Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna
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Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna [alt. Bhadracarīpraṇidhāna] (T. bzang po spyod pa’i smon lam; C. Puxian pusa xingyuan zan 普賢菩薩行願讚), or "Prayer for Completely Good Conduct,” is a Mahayana aspiration prayer (praṇidhāna) that is found in the last chapter of the Gandavyuha, which is the final section of the Avatamsaka Sutra.
This text focuses on the ten great vows (praṇidhāna) taken by of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.[1]
Title variations
In Sanskrit, this text is known as:
- Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna
- Bhadracarīpraṇidhāna
- Samantabhadracaryāpraṇidhāna ("Samantabhadra's Prayer for Good Conduct" or "Samantabhadra's Aspiration Prayer")
- Samantabhadracaryāpraṇidhānarāja ("Samantabhadra's King of Prayers for Good Conduct")
- Ārya-Bhadracaryā-Praṇidhāna-Rāja ("King of Prayers for Good Conduct")
Ten great vows
The core of the prayer are the ten great vows (praṇidhāna) of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra. These are:[1][2]
- to pay homage to all the buddhas;
- to glorify the qualities of all the tathāgatas;
- to make ample offerings to all the buddhas;
- to confess and repent of all one's misdeeds;
- to rejoice in the merits of others;
- always to request the preaching of the dharma;
- to entreat enlightened beings to remain in the world;
- to always to study the teachings of the buddha;
- to always to respond to sentient beings according to their various needs;
- to dedicate all merits to sentient beings that they may achieve buddhahood.
Translations
- Peter Alan Roberts, "The Prayer for Completely Good Conduct" in
The Stem Array, 84000 Collection 
The King of Aspiration Prayers, Lotsawa House- Ānandajoti Bhikkhu (2018), Bhadra-cari-praṇidhānam: The Aspiration for the Good Life
- Lama Kalsang Gyaltsen, The Aspiration of Samantabhadra, Nalanda Institute
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. Bhadracarīpraṇidhāna
- ↑ Gimello, Robert M. Ch'eng-kuan on the Hua-yen Trinity (pp.341-411)：(民國 85年) Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal, No. 9, (1996) Taipei: Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies ISSN: 1017─7132.
Further study
Print publications:
- Khenchen Appey Rinpoche (2023). Commentary on the Noble Kinglike Aspiration for Good Conduct. Translated by Maria Vasylieva. Singapore: KAF Publications. Publisher's page
- Karl Brunnhölzl, A Lullaby to Awaken the Heart: The Aspiration Prayer of Samantabhadra and Its Tibetan Commentaries (Sommerville: Wisdom Publications, 2018), Ch. 7 'The Nature of The Aspiration Prayer'
- Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. Bhadracarīpraṇidhāna
Web publications:
- Lama Choedak Rinpoche (2012), The Significance of Aspiration of Samantabhadra Prayer (King of Prayers)
Samantabhadra's Aspiration to Good Actions, Rigpa Shedra Wiki
Video: