Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī
[2] The sutra gained wide circulation in China, and its practices have been utilized since the Tang dynasty, from which it then spread to the rest of East Asia.
Sacred stone tablets with the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī carved into them have been distributed widely in some regions of the Far East.
According to the text, major applications of this dhāraṇī include:[4] Some quotes from the sutra text include: Lord of Heaven, if someone hears this Dharani even for just a moment, he will not undergo karmic retribution from the evil karma and severe hindrances accumulated from thousands of kalpas ago, that would otherwise cause him to revolve in the cycles of birth and death - in all kinds of life forms in the evil paths - hell, hungry ghost, animal, realm of King Yama, Asuras, Yaksa, Raksasa, ghosts and spirits, Putana, Kataputana, Apasmara, mosquitoes, gnats, tortoises, dogs, pythons, birds, ferocious animals, crawling creatures and even ants and other life forms.
Instantly, he saw that Suṣṭhita would undergo seven successive lives in the forms of a pig, dog, jackal, monkey, python, crow and vulture, all feeding on filth and putrescence.
It can purify all evil paths, completely eliminate all sufferings of beings in the realms of hell, King Yama and animals, destroy all the hells, and transfer sentient beings onto the virtuous path.” After hearing this, Lord Śakra appealed to the Buddha to give a discourse on this great Dhāraṇī.
The Buddha, aware of Lord Śakra's intention and his eagerness to hear His discourse of this Dhāraṇī, immediately proclaimed the Mantra.
Then the Buddha told Lord Śakra, “The Mantra is known as the ‘Purifying All Evil Path Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī’.
Again the Buddha reminded Lord Śakra to transmit it to Devaputra Suṣṭhita and that he himself should receive and uphold it, recite, contemplate and treasure it, memorize and preserve it.
After Lord Śakra received this Dhāraṇī practice from the Buddha, he returned to his heavenly palace to convey it to Devaputra Suṣṭhita.
Having received this Dhāraṇī, Devaputra Suṣṭhita kept the practice as instructed for six days and six nights, after which all his wishes were completely fulfilled.
When seven days had passed, Lord Śakra and Devaputra Suṣṭhita, together with other heavenly beings, respectfully approached the Buddha and presented their grand offerings.
The most popular and widespread edition was the one found in the Sūtra on the Superlative Dhāraṇī of the Buddha’s Crown (Foding zunsheng tuoluoni jing 佛頂尊勝陀羅尼經, T 967), translated by *Buddhapālita (Fotuoboli 佛陁波利, fl.
[6] This edition of the dhāraṇī became highly influential, with a significant number of stone and mortuary pillars in China engraved with its text.
A series of translations were produced in the late 670s and 680s, motivated in part by attempts to address the health issues of Emperor Gaozong.
With a body as strong as a vajra, by the power of the Mahāmudrā be purified from all obstacles, suffering, and unfortunate rebirths.
90, folios 243.b–248.a):[10]namo ratna trayāya | oṁ namo bhagavate sarvatrailokyaprativiśiṣṭāya buddhāya te namaḥ | tadyathā | oṁ bhrūṃ bhrūṃ bhrūṃ | śodhaya śodhaya | viśodhaya viśodhaya | asamasamantāvabhāsaspharaṇagatigagane svabhāvaviśuddhe | abhiṣiñcantu māṃ sarvatathāgatāḥ sugatavaravacanāmṛtābhiṣekair mahāmudrāmantrapadaiḥ | āhara āhara mama āyuḥsandhāraṇi śodhaya śodhaya | viśodhaya viśodhaya | gaganasvabhāvaviśuddhe | uṣṇīṣavijayāpariśuddhe | sahasraraśmisaṃcodite | sarvatathāgatāvalokini | ṣaṭpāramitāparipūraṇi | sarvatathāgatamāte daśabhūmipratiṣṭhite | sarvatathāgatahṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite | mudre mudre mahāmudre | vajrakāyasaṃhatanapariśuddhe | sarvakarmāvaraṇaviśuddhe | pratinivartaya mama āyurviśuddhe | sarvatathāgatasamayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite | oṁ muni muni mahāmuni | vimuni vimuni mahāvimuni | mati mati mahāmati mamati sumati | tathatābhūtakoṭipariśuddhe | visphuṭabuddhiśuddhe | he he | jaya jaya | vijaya vijaya | smara smara sphara sphara | sphāraya sphāraya | sarvabuddhādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite | śuddhe śuddhe | buddhe buddhe | vajre vajre mahāvajre suvajre| vajragarbhe | jayagarbhe | vijayagarbhe | vajrajvālāgarbhe | vajrodbhave | vajrasaṃbhave | vajre | vajriṇi | vajraṃ bhavatu mama śarīraṃ sarvasattvānāñ ca kāyapariśuddhir bhavatu | sadā me sarvagatipariśuddhiś ca | samantān mocaya mocaya | ādhiṣṭhāna | sarvatathāgatāś ca mām36 | samāśvāsayantu | budhya budhya | sidhya sidhya | bodhaya bodhaya | vibodhaya vibodhaya | mocaya mocaya | vimocaya vimocaya | śodhaya śodhaya | viśodhaya viśodhaya | samantaraśmipariśuddhe | sarvatathāgatahṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite | mudre mudre mahāmudre mahāmudrāmantrapade svāhāTranslation of the Sanskrit Dharani:[11]
It is regarded as non canonical in modern Myanmar and Thailand and unheard of in Sri Lanka, with information about it located in the Wat Pho Manuscript as part of a wider text called the Paramatthamaṅgala.
Suzuki translated the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī into the English language and this was included in the Manual of Zen Buddhism.
In Mahayana Buddhism, the Uṣṇīṣavijaya Dhāraṇī is personified as a female deity, called Uṣṇīṣavijayā ("Victorious Uṣṇīṣa";[14] Tibetan: གཙུག་གཏོར་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་མ།, Wylie: gtsug tor rnam rgyal ma, THL: Tsuktor Namgyelma; Chinese: 佛頂尊勝佛母), She is a prominent goddess in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
In Chinese Buddhism, Uṣṇīṣavijayā is also a popular deity, and her dhāraṇī is part of the ritual practices in both monasteries and lay Buddhist circles.
According to the Records of the Teaching of Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra by Great Dharma Master Fa Chong (法崇, of the Tang dynasty),[4] the great and unsurpassed merits of this Dharani can be categorised into ten doors as follows: The beginning of this Dhāraṇī is chanted in the movie Fistful of Vengeance(about 46:20-47:30 min).
