Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī

Different versions of this dhāraṇī, of varying length, exist; the shorter version, as transliterated into Chinese characters by Indian monk Bhagavaddharma in the 7th century, enjoys a high degree of popularity in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, especially in Chinese Buddhism, comparable to that of the six-syllable mantra Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ, which is also synonymous with Avalokiteśvara.

The text currently considered to be the standard in most of East Asia is the shorter version, specifically the one found in the so-called 'Sūtra of the Vast, Perfect, Unimpeded Great-Compassionate Heart of the Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Avalokitasvara's Dhāraṇī' (Chinese: 千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經; pinyin: Qiānshǒu qiānyǎn Guānshìyīn púsà guǎngdà yuánmǎn wúài dàbēixīn tuóluóní jīng; T. 1060, K. 0294) translated by a monk from western India named Bhagavaddharma (Chinese: 伽梵達摩; pinyin: Jiāfàndámó, birth and death dates unknown) between 650 and 660 CE.

[2] Twelve scrolls of Nīlakaṇṭha Lokeśvara texts in Chinese were found at Dunhuang along the Silk Road in today's Gansu province of China.

[10] A third version was made by Changkya Rölpé Dorjé (Wylie: Lcang skya Rol pa'i Rdo rje) in the 18th century.

[12] A manuscript fragment (currently in the British Library) dating from around the 8th century containing the longer version of the dhāraṇī (Or.8212/175) in both late Brahmi and Sogdian scripts was discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang and published by Robert Gauthiot and Louis de La Vallée-Poussin in 1912.

[22][23] The dhāraṇī proper contains a number of titles associated with the Hindu gods Vishnu (e.g. Hare, Narasiṃha-mukha, gadā- / cakra- / padma-hastā 'the wielder of the mace / discus / lotus') and Shiva (e.g. Nīlakaṇṭha 'the blue-necked one', Śaṅkara, kṛṣṇa-sarpopavita 'the one who has a black serpent as a sacred thread'),[1] suggesting that Nīlakaṇṭha was in origin Harihara - a fusion of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) - assimilated into Buddhism.

Standing on an eight-petaled lotus, the effulgence of necklaces, armlets and ornaments adorn his body; his sacred thread hangs diagonally from the left shoulder downward.

"[29][30]The status of Shiva and Vishnu in the dhāraṇī follows a similar pattern to the one identified in the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra (4th-5th century CE): the two gods are repeatedly invoked one after the other, indicating that they stand in a "complementary" relationship to each other.

[26] The first of many images of the thousand-armed (sahasra-bhuja) Avalokiteśvara - a form of the bodhisattva that would subsequently become popular in East Asia - to appear in China was presented to the Tang Emperor by a monk from central India named Guptadeva(?)

"[38][39] Notably, the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra contains a Buddhist adaptation of the Vedic Puruṣa myth, with Avalokiteśvara as the all-pervasive cosmic being from whose body springs various gods:[40] "Āditya and Candra came from his eyes, Maheśvara came from his forehead, Brahmā came from his shoulders, Nārāyaṇa came from his heart, Devi Sarasvatī came from his canines, Vāyu came from his mouth, Dharaṇī came from his feet, and Varuṇa came from his stomach.

"[41]The epithets sahasra-bāhu ('thousand-armed') or sahasra-bhuja ('thousand-handed') commonly appear in Indian literature from the Ṛgveda onwards applied to various personages (e.g. Kartavirya Arjuna), including the gods Shiva and Vishnu.

[47] Thus Avalokiteśvara gradually took on forms, attributes and titles originally ascribed to Shiva and/or to Vishnu such as sahasra-bhuja, sahasra-netra ('thousand-eyed'),[48] Īśvara, Maheśvara, Hari, or Nīlakaṇṭha.

[2] The popularity of his version is attested by surviving Dunhuang manuscripts dated to the 8th century, some of which are excerpts of the ten great vows contained in the sūtra.

[60] By the end of the period, both the sūtra text and the dhāraṇī circulated among the monks and the laity, with copies being made either as pious offerings or commissioned by the faithful to obtain religious merit.

[64] Bhagavaddharma's text begins with Śākyamuni Buddha in Avalokiteśvara's palace on the island Potalaka about to preach to a congregation of bodhisattvas, arhats, devas and other beings.

"[65][66] Avalokiteśvara then begins to speak, revealing that innumerable kalpas ago, the Thousand-light King Tathāgata of Tranquil Abode (千光王靜住如來) entrusted to him the 'Dhāraṇī of the Great Compassionate Heart' (大悲心陀羅尼呪).

[68] Avalokiteśvara stresses the dhāraṇī's efficacy by vowing that should anyone who recites it fall into an evil realm of rebirth, or not be born into one of the buddha lands, or not attain unlimited samādhi and eloquence, or not get whatever he desires in his present life, or, in the case of a woman, if she detests the female body and wants to become a man, he (Avalokiteśvara) will not achieve complete, perfect enlightenment, unless those who recited it were insincere, in which case they will not reap its benefits.

As all the buddhas of the ten directions are delighted and practitioners of heterodox ways become frightened, all the assembled reach different levels of realization.

The sūtra also offers many recipes employing the dhāraṇī to deal with various mundane problems (e.g. to ease a difficult childbirth or to cure scotophobia or snakebite) or to attain specific goals (e.g. commanding a ghost or the four guardian gods, repelling foreign invasions or natural disasters away from one's own country).

[72][66] The Nīlakaṇṭha dhāraṇī, now firmly associated with the sahasra-bhuja form of Avalokiteśvara, enjoys a huge popularity in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism.

It is most often called the 'Great Compassion Mantra' (大悲咒 Dàbēi zhòu) in popular parlance, an epithet also (mistakenly) applied to a different, much shorter dhāraṇī, that of the Eleven-headed (Ekadasa-mukha) Avalokiteśvara.

Musical renditions of this latter dhāraṇī (such as those made by Imee Ooi or Ani Choying Dolma) are often labelled the Tibetan Great Compassion Mantra (traditional: 藏傳大悲咒, simplified: 藏传大悲咒 Zàngchuán Dàbēi zhòu) or The Great Compassion Mantra in Sanskrit (梵音大悲咒 Fànyīn Dàbēi zhòu) in recordings, adding to the confusion.

[75] Copies of the dhāraṇī (written in Hangul and the Korean variant of Siddhaṃ script) are hung inside homes to bring auspiciousness.

[82] In Vietnam, the dhāraṇī is called Chú Đại Bi (the Vietnamese translation of the Chinese title 大悲咒 Dàbēi zhòu), It is almost similar to the version of Bhagavaddharma, albeit with a different way of dividing the text (84 verses instead of 82).

[84] At the entrance of many pagodas, especially in tourist places, the Chú Đại Bi is made available to visitors, either printed on a single sheet in black and white, or as a color booklet on glossy paper.

[86][87] namaḥ ratnatrayāya / 南 無喝 囉 怛那 哆羅 夜 㖿(一) namo āryā / 南 無 阿 唎㖿(二) valokite śvarāya / 婆 盧 羯 帝 爍鉢 囉 㖿(三) bodhi satva vaya / 菩 提 薩 哆婆 㖿(四) mahā satva vaya / 摩 訶 薩 埵婆 㖿(五) mahā kāruṇikāya / 摩 訶 迦 嚧 昵 迦 㖿(六) oṃ　唵(七) sarvarbhaye / 薩 皤 囉 罰 曳(八) sutnatasya / 數 怛 那 怛 寫(九) namo skṛtva imaṃ āryā / 南 無 悉吉㗚 埵 伊 蒙 阿 唎耶(十) valokite śvara raṃdhava / 婆 嚧 吉 帝 室 佛 楞 馱 婆(十一) namo narakinḍi / 南 無 那 囉 謹 墀(十二) hriḥ maha vadhasame / 醯 唎 摩 诃 皤 哆 沙 咩(十三) sarva athadu yobhuṃ / 薩 婆 阿 陀 頭 輸 朋(十四) ajiyaṃ / 阿 遊 孕(十五) sarvasatā nama vastya namabhāga / 薩 婆 菩 哆 那 摩 婆 萨 哆 那 摩 縛 伽(十六) mārvdātuḥ / 摩 罰 特 豆(十七) tadyathā oṃ / 怛 姪 他(十八) 唵 avalohe lokāte / 阿 波 盧 醯 盧 迦 帝(十九) karate / 迦 羅 帝(二十) ihriḥ / 夷 醯唎(二十一) mahā bodhisatva sarva(2) / 摩 訶 菩 提 薩 埵(二十二) 薩 婆 薩 婆(二十三) mālā mala mahemahe ṛdayaṃ / 摩 囉 摩 囉 摩 醯 摩 醯唎 馱 孕(二十四) kuru(2) karmaṃ / 俱 嚧 俱 嚧 羯 懞(二十五) dhuru(2) vjayate / 度 嚧 度 嚧 罰 闍 耶 帝 (二十六) mahā vjayate / 摩 訶 罰 闍 耶 帝(二十七) dhara(2) / 陀 羅 陀 羅(二十八) dhiriṇi / 地 利 尼(二十九) śvarāya / 室 佛 啰 耶(三十) cala(2) / 遮 羅 遮 羅(三十一) mama / 摩 摩(弟子某甲受持) vmāra / 罰 摩 羅(三十二) muktele / 穆 帝 曬(三十三) ihe īhe / 伊 醯 移 醯(三十四) śina(2) / 室 那 室 那(三十五) araṣaṃ phraśali / 阿 囉參 佛囉 舍 利(三十六) vsa vsaṃ phraśaya / 罰 沙 罰 參 佛羅 舍 耶(三十七) huru(2) mara / 呼 嚧 呼 嚧 麼 囉(三十八) hulu(2) hrīḥ / 呼 嚧 呼 嚧 醯利 (三十九) sara(2) / 沙 囉 沙 囉(四十) siri(2) suru(2) / 悉 唎 悉 唎(四十一) 蘇 嚧 蘇 嚧(四十二) bodhiya(2) / 菩 提 㖿 菩 提 㖿(四十三) bodhaya(2) / 菩 提 耶 菩 提 耶(四十四) maiteriyā / 彌 帝唎 耶(四十五) narakinḍi / 那 囉 謹 墀(四十六) dhiriṣṇina payāmāna / 地 唎瑟 尼 那 波 夜 摩 那(四十七) svāhā siddhāyā / 娑婆 訶(四十八) 悉 陀 夜(四十九) svāhā mahā siddhāyā svāhā / 娑婆 訶(五十法語) / 摩 訶 悉 陀 夜 娑婆 訶 siddha yoge / 悉 陀 喩 藝(五十二) śvarāya svāhā / 室皤 囉 耶 娑婆 訶(五十三) narakinḍi svāhā māranara / 那 囉 謹 墀(五十五) 娑婆 訶(五十六) 摩 囉 那 囉(五十七) svāhā / 娑婆 訶(五十八) sira siṃ amukhāya / 悉 囉 僧 阿 穆 佉 耶(五十九) svāhā sava maha asiddhāyā / 娑婆 訶(六十) 婆 摩 訶 悉 陀 夜(六十一) svāhā cakra asiddhāyā / 娑婆 訶(六十二) 者 吉囉阿 悉 陀 夜(六十三) svāhā / 娑婆 訶(六十四) padma kastāyā / 婆 摩 羯 悉哆 夜(六十五) svāhā / 娑婆 訶(六十六) narakinḍi vagaraya svāhā / 那 囉 謹 墀 皤 迦 囉 夜(六十七) 娑婆 訶(六十八) mavali śankrayā svāhā / 摩 婆 唎 勝 羯 夜(六十九) 娑婆 訶(七十) namaḥ ratnatrayāya / 南 無喝 囉 怛 那 多 囉 夜 耶(七十一) namo āryāvalokte śva / 南 無 阿 唎㖿(七十二) 婆 嚧 吉 帝(七十三) 爍皤 rāya svāhā / 囉 夜(七十四) 娑婆 訶

Án tất điện đô, mạn đa ra, bạt đà dạ, ta bà ha.The following is the dhāraṇī as written and recited within the Sōtō school of Japanese Zen Buddhism.

To this magical formula, hail!A rendition of the dhāraṇī by Joan Halifax and Kazuaki Tanahashi, based on interpretations by Japanese authors Shūyō Takubo (1960)[105] and Tomoyasu Takenaka (1998),[106] is as follows:[107] Homage to the Three Treasures.

Being one with you, the Blue-necked noble Avalokitesvara, I bring forth your radiant heart that grants all wishes, overcomes obstacles, and purifies delusion.

Lakulisha), halāhala-viṣa nirjita ("subduer of the halāhala poison"), vyāghra-carma-nivasana ("he who wears a tiger skin"), Nārāyaṇa-balopabala-veśa-dhara ("having the prowess and vestments (veśa) of Nārāyaṇa"), Padmanābha ("the lotus-naveled"), or śaṇkha-śabda-nibodhana ("he who awakens (with the) sound of a conch").

The Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī engraved on a stele at Fo Ding Shan Chao Sheng Temple in Sanyi Township , Taiwan . Erected in June 2005.
Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara, crimson and gilded wood. Restored in 1656 CE. Bút Tháp Temple , Bắc Ninh Province , Vietnam
A depiction of Vishnu ( Vaikuntha Chaturmurti ) showing three faces: lion, human, and boar.
Nīlakaṇṭha-Avalokiteśvara (青頸觀自在), from the Besson-zakki , a Japanese ( Heian period ) compendium of Buddhist iconography. Note the differences between this particular depiction and the description from Amoghavajra: while the four attributes - conch, mace/rod, discus/wheel and lotus - are depicted, the boar and lion faces, the garments of animal skins, and the serpent upavita are omitted.
A 10th-11th century statue of Avalokiteśvara from the western Himayalan region, with the skin of a black antelope ( kṛṣṇājina ) - originally an attribute of Shiva [ 37 ] - slung over his left shoulder.
A sandstone sculpture of Nīlakaṇṭha Avalokiteśvara from Sarnath circa 6th century CE. This particular depiction is based on the Hindu god Shiva about to swallow the halāhala poison. [ 51 ]
A Tang period depiction of the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara from the Yulin Caves , Gansu Province , China .
The Guishan Guanyin of the Thousand Hands and Eyes in Changsha , Hunan Province , China.
A manuscript from Dunhuang (Pelliot chinois 2778) containing the opening portion of the dhāraṇī written in Siddhaṃ script , with a transliteration into Chinese ( text given behind ).
Detail of a 12th-century depiction of the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara ( Senju Kannon ) located at the Tokyo National Museum .
Nārāyaṇa (那羅延天 Naraen-ten ), the Buddhist version of Vishnu riding on Garuda , as depicted in the Besson-zakki . Note the two animal heads (lion and boar?) on the left and right.
Part of an 8th-century manuscript of the longer version of the Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī from Dunhuang ( British Library , Or.8212/175), written in both late Brahmi / Siddhaṃ and Sogdian scripts.
A Champa depiction of Shiva dating from the 9th-10th century. Note the serpent hanging from Shiva's left shoulder serving as his upavita (sacred thread). The dhāraṇī describes Nīlakaṇṭha as kṛṣṇa-sarpopavīta or kṛṣṇa-sarpa-kṛta-yajñopavīta , "one who has made the black serpent into a yajñopavīta ."