Qianshou tuoluoni

From Encyclopedia of Buddhism
(Redirected from Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The Qianshou tuoluoni ("thousand-armed dhāraṇī") engraved on a stele at Fo Ding Shan Chao Sheng Temple in Sanyi Township, Taiwan. Erected in June 2005.

Qianshou tuoluoni (千手陀羅尼; "thousand-armed dhāraṇī"), also known as Nīlakaṇṭha dhāraṇī ("blue-throated dhāraṇī"), is a dhāraṇī associated with a form of Avalokiteśvara (C. Guanyin) known as the "Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara" (Sahasrabhuja Sahasranetra Avalokiteśvara).

The dhāraṇī is taught in the Qianshou jing ("Thousand Hands Sūtra"; Skt. Nīlakaṇṭhakasūtra), a sutra which is extant in multiple versions in the Chinese language.

Due to the various versions of the source text, there are at least eight different Chinese transcriptions of this dhāraṇī and two Tibetan transcriptions.[1]

The most popular version of the dhāraṇī in East Asia is found in Bhagavaddharma's translation of the Qianshou jing.

Title variations

The Sanskrit name for the dhāraṇī (according to modern scholars) is:

  • Nīlakaṇṭha dhāraṇī ("Blue-throated dhāraṇī")

In Chinese:

  • Dabei zhou (J. Daihiju; K. Taebi chu 大悲咒; "Great compassion spell")[1][2][3]
    In Sanskrit: Mahākaruṇā dhāraṇī or Mahākaruṇika dhāraṇī[4]
  • Dabei xīn tuóluóní 大悲心陀羅尼 ("Dhāraṇī of the mind of great compassion"; Skt. Mahākaruṇā-citta dhāraṇī)[4][5]
  • Qianshou tuóluóní 千手陀羅尼 ("Thousand hands dhāraṇī")[6]
  • Qianshou dhāraṇī ("Thousand handed/armed dhāraṇī")[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Qianshou jing.
  2. ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. Dabei zhou.
  3. ↑ 大悲咒, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jayarava. "Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī". Visible Mantra: Buddhist Calligraphy. 
  5. ↑ 大悲心陀羅尼, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
  6. ↑ 千手陀羅尼, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)

Sources

Further reading