Summary
s.1The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers is set in Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain where Śakra requests the Buddha for a teaching to help him subdue the asuras, the famed adversaries of the devas. The Buddha instructs Śakra to employ the vidyāmantra that confers freedom from all dangers. This vidyāmantra specifically frees one from dangers associated with disease, poisons, weapons, malevolent nonhuman beings, and conflicts. Among the harmful nonhuman beings, the text places a particular emphasis on grahas, a class of beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various types of misfortune. After the Buddha recites the vidyāmantra, he offers Śakra ritual instructions on how to incant the vidyāmantra on threads, ritual substances, or armor which, when placed on the body, ensures protection and the successful outcomes of one’s rituals.
s.1《普遍賜予一切恐懼自由的陀羅尼》的故事背景設在毘提訶山帝釋天岩洞，帝釋天向佛陀祈求教法來幫助他降伏阿修羅——天神的著名對手。佛陀指示帝釋天運用能夠賜予一切危難自由的明咒。這個明咒特別能夠使人免於疾病、毒物、武器、惡意的非人類存在和衝突所帶來的危險。在這些有害的非人類存在中，經文特別強調執魅——一類能夠「抓取」、附身或以其他方式對其他眾生產生不利影響的存在，通過引發各種身心苦難以及各類不幸。在佛陀誦持明咒之後，他向帝釋天傳授儀軌教導，說明如何將明咒吟誦在線縈、儀軌物質或盔甲上，當將這些物品放在身體上時，就能確保獲得保護並使人的儀軌圓滿成功。