Introduction

i.1Mañjuśrī’s Sworn Oath is the second of six short dhāraṇī scriptures (Toh 545–550) gathered together within the Tantra section of the Degé Kangyur that provide instruction in incantatory practices that feature the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Five of these scriptures (Toh 547 omitted) also appear in the Dhāraṇī section of the Degé Kangyur as Toh 892–896.

i.2The scripture begins with a salutation to the Three Jewels and to Mañjuśrī under the epithet “Gentle Protector.” It then presents a narrative of the dhāraṇī’s revelation: Mañjuśrī bows to the Blessed One and suggests that the sublime vidyā be spoken. The Blessed One and the assembled retinue agree and request Mañjuśrī to speak it. Mañjuśrī bows to “all dharmas, the essence of all buddhas” and, having qualified that his recitation is empowered by the Blessed One himself, commences the vidyā. In form and content, this petition resembles framing narratives found in The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī (Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa), which likewise preface Mañjuśrī’s recitation and instruction of various vidyās, mantras, and associated rites.

i.3The vidyā itself begins with salutations to the tathāgatas and to Mañjuśrī himself, even as the vidyā is spoken by Mañjuśrī, and then unfolds in a series of forceful imperatives suggestive of battle, conquest, and celebration. After his utterance of the vidyā, Mañjuśrī explains that its recitation will lead to virtuosity in the memorization of scriptural verses. The benefits of recitation are then enumerated in more detail relative to the number of recitations and whether the recitation is supported by ritual performance.

i.4As indicated by the title, Mañjuśrī then swears an oath to assure the vidyā’s efficacy, pledging to take on the karmic burden of the five misdeeds with immediate retribution should its stated benefits fail to ensue. This oath resembles the “promise” (dam bcas pa) sworn by bodhisattvas in other, similar texts. A more complete expression of this vow also appears in a handful of Sanskrit practice manuals in the Sādhanamālā.

i.5The Oath Sworn by Mañjuśrī bears no Sanskrit title, and no Sanskrit version of the text is to our knowledge extant. It also appears that the text was never translated into Chinese. The Tibetan translation lacks a colophon, so we have no information about the history of its transmission or the identity of its translators. Its absence from the Denkarma and Phangthangma imperial catalogs suggests that it was translated into Tibetan later than the beginning of the ninth century ᴄᴇ but earlier than the flourishing of the scholar Butön Rinchen Drup (1290–1364), who listed the titles of all six dhāraṇī scriptures in this collection in his History of Buddhism.

i.6This English translation is based on the two versions in the Degé Kangyur, one in the Tantra section (Toh 546) and the other in the Dhāraṇī section (Toh 893), in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and with the Stok Palace Kangyur. Where divergences may point to a plausible or significant alternative reading, they appear in the notes.