Notes

n.1Of the four types of dhāraṇīs described by the fourth-century scholar-yogi Asaṅga‍—Dharma dhāraṇīs (dharmadhāraṇī; chos kyi gzungs), meaning dhāraṇīs (arthadhāraṇī; don gyi gzungs), mantra dhāraṇīs (mantradhāraṇī; gsang sngags kyi gzungs), and bodhisattva forbearance dhāraṇīs (bodhisattva­kṣāntilābhāya­dhāraṇī; byang chub sems dpa’ bzod pa ’thob par byed pa’i gzungs)‍—this text falls into the category of dharmadhāraṇīs, which enable one to retain knowledge of words, that is, Dharma teachings, that have been heard. Cf. Grounds of Bodhisattvas (Bodhisattva­bhūmi; byang chub sems dpa’i sa; Toh 4037, folio 144.a). A discussion of various classifications of dhāraṇīs is given in Pagel 2007.

n.2See the 84000 Knowledge Base article, “A Multitude of Buddhas.”

n.3Note that there is a discrepancy among various databases for cataloging the Toh 940 version of this text within vol. 100 or 101 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 940, n.­3, for details.

n.4This dhāraṇī translates as, “oṃ nthiṃ. Homage to all the buddhas. oṃ māṃ bhrūṃ mūṃ. It is thus. oṃ bhrūṃ.”