Introduction

i.1The Dhāraṇī Praising the Qualities of the Immeasurable One consists of a short dhāraṇī praising Buddha Amitābha and a brief description of the benefits one accrues by reciting this dhāraṇī. These benefits range from the purification of negative deeds to having visions of the bodhisattva Maitreya, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and the buddha Amitābha himself. The Sanskrit term for the English “immeasurable” (aparimita) that appears in the title of this work can be interpreted as referring both to the Buddha Amitābha as “The Immeasurable One” and to the fact that the qualities that Amitābha possesses are themselves “immeasurable.” The phrase “The Immeasurable One” is used here to give coherence to the title in English, but the reader is invited to entertain the dual significance of the term when reading or reciting the text‍—that Amitābha is both immeasurably vast and possesses immeasurable qualities.

i.1《讚無量一如來陀羅尼》由一部讚頌阿彌陀佛功德的短陀羅尼，以及對持誦此陀羅尼所獲利益的簡要說明組成。這些利益涵蓋從淨化負面業行到現見菩薩彌勒、菩薩觀世音菩薩，以及佛阿彌陀佛本身。梵文術語「無量」（aparimita）出現在本作品的標題中，可以被理解為既指阿彌陀佛為「無量一」，也指阿彌陀佛所具備的功德本身是「無量」的。「無量一」這個措辭在此被用來賦予英文標題的連貫性，但邀請讀者在閱讀或持誦本文時，體會該術語的雙重意義——阿彌陀佛既是無量廣大，也具有無量的功德。

i.2A Sanskrit version of this work is to our knowledge no longer extant. The text seems to have been translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan no later than the early ninth century, as its title is recorded in the Denkarma and Phangthangma Tibetan imperial translation catalogs. However, the Tibetan translation does not contain a colophon, so further details surrounding its translation into Tibetan are unknown. A Chinese translation of the text (Taishō 934) was completed by a certain Faxian (whose identity is surrounded with uncertainty) sometime between 989 and 999 ᴄᴇ.

i.2據我們所知，該著作的梵文版本已不復存在。這部文獻似乎在不晚於九世紀初期就已從梵文翻譯成藏文，因為其標題被記錄在丹噶目錄和帕當瑪目錄這兩部西藏帝國譯經目錄中。不過，藏文譯本沒有後記，因此有關其譯成藏文的進一步詳情不得而知。該文獻的漢文譯本（大正藏934）由一位身份不確定的法賢完成，時間在西元989年至999年之間。

i.3This brief scripture is missing from some Kangyur collections but appears twice in others. Its title does not appear in any of the Kangyur collections that belong purely to the Thempangma (them spangs ma) lineage. However, the Kangyur collections that belong to the Tshalpa (tshal pa) lineage include it twice, while the mixed lineage and independent collections include it either twice or only once. In the Degé Kangyur it appears in both the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum, Toh 679) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus, Toh 851). The dhāraṇī mantra featured in the text is also included in Butön Rinchen Drup’s (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) Collection of Dhāraṇī of the Four Classes of Secret Mantra.

i.3這部簡短的經典在某些甘珠爾版本中已經遺失，但在其他版本中出現兩次。它的標題沒有出現在任何完全屬於譚巴瑪派（them spangs ma）傳統的甘珠爾版本中。然而，屬於察派（tshal pa）傳統的甘珠爾版本中包含了它兩次，而混合傳統和獨立版本中則包含它兩次或只有一次。在德格甘珠爾中，它同時出現在密續部（rgyud 'bum，Toh 679）和陀羅尼集（gzungs 'dus，Toh 851）中。文本中所含的陀羅尼咒語也被包括在布頓仁欽朱（bu ston rin chen grub，1290–1364）的四部密法陀羅尼集中。

i.4This English translation is based on the Degé Kangyur version of Toh 679 in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma). In addition, we have compared Toh 679 to Toh 851 (Degé and Comparative Edition) and accounted for all significant differences in the notes. The dhāraṇī is rendered in Sanskrit diacritics following the Tibetan transliteration in the Tantra Collection of the Degé Kangyur (Toh 679), with major variants between Toh 679 and Toh 851 noted. An English translation of the dhāraṇī is also provided in a note.

i.4本英文譯本以德格甘珠爾《密續部》（Toh 679）為基礎，並參考對勘本中記錄的異文。此外，我們將Toh 679與Toh 851（德格版及對勘本）進行了比較，並在註釋中說明了所有重要的差異。該陀羅尼根據德格甘珠爾《密續部》（Toh 679）的藏文音譯使用梵文音標呈現，其中標注了Toh 679與Toh 851之間的主要異文。註釋中也提供了該陀羅尼的英文譯文。