Eleven-Faced Avalokitesvara Heart Dharani Sutra
Encyclopedia
The is a Buddhist
text first translated from Sanskrit
into Chinese
on the 28th day of the third lunar month
of 656 CE, by Xuanzang
. The title in Tibetan language
is Spyan-ras-gzigs-dbang-phyug-shal bcu-gcig-pa, while the Sanskrit title recovered from the Tibetan translation is Avalokiteśvaraikadaśamukhadhāraṇī. Alternatively, the sutra's title has been translated as the Eleven-Faced Avalokitesvara Heart Dharani Sutra by Professor Ryuichi Abe
.
The text introduces the heart dharani
of the Bodhisattva
, Avalokitesvara
, as the following lines, translated by Prof. Abe indicate:
Later, the Bodhisattva states:
The sutra is used in various Buddhist ceremonies, including the famous Shuni-e
ceremony at Todaiji Temple in Japan
. There is no extant, full English translation at this time.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
text first translated from Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
into Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
on the 28th day of the third lunar month
Lunar month
In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two identical syzygies . There are many variations. In Middle-Eastern and European traditions, the month starts when the young crescent moon becomes first visible at evening after conjunction with the Sun one or two days before that evening...
of 656 CE, by Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
. The title in Tibetan language
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
is Spyan-ras-gzigs-dbang-phyug-shal bcu-gcig-pa, while the Sanskrit title recovered from the Tibetan translation is Avalokiteśvaraikadaśamukhadhāraṇī. Alternatively, the sutra's title has been translated as the Eleven-Faced Avalokitesvara Heart Dharani Sutra by Professor Ryuichi Abe
Ryuichi Abe
Ryūichi Abe is the Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Religions at Harvard University. Until May 2004, he was Professor of Japanese Religions in the departments of Religion and East Asian Languages and Culture at Columbia University....
.
The text introduces the heart dharani
Dharani
A ' is a type of ritual speech similar to a mantra. The terms dharani and satheesh may be seen as synonyms, although they are normally used in distinct contexts....
of the Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
, Avalokitesvara
Avalokitesvara
Avalokiteśvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism....
, as the following lines, translated by Prof. Abe indicate:
Later, the Bodhisattva states:
The sutra is used in various Buddhist ceremonies, including the famous Shuni-e
Shuni-e
The is a ceremony held each year at certain Buddhist temples in Japan. The name comes from its observance in the second month of the lunisolar calendar. Today, the service is usually held in either February or March, depending on temples....
ceremony at Todaiji Temple in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. There is no extant, full English translation at this time.