R. O., ed. and trans. “The Amoghapasahrdaya-Dharani. The Early Sanskrit Manuscript of the Reiunji Critically Edited and Translated.” Monumenta Nipponica 17, no. 1/4 (1962): 265–328.
Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
Otsuka, Nobuo et al. 『不空羂索神変真言経楚文写本影印版』序 [Introduction to the Facsimile Edition of the Amoghapāśakalparāja Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Manuscript]. Includes a summary in English. Tokyo: The Institute for Comprehensive Studies of Buddhism, Taisho University, 1997.
Pal, Pratapaditya. “The Iconography of Amoghapāśa Lokeśvara.” Oriental Art 7, no. 4 (1966): 234–39.
Reis-Habito, Maria. “The Amoghapāśa Kalparāja Sūtra: A Historical and Analytical Study.” Studies in Central and East Asian Religions 11 (1999): 39–67.
Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. (2018). The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Toh 127, Samādhirājasūtra). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
———, trans. (2021). The Stem Array (Toh 44-45, Gaṇḍavyūha). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Sāṅkṛtyāyana, Rāhula. “Second Search of Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Mss. in Tibet.” Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society 23, no. 1 (1937): 1–57.
Shinohara, Koichi. Spells, Images, and Maṇḍalas: Tracing the Evolution of Esoteric Buddhist Rituals. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014.