Chapter 25

25.1Lord Śākyamuni once again addressed the planets, the nakṣatras, the stars, and other celestial bodies: {25.1}

25.2“Please listen, all of you, venerable sirs, the planets and the nakṣatras! This sovereign manual of the divine youth Mañjuśrī, which contains ritual instructions on the empowerment and the maṇḍala according to the mantra system, should not be transgressed against. You honored celestial bodies should not obstruct the knowledge holders trained in this supreme manual who engage in the practice of recitation, homa, the observance of rules, and magic. [F.203.b] [F.220.b] Nor should you hinder the insights gained by the calculations of the behavior (carita) of the asterisms and nakṣatras. Instead, you and the hosts of gods should all protect those who engage in the instructions thereof. All the wicked beings should be warded off, restrained, and properly instructed. None of them should be hurt in any way. [Instead,] they should be established in the stages of this doctrine that confers the ten powers.” {25.2}

25.3Lord Śākyamuni then entered the samādhi called the erect uṣṇīṣa of all the tathāgatas in order to keep away all evildoers from every sentient being. As soon as the blessed Śākyamuni entered this samādhi, all the tathāgatas dwelling in the world spheres in the ten directions clearly saw the blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni in the realm of the Pure Abode and came over to him. They approached with their inconceivable buddha mien, and spoke to the blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni as follows: {25.3}

25.11At that time, the entire congregation of the buddhas and all the world spheres within the great trichiliocosm, with all the living beings and inanimate objects there, became bathed in the same light. Through the Buddha’s blessing, not a single being suffered pain, and a great light could be seen. {25.11}

25.12The blessed Śākyamuni, looking at the entire realm of the Pure Abode, the bodhisattva great beings there, the gods, all the śrāvakas, the pratyeka­buddhas, and the blessed buddhas congregated in this great gathering, then said: {25.12}

25.13“Pay attention, O blessed buddhas and all the pratyeka­buddhas and noble śrāvakas, to this teaching on the ritual of this vidyā cakravartin, the one syllable who resides above the uṣṇīṣa s of all the tathāgatas. He is Uṣṇīṣarāja, the blessed cakravartin, the perfect teacher of infinite power and valor. I will teach his ritual again now, during the lowest eon. I will now, at this time in the lowest eon, say again the mantra of that blessed teacher of the triple universe whose instructions are difficult to find, who is honored by all the gods, nāga s, yakṣa s, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, and who fulfills the goal of every activity. {25.13}

25.14“At the time when the Buddha’s teaching disappears, he‍—the universal blessed cakravartin Uṣṇīṣa ‍—becomes the preserver of the teaching. He bestows accomplishments. He, a blessed buddha, fulfills the interests of beings during the entire time when the teachings of all the buddhas have disappeared. He, the blessed one, is the preserver in whom the entire Dharma basket of all the tathāgatas is condensed. O venerable hosts of gods and all beings! Please listen! {25.14} [F.204.b] [F.221.b]

25.24“Now, the ritual of One Syllable, previously taught at length, will be taught in brief‍—the ritual of the blessed cakravartin, the tathāgata- uṣṇīṣa who frustrates the activities employed by one’s enemies and conquers the unconquerable ones, the lord of all mantras who is respected by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, Uṣṇīṣa the cakravartin. {25.24} [F.205.a] [F.222.a]

25.25“Right from the beginning, in whatever place he is recited,all the evil grahas within the radius of one league will flee; no other mantra, even though it may have been accomplished, is more powerful, and all the gods will depart the vicinity for some other place. He can take away the accomplishments of other practitioners, whether worldly or supramundane, if this were the wish of the practitioner. He can break, destroy, and nail down the mantras employed by others. {25.25}

25.26“If one wishes to break a vidyā of others, one should grasp a handful of green kuśa grass, incant it [with the Uṣṇīṣarāja] one hundred and eight times, and, targeting the vidyā , cut the grass with a weapon. The vidyā will be broken. If one makes an effigy with the same and nails it through the heart, the vidyā will be nailed. If one makes a knot on a safflower-red thread incanted seven times, the vidyā will be bound. If one encloses [the effigy] within an earthenware vessel incanted one hundred and eight times, the vidyā will be arrested. If one slices [the effigy] in two with a weapon through the heart, the vidyā will be broken. If one paints [the effigy], using brown mustard stained red with poison and blood, the vidyā will be chastised. If one strikes [the effigy] with a vine of oleander, the vidyā will be afflicted with pain. One can thus assail any vidyā at will in any way whatever. {25.26}

25.27“Apart from the rites just mentioned, if one performs a homa having bathed in milk, one will attain peace. By offering a homa of ghee, one will bring peace and prosperity to everyone. By making one’s hand into a fist, one can block all mantras. One can then unblock them mentally. If one wants to accomplish a mantra, one can gain mastery of it by first blocking it with the [Uṣṇīṣarāja]. If one wants to accomplish another rite, one can do this with the same [Uṣṇīṣarāja]. With this mantra alone one can summon a deity [F.205.b] [F.222.b] and also dismiss it. One for whom a protection rite is performed with this mantra will become invincible. {25.27}

25.28“If any mantra does not produce the intended result or carry out the order, it should be recited together with the [Uṣṇīṣarāja]. It will then produce results or fulfill the command. If it does not produce the result or carry out the order, it will die. {25.28}

25.29“One should offer into the fire sesame seeds smeared with curds, honey, and ghee one hundred and eight times, three times a day, for seven days. Then, whatever [deity] mantra one pronounces, that [deity] will come under one’s control. It will carry out whatever task is mentioned and fulfill any command. {25.29}

25.30“If one wishes to enthrall gods, one should offer cedar sticks one thousand and eight times‍—one will enthrall them within seven nights. If it is nāga s that one wants to enthrall, one should offer into the fire the three sweet substances‍—the nāga s will become enthralled. If one wants to enthrall yakṣa s, one should offer a dish made of curds‍— they will become enthralled. One should [also] offer a curd dish if one wants to enthrall a yakṣiṇī. One will enthrall gandharvas with [a homa of] ‘all fragrances,’ or with [a homa of] sticks or flowers of the aśoka or the beautyberry tree. {25.30}

25.31“To enthrall yakṣiṇīs, nāga s, nāginīs, or grahas, one should use brown mustard. One can enthrall a king with a homa of white mustard; a brahmin, with a homa of flowers; a vaiśya, with a homa of curds, milk, and ghee; a śūdra, with a homa of chaff dust; a woman, with a homa of salt; a harlot, with a homa of beans or jambul; and a virgin, with a homa of parched rice. One can enthrall anyone, in any place, with a homa of ghee and sesame oil offered at the three junctions of the day for seven days.”

25.39This concludes the detailed twenty-fifth chapter, on the benefits arising from the cakravartin One Syllable, from “The Root Manual of Noble Mañjuśrī,” an extensive Mahāyāna sūtra that forms a garland-like basket of bodhisattva teachings.