Dhāraṇī

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A dharani text written in two languages – Sanskrit and central Asian Sogdian

dhāraṇī (T. gzungs གཟུངས་; C. tuoluoni/zongchi 陀羅尼/總持). The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.[1]

Etymology

The word dhāraṇī derives from a Sanskrit root dhṛ which means "to hold or maintain".[2] The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism states:

[this suggests] something that supports, holds, or retains; hence, a verbal formula believed to “retain” or “encapsulate” the meaning of lengthier texts and prolix doctrines, thus functioning as a mnemonic device.[3]

Contemporary scholar Gergely Hidas states:

Dhāraṇī is an exclusively Buddhist term, the primary literary meaning of which is not completely clear. In the extended sense, dhāraṇī has most often been interpreted as “spell.” However, its semantic range is wider than the sphere of incantations, with a further principal interpretation as “memory” or “mnemonic device.” Especially in earlier sources, dhāraṇī was a mnemonics-related term in most cases, a use that appears to have faded away with the course of time. At least synchronically speaking, dhāraṇī is decidedly polysemic and context sensitive. In the present literary context, the “spell” interpretation of dhāraṇī as used here describes a reasonably distinct scriptural body. However, dhāraṇī is often appositional or interchangeable with two other closely related words – mantra and vidyā, which also refer to a spell.[4]

Dhāraṇī as retentive memory

The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings.[1]

Tsepak Rigdzin states:

The term dhāraṇī can refer to ability to hold words and meanings of the dharma through the force of exalted mindfulness and wisdom.[5]

Ānanda was said to be Gautama Buddha's foremost disciple in terms of retention of the teachings.

Dhāraṇī as incantation, etc.

A dhāraṇī can refer to a verbal expression of the teachings—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals.[1]

A dhāraṇī is often understood as a mnemonic device which encapsulates the meaning of a section or chapter of a sutra.[6]

Dhāraṇīs are also considered to protect the one who chants them from malign influences and calamities.

In many cases, dhāraṇīs are also said to have various mystical powers, including protection against evil, purification, promotion of good rebirth, generation of merit, and even enlightenment.[7][8]

Dhāraṇī texts

See also: Mahayana dhāraṇī sutras

The term dhāraṇī is also used to denote texts that contain dhāraṇī expressions or formulas.[1]

Richard McBride states:

Dhāraṇī comprise a large portion of the Buddhist canon of scripture and [many] important Mahayana sutras conclude with or include sections on dhāraṇī, for example the Heart Sutra and the Lotus Sutra (Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra). Various types of dhāraṇī are mentioned in Buddhist literature, for example, mantra-dhāraṇī, by which a bodhisattva acquires charms to allay plagues, and mnemonic dhāraṇī, by which a bodhisattva’s memory and perception are enhanced to remember sutras or salient points of doctrine. In some texts the word dhāraṇī also appears in compounds with the word mantra.[7]

Dharani texts are often placed inside of sacred statues and stupas, as a form of protection and blessing.

They are also used as amulets and protective charms.

The difference between a Mantra and a Dharani

Richard McBride states:

During the twentieth century Western scholars tried to assert a precise distinction between dhāraṇī and mantra by following the strict denotations of the terms. Strictly speaking, dhāraṇī should refer to memory aids to hold, support, or protect something in the mind, while mantra refer to syllabic formula, spells, and incantations. However, in Buddhist hagiography monk-thaumaturges do not make these distinctions, and in Buddhist commentarial literature, monk-scholars classify dhāraṇī into various types but always make provision for spell-type dhāraṇī. Also, dhāraṇī collections contain many spells and procedures for their intended use by laypersons.[7]

Rigpa wiki states:

All dharanis are mantras, but not all mantras are dharanis. Often dharanis consists of a homage or invocation of the deity, followed by a request to act. Therefore, a dharani is usually longer than a mantra.

Dharanis usually contain imperatives such as bandha, bandha, bind, bind: these words express the request to act. Mantras on the other hand just consist of mantric syllables and possibly the name of the deity, without words of homage or a request to act.[9]

Example

A sample dhāraṇī and its English translation are shown below.

Aparimitāyurjñānadhāraṇī:[10]

om̐ namo bhagavate aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorājāya tathāgatāya arhate samyak saṃbuddhāya

tadyathā om̐ puṇye puṇye mahāpuṇye 'parimitapuṇye 'parimitapuṇyajñānasaṃbhāropacite

om̐ sarvasaṃskārapariśuddhe dharmate gaganasamudgate svabhāvaviśuddhe mahānayaparivāre svāhā

The Boundless Life and Wisdom Dhāraṇī:[9]

om̐ homage to the blessed boundless life and wisdom, the firm king of the splendor, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully awakened one!

It is like this: om̐ merit merit, great merit, boundless merit, you (who) perfected the accumulation of boundless merit and wisdom!

om̐ you who have purified all compounded phenomena, you the dharmatā, you have risen into the sky, you (who) are pure by nature, (you) together with the retinue of [the followers of] the great vehicle, svāhā!

Further reading

In Tibetan

In English

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 གཟུངས་སྔགས་, Christian-Steinert Dictionary
  2. ↑ Braarvig, Jens (1985), p.19
  3. ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Dhāraṇī.
  4. ↑ Gergely Hidas, “Dhāraṇī Sūtras,” in J. Silk, O. von Hinüber, V. Eltschinger (eds.) ‘’Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Vol. I. Literature and Languages,’’ (Brill, Leiden, 2015), 129.
  5. ↑ གཟུངས་, Christian-Steinert Dictionary
  6. ↑ Nattier 1992, pg. 158
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 McBride 2004, s.v. Dhāraṇī.
  8. ↑ Moriz Winternitz (1996). A History of Indian Literature: Buddhist literature and Jaina literature. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 367–368. Dharani is a synonym of raksha and the Pali paritta, 'protecting magic formula', 'talisman'. According to the Saddharma-Pundarika, the dharanis are taught 'for protection, safety and shelter of the preachers'. Dharanis are also used as amulets. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dharani, Rigpa Shedra Wiki
  10. ↑ A Sanskrit version of the Aparimitāyurjñānadhāraṇī is partly found in the Sarvadurgatiparisodhana Tantra: http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/4_rellit/buddh/sdurst_u.htm And a full, but slightly different version is found in: Hoernlé, Rudolf. Manuscript remains of Buddhist literature found in Eastern Turkestan. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1916: 300 – 301. Available on: https://archive.org/details/cu31924023185584

Sources

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