Part 2

2.1Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, rose from his seat, draped his upper garment over one shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, and bowed with folded hands in the direction of the Blessed One, whose body blazed with thousands of light rays of different colors, bright as the sun. [F.7.a] He smiled, his face resembling the orb of the full moon, and, reflecting on the power of loving kindness and compassion, he addressed the Blessed One for the benefit of and to show compassion to the members of the four castes and for the sake of obtaining all the supreme accomplishments of vidyā holders, such as the accomplishments of the true nature, and obtaining the boons that these accomplishments bestow.

2.2“This Amogharāja , O Blessed One, [A.4.b] is the quintessence of my sovereign ritual. In it, there is a very secret, quintessential part that teaches the secret samaya practice of the great maṇḍalas, mudrās, and mantras that together constitute an ultimate maṇḍala of liberation. It brings the realization of reality that arises out of the great essence of reality itself by the means of the great lotus maṇḍala. I will now proclaim these teachings before the Blessed One.

2.3“I will proclaim these teachings here, in the midst of this great assembly, before the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, and before the circle of the accomplished vidyā deities. I will proclaim them before the deities such as Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, before Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, the hosts of ṛṣis, Candra, Sūrya, stars and stellar constellations, siddhas, and celestial vidyādharīs. I will proclaim them before the Blessed One, who embodies the transcendent accomplishment of the true essence of reality that is won through the successful practice of recitation and visualization. I will proclaim them before the retinue-hosts of the great vidyādhara s. I will teach the supreme secret of the essence of reality.”

2.4The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni, adorned with hundreds of thousands of merits and splendorous with the major and minor marks of perfection, extended his golden arm, [F.7.b] which was fragrant like a rutting elephant and haloed with many light rays, [Ti.22] placed his hand on the head of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and stroked him, saying, “Please speak, O great compassionate, supremely pure being! You are blessed by the tathāgatas, and now also by me. Teach the most secret samaya that is delighted in and blessed by all the tathāgatas in the ten directions as numerous as atoms in the universe or the hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of sand grains in the Gaṅgā river. They rejoice and cheer you on.”

2.5Blessed Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, looked in the ten directions, and then, facing the Blessed One, spoke the following mantras that are his own secret reality and essence:

2.6[2] “ Oṁ, you with a lotus in your hand, great Amoghapāśa, activate the essence of samaya! Go ahead, do! Hūṁ!”

2.7This mantra is the essence and innate nature of Amoghapāśa; it is a secret heart mantra of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being. As soon as it was spoken, Potala, the king of mountains, quaked in six different ways, along with all the mountains, forests, and groves, including Mount Sumeru with its inner and outer encircling ranges. All the palaces of gods swayed, as did the dwellings of nāgas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas. The great oceans swelled with waves, and the bodies of water shook.

2.8The buddhas throughout the ten directions applauded: “Good! Good it is, O son of the victors! The secret heart mantra of Amogha was beautifully presented. If it is recited, it will bring supreme accomplishments.” [F.8.a]

2.9The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni said, “Good! Good it is, Avalokiteśvara! When recited, this secret amogha mantra will bring the realization of reality.”

2.10Avalokiteśvara replied, “It is so, O Blessed One! This secret heart dhāraṇī, even if it is repeated just once, will cause each and every single tathāgata everywhere in the ten directions, [A.5.a] equal in number to millions of billions times the number of sand particles in the Gaṅgā river, to extend his arm and hold the reciter’s head, giving him comfort. The reciter will perceive every tathāgata. By merely pronouncing this mantra, he will be freed from disease for hundreds of thousands of eons. Hells will no longer exist for him, and his wrongdoings will be purified. All his diseases and ailments will cease, as will all wickedness. Wicked beings, enemies, and adversaries will perish; there is no doubt about this. [Ti.23] Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant him boons and appear to him continually.

2.11“For this vidyā, there is the following worship procedure and the samaya of conduct.

2.12“The vidyā holder should purify himself, bathe thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. He should give rise to loving kindness and compassion and be solely motivated by kindness for all beings. He should make offerings before a cloth painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, with flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, scented oils, and lamps, on either the eighth or the fifteenth day of the bright fortnight. The recitation procedure requires the vidyā holder to recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times while sitting in a cross-legged posture in front of the painting and refraining from other talk. He should then recite the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times, while sprinkling the painting with water and mustard seeds and forming his mudrā twenty-one times in succession. One thus performs the mantra and mudrā empowerments of the painting. [F.8.b]

2.13“After that, he should recite the heart mantra of the secret amogha samaya one thousand and eight times. When this mantra is thus repeated one hundred thousand times together with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and the mantra of Krodharāja, the recitation procedure is complete. Upon its completion, the cloth painting will blaze with light and the earth will quake. Light rays of various colors will radiate from the body of Noble Avalokiteśvara. The noose held in Amoghapāśa’s hand will also blaze with light. The vidyā holder will be thrilled, his body hair will bristle, and the top of his head will emit light. This is the sign of success‍—the ritual seal of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa has been accomplished.

2.14“Subsequently, all activities and all tasks will be accomplished by merely pronouncing the mantra. Hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, will simultaneously appear before the vidyā holder and place their golden hand on his head. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear in his body of secret essence, which is by nature completely pure, without stains or blemishes. Standing before the vidyā holder, he will grant all desirable things and all accomplishments, including the accomplishment of the ritual seal of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. They will protect the vidyā holder as their heart son, until he has attained the awakening of a buddha.

2.15“A vidyā holder who wishes to see the world system named Sukhāvatī in its entirety, adorned with perfect buddha fields, and to see Noble Amitābha, the best of victors, with the retinue-hosts of bodhisattvas and [A.5.b] [Ti.24] sitting on a lion seat in an ornamented palace, his body ablaze with hundreds of thousands of billions of light rays as he teaches the Dharma, [F.9.a] should purify himself as required for a vidyā holder, keep his heart and mind completely pure, and cultivate, throughout the prātihāra fortnight, thoughts of loving kindness, faith, respect, a heart of compassion, and regard for his master. He should offer to the great cloth painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara whatever articles are available, such as flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, unguents, scented powders, robes, cloth, and banners. From the eighth day of the bright fortnight through the thirteenth, he should live on the three ‘white’ foods and recite daily, and he should recite the secret heart mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times in front of the painting. He should refrain from other talk. He should likewise recite the heart and the auxiliary heart mantras of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times in front of the painting. A welcome offering of water, placed in front of the painting, should be offered at the three junctions of the day. The vidyā holder should, at that time, ‘wake up’ the deity using the incense of agarwood, sandalwood, olibanum, and bdellium, together with essential flower-oils and musk, and recite the summoning mantra one thousand and eight times.

2.16“If one uses the supreme king of incense called unfailing purity in the three worlds, all the world systems in the ten directions of the great trichiliocosm will fill, as soon as the incense is lit, with great clouds of incense, including all the buddha fields where all the buddhas and bodhisattvas dwell and the realms of the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other human and nonhuman beings. As soon as the incense reaches them during the performance of the incense worship with this great king of fragrances, all diseases will cease, and all nightmares and bad dreams will be completely pacified. Even animals [F.9.b] who smell the fragrance of the incense will have the wrongdoings and karmic obscurations that lead to rebirth in the lower realms completely purified. All disputes, quarrels, famines, wars, riots, public unrest, nightmares‍—all such misfortunes, calamities, and annoyances, including all diseases and ailments‍—will be completely pacified. So will all hurricanes, hailstorms, heat, and cold waves. All nonvirtue will be destroyed, including all the mantras that employ kākhordas and kiraṇas, and all poisons both liquid and powdered. All grahas, apasmāras, fevers, indigestion, eating disorders, and evil eye will be cleared up or dispelled when they smell the fragrance of the incense. They will disappear and will never recur [Ti.25] up until the final attainment of the seat of awakening. One should always use this king of incense.

2.17“Then, on the fourteenth lunar day, the vidyā holder should fast for the whole day and night, recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times, and recite the mantra of Krodharāja the same number of times. He should offer a bali of three ‘white’ foods, as available, and burn a lamp with fragrant oil while reciting the heart and auxiliary heart mantras of Krodharāja. He should sleep in front of the painting until, at dawn, he sees golden treasures in his dreams. He will see the world system of Sukhāvatī with its palaces, jeweled trees, [A.6.a] and jeweled mountains, and also Puṣkiriṇī with its residences, temples, palaces, and all [F.10.a] its magical and marvelous displays. He will see the Tathāgata Amitāyus sitting inside his palatial temple, surrounded by the retinue-hosts of bodhisattvas, and also the congregations of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas.

2.18“The blessed Tathāgata Amitāyus, a worthy, fully realized buddha, will, for his part, encourage and applaud the vidyā holder by saying, ‘Great! It is great, O good man! You have performed many honorable acts, O vidyā holder, and planted many roots of virtue. By performing what is worth performing, you have acquired much authority. You have accomplished, O vidyā holder, the essence of Amoghapāśa, the maṇḍala of liberation, the great seal, the essence of the mantra speech, and buddhahood itself. This is your last birth from a womb; when this birth runs its full course, you will be reborn in a buddha field and will pass on from one buddha field to another, until you finally attain the seat of awakening.’ Amitāyus will then place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head, granting him all the mundane accomplishments and the accomplishment of the path that leads beyond this world.

2.19“This is the supreme practice, whereby the vidyā holder, thrilled with joy, will see for himself that he is fully realized. With all his karmic obscurations dispelled, he will be completely pure. Noble Avalokiteśvara, in the garb of a brahmin, will remain in front of him and provide all desirable things. The cloth painting will blaze and emit light. He will also obtain hundreds of thousands of other benefits and worldly splendor. [Ti.26] [F.10.b] All people, kings, ministers, brahmins, and householders will remain in his thrall, and he will be greatly venerated. In return, he will receive great amogha accomplishment from monks and brahmins. To bring this about, he should form the mudrā three times a day, and then, on the fourteenth day, he should make whatever offerings of money and food are available to monks and brahmins, and only then should he himself eat.

2.20“If the vidyā holder seeks to see a buddha, a bodhisattva, or a deity, he should incant the king of incense twenty-one times with the mantra of summoning and offer the incense to the blessed Buddha. The summoned being will show itself as the result of merely burning the incense. It will explain what is auspicious and what is not, and what will bring loss and what will bring gain. It will explain everything, including the duration of the vidyā holder’s life and its own death and rebirth.

2.21“I will now teach, as is proper, the mantra procedures for the successful performance of aim-specific rites:

2.22[3] “ Oṁ, O lotus holder who grants unfailing victory! Curu curu, svāhā!

“This is the auxiliary heart mantra to the heart mantra called Amogharāja.

2.23[4] “ Oṁ, O holder of a lotus noose who grants amogha boons! Arouse the buddhas, hūṁ!

“This is the impelling mantra. One should incant mustard seeds with it twenty-one times, mix them with water, and throw the water in the ten directions. All the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other human and nonhuman beings everywhere will become aroused when fumigated with the king of incense and sprinkled with this water. [A.6.b]

2.24[5] “ Oṁ, O lotus-eyed Amoghapāśa! Traverse the three worlds and come to the earth! Suru suru suru! [F.11.a] O pure being, hūṁ!

“This is the summoning mantra. One should incant bdellium incense with it one hundred and eight times, mix the incense with water and flowers, and throw the water in the ten directions. This is supremely effective in summoning from anywhere.

2.25[6] “ Oṁ, O lotus-armed one who holds the great noose! I invite you, one of unfailing power, to come to Earth! Muru muru, hūṁ!

“This is the invitation mantra‍—a vidyā of invitation from anywhere‍—for all the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas, for all the deities who dwell in the maṇḍalas, and for the devas, nāgas, and so forth. One should fumigate the vase, the water, the flowers, and the tooth sticks with the king of incense incanted with this mantra one hundred and eight times. [Ti.27]

2.26[7] “ Oṁ, Padmāmogha, get on, get on with vajra-securing the ground! Svāhā!

“This is the mantra of securing the maṇḍala on the ground. One should incant water and mustard seeds with this mantra one hundred and eight times and cast them to the ground. This will consecrate a circular maṇḍala on the ground, one hundred leagues in diameter, so that the ground is composed of vajras, everything there is protected, and the beings there become stable minded. The vidyā holder will become invisible to all the enemies‍—to all the vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, and apasmāras, and to the ḍākinīs who can assume any shape at will. He will become invisible and as inviolable as vajra.

2.27[8] “ Oṁ, the throne of Amoghapāśa upon lotuses! Oṭi, miri miri, hūṁ!

“Using this mantra for the seat, one should incant some mustard seeds one thousand and eight times and cast them at the ground. This will magically create a great lotus and consecrate it as a seat. The seat, made of the seven precious jewels and blessed by all the tathāgatas, [F.11.b] is a supreme offering. The vidyā holder should also sprinkle his own seat with water and mustard seeds incanted twenty-one times with this mantra. This will purify the seat, making it into a lotus seat of an accomplished vidyā holder.

2.28[9] “ Oṁ, great compassionate Amoghapāśa! You are founded upon a firm vajra! Bhuru bhuru, in this best of places, svāhā!

“With this mantra the vidyā holder can completely purify the entire maṇḍala, including houses, forests, pleasure groves, monasteries, shelters, walking areas, and secret retreat places in the forest. He can completely purify all places by sprinkling them with perfumed water and mustard seeds incanted one hundred and eight times. All the wicked vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas will be warded off. This mantra is for purifying the place.

2.29[10] “ Oṁ, secure the border surrounding the ten directions with the unfailing lotus rope! Turu turu, hūṁ!

“The vidyā holder should wind a five-colored thread onto five iron stakes that are eight fingers long, incant them with this mantra one thousand and eight times, and drive them into the ground in the four corners, with the center being the fifth. This will create an enclosing outer boundary at the distance of seven leagues. This great boundary will remain until the stakes are pulled out. [A.7.a]

2.30[11] “ Oṁ, amogha maṇḍala! Secure the borders all around with lotuses and great lotuses! Dhuru dhuru, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for securing the maṇḍala. One should incant water and mustard seeds with it one hundred and eight times and sprinkle the entire maṇḍala, including above and below. [Ti.28] This will secure a great outer maṇḍala. No vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, or piśācas will be able to cross it. All the wicked beings there are, such as wicked gods or nāgas, [F.12.a] will be prevented from coming. All worldly or unwholesome activities, defective mantras, and the vile acts of wicked beings will be completely eradicated.

2.31[12] “ Oṁ, amogha purity! Purify the entire area! Dhiri dhiri! O pure being! O great lotus! Hūṁ!

2.32“The vidyā holder should use this mantra to incant, one thousand and eight times, water prepared with the five products of the cow, and then sprinkle the entire area, whether it is a monastery, a forest hermitage, a secret cave, a hidden place in a thicket, a walking area, a grove, a tended garden, a pleasure grove, a residence, a shelter, or a house. All swamps and cesspools, whether filled on not, will be cleared of any bhūtas, piśācas, pretas, and so forth who feed on refuse, as well as any savages. They will be expelled, and the area will become pure.

2.33“If the vidyā holder sprinkles himself with the same water, he will be free from problems such as indigestion, eating disorders, or the evil eye. Unhealthy residences and dwelling places will become pure. Those who are dirty will become clean, the impure will become pure, the sexually incontinent will become continent, and those who do not fast will begin to do so. All the deities will stand by to guard, protect, and defend the vidyā holder. Īśvara, Maheśvara, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and so forth will remain attentive in guarding, protecting, and defending him. He will be loved and venerated by the entire world, and his speech will be treated as command. All his diseases will clear up, and he will be freed from his nonvirtue, obscurations, wrongdoings, and so forth.

2.34“If the vidyā holder sprinkles all four quarters, [F.12.b] all quarrels, disputes, fights, disagreements, famines, and pestilence‍—all such misfortunes, calamities, and troubles‍—will be completely pacified. If he sprinkles himself or sips the water every day, he will obtain great success in the rites involving vidyās, mudrās, and maṇḍalas. He will obtain great amogha accomplishment. Wherever he goes, he will be honored and his progress never obstructed. Every night he will have splendorous dream-visions of great places and many extraordinary things.

2.35“The vidyā holder will obtain great boons on all occasions. All monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, householders, kings, ministers, royal harems, and attendants will fall under his thrall. Always maintaining perfectly pure conduct, he will be greatly venerated. [Ti.29] He will be able to see Noble Avalokiteśvara any time, whenever he wishes, and will obtain all the most desirable boons. In his sleep he will perceive the Tathāgata Amitābha, [A.7.b] the worthy, fully realized Buddha. When he dies, he will be reborn in the world system of Sukhāvatī.

2.36[13] “ Oṁ, flow within the lotus, flow! Remain, remain! O great amogha samaya! Svāhā!

“This is the mantra of the secret great samaya.

2.37[14] “ Oṁ, great lotus, amogha-expand! May he enter! Act, act, svāhā!

“This is the mantra of entry.

2.38[15] “ Oṁ, amogha-settle within the circumference of the great lotus, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra of the disciple.

2.39[16] “ Oṁ, amogha lotus in the topknot! Turu turu! Remain in the vajra knot, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for binding the topknot. It should be recited twenty-one times.

2.40[17] “ Oṁ, toss the lotus water of Amogha ! Bhiri bhiri, hūṃ!

“This is the mantra for tossing the water. It should be recited twenty-one times.

2.41[18] “ Oṁ, amogha deformed water-container on a lotus seat! Full of water! [F.13.a] Act, act, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the water pitcher. It should be recited one hundred and eight times.

2.42[19] “ Oṁ, amogha purity within the expanse of the lotus! Carry, carry, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for containing water. It should be recited twenty-one times.

2.43[20] “ Oṁ, amogha lotus, the auspicious pure lotus that brings fulfillment! Viri viri, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the hands. One should incant both hands with it one thousand and eight times and commence whatever activities need to be accomplished that involve maṇḍala, mantra, and mudrā procedures. This procedure will make all practices successful, and it should always be included in all rites.

2.44[21] “ Oṁ, amogha purity that purifies the tip of the tongue! Tender as lotus, please purify the tongue! Keep it so, keep! Auspicious purity, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for purifying the tongue. The vidyā holder should incant perfumed water with it one thousand and eight times and rinse the front of his mouth. It will remove all impurities from the tongue, which will then become delicate like the petal of a pink or red lotus. Similarly, it will purify the teeth, the palate, and the throat.

2.45[22] “ Oṁ, fragrant Amogha ! Suru suru, prabhuru! Divine fragrance with the glow of a lotus! Svāhā!

“With this mantra, the vidyā holder should prepare a fragrant pill to be kept at the front of the mouth. He should grind sandalwood, nalada, fenugreek, water lily, saffron, and musk into a fine powder and, [Ti.30] adding honey, make a pill the size of an eyeball. Reciting the above mantra with full voice, he should place the pill in a copper container, place the container in the mouth, and keep it there until he completes one thousand and eight recitations. After a while, the pleasant fragrance of a water lily will continually issue forth from his mouth for hundreds of yards. There is no doubt about this.

2.46“All the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas will rejoice, and Noble Avalokiteśvara, the boon-granting lord, will be extremely pleased. [B2] This supreme vidyā of Amoghapāśa will be easily accomplished through recitation. [F.13.b] The vidyā holder who recites it will always be free from bad odor, bile, phlegm, and nasal mucous, which will all be swiftly cleared away, and divine fragrance will issue forth from his mouth. Whomever he targets with this formula will quickly be enthralled. All the gods including Śacī’s husband Indra, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, the Four Guardians of the World, Candra, and Sūrya will remain in his thrall.

2.47“If the vidyā holder keeps this pill in his mouth, Sarasvatī will dwell at the tip of his tongue. His words will become clear, and his voice will be like that of kinnaras. He will always be free from dirt and blemish, and he will be able to memorize one thousand verses after the first recitation. [A.8.a] If he utters the syllable hūṁ, all the deities will arrive, including those who dwell within the maṇḍala. With the syllable phaṭ, all the wicked vighnas and vināyakas will perish, and all yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, apasmāras, bhūtas, and guhyakas will immediately flee and fall with their faces down. If he holds the pill in his mouth, he will be a scholar at all times. He will swiftly obtain all accomplishments, including long life. While carrying the pill in this way, his speech will be endearing, sweet, and soft. The magical accomplishment of this pill is called the lotus-like amogha purity.

2.48[23] “ Oṁ, free from impurities in the inner space of the lotus! Roam through and merge with the sky, hūṁ! Amogha-accomplished! Purify, hūṁ!

“The vidyā holder should take some bark of nāgapuṣpa, the root of khas-khas, sandalwood, lotus filaments, cloves, the kākolaka plant, spikenard, tagara powder, saffron, white lotus root, and cardamom and mix them together with an equal amount of ugrasugandhi. He should grind all this into a fine powder, make it into a pill, and incant the pill with this mantra one thousand and eight times. [F.14.a] He should then wash the pill well and mix it with rainwater. [Ti.31] By simply heating up and then bathing in this water, he will be released from previously accumulated terrible karma, remove all diseases, and effectively destroy all ailments. He will be freed from terrible afflictions, desire, hatred, and the darkness of ignorance; they will be removed. All impurities will be pacified by merely bathing; there is no doubt. Divine splendor will shine forth, and his store of merit will increase. The vidyā holder will always glow with an abundance of vital energy, a radiance resembling the sun. His body will be radiant and pure.

2.49“An unclean vidyā holder will become clean; an impure one, pure. One who is sexually incontinent will become continent, and one who breaks one’s vow of silence will restore it. The vidyā holder’s hair will never turn grey, and he will never fall ill. His body will emit a divine fragrance that will precede him by the length of an arrow; there is no doubt. The body will emit a divine fragrance of sandalwood and will be as lovely as lotuses or water lilies. He will always fall asleep with ease and wake up with ease. No wicked beings such as yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, asuras, miscreant vināyakas, and vighnas will be able to harm him. There will be no dread of enemies.

2.50“The vidyā holder should therefore purify his body in this way and perform the recitation well, as this will accomplish the activities. The vidyā holder will accomplish them with ease and will be able to see the truth exactly as it is. All the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas will swiftly arrive, as will all the deities, including those that inhabit the maṇḍala. The vidyā holder will accomplish whatever he desires. Having thus completed the procedure for the purification of the body, he should commence the preliminary mantra practices.

2.51[24] “ Oṁ, you with amogha lotus eyes [F.14.b] and divine vision, completely pure! Suru suru! O lotus-eyed one, bhuru bhuru! You direct your gaze everywhere! Svāhā!

“The vidyā holder should prepare realgar, bovine bezoar, bones of cuttle fish, lotus, and honey into a mixture that can be applied with an eye brush. He should incant them by reciting this mantra one thousand and eight times, thrice. The tathāgatas praise this eye ointment as divine. It is the lord of the world [A.8.b] and the auspicious granter of boons. With it, the vidyā holder will pacify all eye diseases. He will experience divine visions in his dreams, he will never see unpleasant sights or anything ugly, and his vision will never be distorted. He will never see cruel murderers or savages. All spirits that cause dyspepsia, [Ti.32] overeating, indigestion, eating disorders, or unhealthy complexion, and all yakṣas, rākṣasas, and pannagas, will stay away all day and night; there is no doubt. One will perceive what is auspicious with one’s physical eyes and will dream auspicious dreams. Within one month of practice, one will obtain the divine eye. This mantra is for the purification of the eyes.

2.52[25] “ Oṁ, wake up, wake up! Wake up lucidly, facing Padmāmogha! Choose, choose any boon! Svāhā!

“The vidyā holder should incant bovine bezoar one thousand and eight times with this vidyā, twenty-one times with the Amogharāja, seven times with the Krodharāja, and one hundred and eight times each with the heart and auxiliary heart mantras of Amoghapāśa. When still reciting, he should take the bezoar and make a single bindi mark on the forehead between the eyebrows. Above it on the forehead he should make another bindi in the form of a star. All wicked beings will come under his control, and all yakṣas, bhūtas, rākṣasas, vighnas, and vināyakas will perish; there is no doubt. Unable to bear the power of the bindi, all these beings with evil intentions will disappear together. Like a moth to a flame, kings will fall under the control of the vidyā holder, along with their attendants, retinues, ministers, priests, and harems. [F.15.a] They will all remain in his thrall. Also, all ordained monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, and śūdras will come under his control, and he will be greatly revered. All the vidyā deities, including those who dwell within the maṇḍala, will abide by their samayas and, guarding the ten directions, will protect beings. They will grant the supreme accomplishment.

2.53“The vidyā holder should apply this bindi when imperiled on merchant trips. All dangers will disappear‍—there is no doubt‍—as will all thieves, robbers, mercenaries, skirmishes, and fights. All ferocious and frightening lions, tigers, wolves, elephants, jackals, and other troublesome creatures, as well as all snakes, such as āśīviṣa snakes and vipers, and other venomous creatures, will hide and not appear again. Lightning, fires, downpours, danger from weapons, floods, kākhordas, and house collapses will all pass without causing harm to one’s body, if one wears the bindi. All the undertakings and endeavors of the vidyā holder will be accomplished auspiciously and in full; there is no doubt.

2.54“As soon as the vidyā holder remembers the essence of Amogharāja, I will, O Blessed One, immediately appear before him [Ti.33] and fulfill all his hopes and wishes, grant all the boons previously described, and accomplish all his activities. I will grant him the amogha accomplishment and faithfully protect the samaya. I have been authorized to do this, O Blessed One, by the Tathāgata’s words and blessings. I will deliver all this. [A.9.a] [F.15.b]

2.55“If, O Blessed One, the vidyā holder performs the ritual practices as described, and displays the dhiṇi mudrās, he will, because of the way the mudrās function, accumulate a lot of merit. He will be blessed by all bodhisattvas, who will prophesy his future awakening. He will be protected by all deities, be worshiped as unique by the entire world, and become the one and only teacher of every living being. He will obtain the samaya for all rites and for their maṇḍalas and mudrās. Furthermore, he will obtain long life and amogha accomplishments. His words will be heeded, and he will develop good memory, intelligence, and fearlessness. The power of his intellect will be invincible.

2.56“Noble Avalokiteśvara will confer boons upon the vidyā holder‍—he will appear to him whenever wished for and grant boons generously. He will grant him victory in every way, so that the vidyā holder will always be victorious over all his enemies, opponents, and adversaries and over all wicked beings. He will be invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, vighnas, vināyakas, asuras, and nāgas. He will become fearless like all noble ones. All kings and royal ministers with their harems and retinues will come under his control. He will be universally idolized and be treated as everyone’s favorite teacher. He will live a long life free of disease and all the impurities of hatred, envy, and jealousy. His memory will be excellent and his body pure.

2.57“At the time of death, he will really see the tathāgatas. Noble Avalokiteśvara will also appear to him. They will all comfort him, saying, ‘Come son, follow us to the realm of Sukhāvatī!’ He will thus die fully aware of where he is going. The gates of all the hells will be closed, he will be saved from all unhappy destinies, and his current birth will be his last. He will have complete recall of his successive past births. [Ti.34] Wherever he steps, a lotus will spring up under his shoe. He will pass from one buddha field to another until he reaches ultimate and final awakening. [Ti.35]

2.58“However, if someone has failed to accomplish the practices of a vidyā holder, it is not me who will be at fault. For this reason, as a vidyā holder, one should engage in the formal practice that involves the mantra and the mudrā according to the ritual procedure as described. One will then magically accomplish all one’s tasks; there is no doubt about this.

2.59“One should repeat the following mantras:

2.60[26] “ Oṁ, holder of the amogha treasury! Unfold, expand, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra of the sacred thread. One should incant a thread spun by a young girl with this mantra one hundred and eight times and wind it around one’s neck three times.

2.61[27] “ Oṁ, amogha garments! Muru muri! Become divinely soft! Tara tara, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the garments; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.62[28] “ Oṁ, amogha clothes! I cast off clothes within the lotus that brings awakening, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for casting off clothes; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.63[29] “ Oṁ, collecting the rainwater, you flow along the amogha banks! Consecrate! Hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for bathing; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.64[30] “ Oṁ, amogha lotus seat of nectar, raining down! Curu curu, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for ablutions; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.65[31] “ Oṁ, amogha protection! Take effect, do!

“The vidyā holder should perform the protection of his body by sprinkling it with mustard water incanted twenty-one times.

2.66[32] “ Oṁ, amogha samaya! Remain within the great lotus, hūṃ!

“This is the samaya mantra; it should be repeated seven times.

2.67[33] “ Oṁ, you who never fail in any way! Remain and protect, hūṁ!

“One should perform the protection of disciples and assistants by marking a bindi on their forehead with ashes incanted with this mantra seven times.

2.68[34] “ Oṁ, you who overstep the three worlds with amogha lotus steps! Mili mili, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for positioning the feet in a stride; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.69[35] “ Oṁ, unfold within the lotus, the great lotus! Surround everything with the unfailing noose! Huru huru, svāhā! [F.16.a]

“One should incant a five-colored thread seven times with this mantra and wind the thread.

2.70[36] “ Oṁ, bright multicolored amogha cloth! Effect purification! kiṇi kiṇi, [A.10.a] hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the banner; it should be recited seven times.

2.71[37] “ Oṁ, diamond-tipped amogha arrow! [Ti.36] Thara thara, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the arrow; it should be recited seven times.

2.72[38] “ Oṁ, the great, completely pure, broad amogha gate! Siri siri, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the gate; it should be recited twenty-one times. By merely passing through this gate, one enters the gate of heaven. All wrongdoings and obscurations become completely purified.

2.73[39] “ Oṁ, you are filled and surrounded with various splendid amogha flowers and fruits! Para para, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the full jar; it should be recited seven times.

2.74[40] “ Oṁ, jewel amogha palace, consecrated with the sacrificial vessel, you are divinely fragrant and radiating light everywhere! Shine, shine, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the sacrificial incense vessel; it should be recited seven times.

2.75[41] “ Oṁ, shining water jar, you cause the flow! Tuṭi tuṭi, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the bali offered in a water jar; it should be recited seven times.

2.76[42] “ Oṁ, divine vessel! Supreme amogha lotus! Fill up, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the pot with a lid; it should be recited seven times.

2.77[43] “ Oṁ, the scented amogha basin that fills to the brim! Svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the water basin; it should be recited seven times.

2.78[44] “ Oṁ, flowing stream! O amogha dish, release the stream! Intoxicator, intoxicate! Hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the water vessel with a long neck; it should be recited seven times.

2.79[45] “ Oṁ, divine one with the jewel vase! You fill the oceans, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the vase; it should be recited seven times.

2.80[46] “ Oṁ, brightly blazing with different colors! Make the divisions distinct! Purify! Tuṭi, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the paints; it should be recited seven times.

2.81[47] “ Oṁ, gazing vidyā! Divide the entire area! Stretch forth! Stretch symmetrically, svāhā!

“One should recite this mantra twenty-one times and then do the dividing.

2.82[48] “ Oṁ, the various implements that constitute amogha emblems! Blaze, blaze, svāhā!

“One should draw the relevant emblems and recite the mantra seven times.

2.83[49] “ Oṁ, supreme amogha jewel thread! Kiṇi kiṇi, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the thread. One should recite it one hundred and eight times and use the incanted thread to surround the maṇḍala, cloth painting, [F.16.b] or anything to be enclosed within an area.

2.84[50] “ Oṁ, cause them to enter the supreme, wide amogha lotus, hūṁ!

“This mantra should be recited twenty-one times over each of the gates when mapping out their locations. The gates will then become well arranged and auspicious.

2.85[51] “ Oṁ, divine dish, the supreme golden amogha dish! Giri giri, hūṁ!

2.86[52] “ Oṁ, divine silver dish, fully filled! O amogha lotus, svāha!

“This mantra should be recited seven times.

2.87[53] “ Oṁ, oblatory foods and implements! Move, move! You are not subject to failure, svāhā!

“This mantra should be recited twenty-one times.

2.88[54] “ Oṁ, [Ti.37] you serve with divine fragrances! Amogha power! Hold, hold, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the welcome offering; it should be recited seven times.

2.89[55] “ Oṁ, you spread fragrance! Amogha-spread it everywhere, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the perfume; it should be recited seven times.

2.90[56] “ Oṁ, you purify the body, making it immaculate! You fill it with divine fragrance! Fill it, fill, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the scented oils; it should be recited seven times.

2.91[57] “ Oṁ, you provide the full measure of scented powders! Curu curu, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the scented powders; it should be recited seven times.

2.92[58] “ Oṁ, supreme pure fragrance that evenly spreads everywhere! Svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the unguents; it should be recited seven times.

2.93[59] “ Oṁ, you provide the full measure of divine fragrance! Divinely consecrated as the water of the ocean, you fill the interior of the water pitcher! Fill it, O bringer of victory, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the pitcher with scented water; it should be recited one hundred and eight times.

2.94[60] “ Oṁ, you possess the most exquisite of flavors! Blessed by all the vidyās! Become complete, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra of the many-flavored bali; it should be recited twenty-one times. [A.10.b]

2.95[61] “ Oṁ, divine food of great splendor! Fill the stomach, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the food; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.96[62] “ Oṁ, the three “white” foods! Bali with a broad range of exquisite tastes! Sura prasura, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra of the three ‘white’ foods and other foods offered as bali; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.97[63] “ Oṁ, divine tree of the forest, rich in fruit and sap! Tara tara, tuni, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for fruit; it should be recited seven times.

2.98[64] “ Oṁ, you rain down various flowers such as celestial water lilies! Stay on, stay! Svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the flowers; it should be recited seven times.

2.99[65] “ Oṁ, forest tree overhung with various vines and flowers! Jar filled with food! Svāhā! [F.17.a]

“This is the mantra for the flowering vines; it should be recited seven times.

2.100[66] “ Oṁ, great cloud of incense! Envelope everything around! Hūṁ hūṁ, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the incense; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.101[67] “ Oṁ, magical being! Blaze, blaze! You are the face of the gods! Svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the fire; it should be recited seven times.

2.102[68] “ Oṁ, various jewels! Shining adornments of gold and precious stone! Jewel, jewel, amogha jewel! Svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the adornments; it should be recited seven times.

2.103[69] “ Oṁ oṁ, lotus hands! Sama sama! Fingers with broad fingernails! Blessed by all the tathāgatas! Svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the añjali gesture; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.104[70] “ Oṁ, bowing my head, I pay homage to the perfect one with all the qualities! Mili mili, turiṇi, svāhā!

“This is the mantra of salutation; it should be recited seven times.

2.105[71] “ Oṁ, may my homage extend through the ten directions! [Ti.38] Hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for clockwise circumambulation; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.106[72] “ Oṁ, hand, you are ablaze with various implements! Blaze forth, shine, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the handheld implements; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.107[73] “ Oṁ, you with the divine amogha sound that spreads far and wide! You with a sweet tone! Ring, ring, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the bell; it should be recited either twenty-one or one hundred and eight times.

2.108[74] “ Oṁ, you with the great jewel-like flame! Illuminate everything around with your bright light, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the lamp; it should be recited one hundred and eight times.

2.109[75] “ Oṁ, dhuru dhuru! Bring over! O speedy one, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for summoning. It should be recited one hundred and eight times while burning agarwood incense.

2.110[76] “ Oṁ, you bring realization to wicked beings! Sama, holder of the samaya, svāhā!

“This is the samaya mantra; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.111[77] “ Oṁ, bright jewels, turned many times, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the rosary; it should be recited one hundred and eight times.

2.112[78] “ Oṁ, you are made of divine flowers that blaze with colors like jewels! O flower delight, svāhā!

“This is the mantra of the garland; it should be recited seven times.

2.113[79] “ Oṁ, divine, unfailing eye! Supreme and perfect! Blessed by all the vidyās! Your perception is pure, svāhā!

“This is the mantra of summoning; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.114[80] “ Oṁ, amogha lotus, you are an all-encompassing residence! Tara tara! Depart to your homes, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for dismissing; [F.17.b] it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.115[81] “ Oṁ, divine fulfiller with an elephant’s gaze, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra for the monk’s staff; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.116[82] “ Oṁ, filler of the alms bowl! Fill it up! You with a radiating halo who never fails, svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the alms bowl; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.117[83] “ Oṁ, the bed of darbha grass blessed by the vidyās! Spread! Sura sura! You are worshiped by sages, svāhā!

“This is the mantra of the bed of darbha grass; it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.118[84] “ Oṁ, fire and smoke! Blazing flames! Impregnated with light! Svāhā!

“This is the mantra for the homa offering; it should be recited one hundred and eight times.

2.119[85] “ Oṁ, the most exquisite place and the abode of lotuses! The dwelling place of the nāgas, svāhā! [A.11.a]

“This is the mantra for the river and lake; it should be recited seven times.

2.120[86] “ Oṁ, sky traveler! Move and make move! You make the feet move, hūṁ!

“This is the mantra of taking; it should be recited one hundred and eight times.

2.121[87] “ Oṁ, the pure, universal amogha empowerment applied to the top of the head! O holder of a lotus banner with fine arms and hands, consecrate me, svāhā!

“This is the mantra of empowerment; [Ti.39] it should be recited twenty-one times.

2.122“The vidyā holder should employ all these mantras individually, one after the other, as part of his practice. They must be performed according to procedure, following in detail the practice rules prescribed for the individual rites. After he has done so, great powers and riches will manifest, such as great jewel palaces, various colorful jewel objects, flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, and scented oils. Various divine flowers, streamers, and banners will appear, as will the choicest foods of hundreds of exquisite flavors and various oblatory articles. There will appear palaces fit for tathāgatas, [F.18.a] bodhisattvas, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas; these palaces will manifest to suit each particular class. All the palaces and fine foods will manifest exactly as appropriate for humans’ individual needs.

2.123“All the ritual tasks need to be performed as specified for accomplishing reality. The mantra practices must be done according to the correct procedure, and only then will the vidyā holder obtain the full range of supreme accomplishments. If he performs all the ritual tasks in full, then I will appear before him in person as soon as he recites the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. I will completely fulfill all his hopes and wishes, remove all his wrongdoings, obscurations, and negativity, and purify his body so that it becomes a divine, completely pure form.

2.124“I will grant the vidyā holder the supreme accomplishment of Amogharāja’s maṇḍala of liberation ‍—the maṇḍala that constitutes the essence of Amogharāja’s rites with their mudrās and mantras. I will consecrate him as the great vidyādhara emperor and grant him the accomplishment of the true nature of things. I will grant him the worldly and supramundane accomplishments of the practice of great Amoghapāśa. I will likewise grant him the fearlessnesses in all their vastness. I will make him most distinguished among all people, who will worship and greatly respect him. I will grant him wealth and divine splendor. This should not be doubted or called into question.

2.125“The vidyā holder should not be preoccupied with other things [F.18.b] but should feel love and compassion for all beings with all his heart, rejoicing at their happiness and treating them with equanimity. He should treat each and every being with the same care that he has for his only son. Delighting in truth, he should speak the truth, and his words should be pleasant to hear. Having developed the heart of compassion, he should memorize the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, [Ti.40] perform recitation according to procedure, and employ both the mudrās and the mantras. He should contemplate all the tathāgatas in the buddha fields in the ten directions. He should recollect the Buddha and pay homage to him and all the bodhisattvas. [A.11.b] He should also visualize Noble Avalokiteśvara in front of himself and pay homage to him. He should sit cross-legged on a bed of darbha grass in front of a cloth painting of Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara and recite the mantra without saying anything else, as this will bring the realization of secret reality.

2.126“I will now teach the mudrā and mantra that bring true accomplishment of the essence of Amoghapāśa, which is imbued with the blessing of the accomplishment of the essence of Amoghapāśa as it really is. This practice was empowered by the compassionate protector of the world who affectionately cares for beings, the pure being with the lotus in his hand and a kind heart for all beings. It was blessed by all the tathāgatas in the ten directions. The devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, asuras, guhyakas, and world protectors, as well as Brahmā, Rudra, Viṣṇu, Kumāra, and so forth, and Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, the hosts of ṛṣis, Candra, Sūrya, the nakṣatras, Īśvara, and Maheśvara, will all swiftly arrive as soon as the mudrā is formed.

2.127“As soon as this mudrā and mantra are employed, [F.19.a] the seven stars will arrive, as will the Pāramitās. So too will Nīlakaṇṭhī, Pāṇḍaravāsinī, Padma­narteśvarī, Jayā , Vijayā , Śaṅkalī, Vajraśaṅkalī, Māmakī, the goddess Bhṛkuṭī, Anaupamyā, Dyuti, Bhīmā, Śrī, Sarasvatī, Padmakoṣṭhī, Utpalī, Puṣpadantī, Kailāsa­śikhara­vāsinī, Hārītī the mother of bhūtas, and the ten mahābalā goddesses who attend upon Vajrapāṇi. The great Vajradhara will arrive with the other lords of vidyādhara s and the chief god of the realm of Thirty-Three, together with the remaining thirty-two gods from his realm. They will all arrive together, as soon as the vidyā holder employs the mudrā and mantra. All the tathāgatas will notice him and appear to him. At the same time, the bodhisattvas will also notice him and grant him boons. They will always appear before him whenever he wishes them to.

2.128“As soon as the vidyā holder displays the mudrā, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before him in his form of a thousand-armed and thousand-eyed protector holding different implements. There is no doubt about this. [Ti.41] Or, he may appear in the form of Brahmā, Amoghapāśa, Nīlakaṇṭha, Hayagrīva, or Vaḍabāmukha. The Lord may appear in his eleven-faced or four-faced form. The inconceivable Lord Avalokita, who removes the eight types of fear, can thus show himself in all these different forms, representing various illusory samādhis. He can display all these as soon as the vidyā holder forms this mudrā of the Lord .

2.129“The Lord may instantly appear as the victorious guide Amitābha in his realm of Sukhāvatī, surrounded by a retinue of bodhisattvas. The vidyā holder will also see thousands of other buddha fields, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. He will see hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas there, surrounded by hosts of bodhisattvas, [F.19.b] as soon as he displays the mudrā of the Lord . Every day he will see many other great things, such as the seat of awakening, the Dharma wheel, the vajra seat, and the defeat of Māra . He will see them in his dreams at night; one should not harbor any doubts about this or call it into question.

2.130“Those who display this mudrā will not be decried by the buddhas, even if they were destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell because they committed the five acts of immediate retribution, obstructed the great bodhisattva lords out of wickedness, reviled the noble ones, disputed the true Dharma, or rejected the teachings of the victors. Even all those trapped in the sixteen terrible hells for millions of eons will be instantly liberated. [A.12.a]

2.131“As soon as the vidyā holder employs this mudrā and mantra and focuses on Amoghapāśa’s name, all his wrongdoings will be purified; there is no doubt about this. Seeing this heart mudrā of Amoghapāśa is the same as seeing Lord Amoghapāśa himself. Furthermore, he will see thousands of billions of buddhas equal to the number of water drops in hundreds of thousands of Gaṅgā rivers, all of them sitting on the seat of awakening and turning the wheel of Dharma. This mudrā, no different from the heart essence of Amogharāja, is a visual representation of his mantra. Upon seeing it, the vidyā holder will accumulate a lot of merit, its store ever increasing. His lifespan will increase infinitely; there is no doubt about this.

2.132“In preparation for the rite, the vidyā holder should purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and, remaining pure, practice pure conduct at all times. He should smear his body with various fragrances, anoint his arms and hands with fragrant unguents, and perfume it with various types of incense. Sitting in a cross-legged posture [Ti.42] in a clean place on a clean seat of spread grass, he should engender thoughts of loving kindness and the true spirit of compassion. He should continuously salute the buddhas of the ten directions and the three times [F.20.a] and make offerings to the Lokeśvara and to his master, his thoughts focused on the Dharma. Refraining from speaking, the vidyā holder who is acquainted with the procedure should then perform the rite of protection. In the spirit of reverence for the master, he should follow the rules impeccably, speak the truth, speak pleasantly, feel compassion for all beings, and always practice kindness.

2.133“The vidyā holder should then form the mudrā as follows. Making his hands into the shape of a lotus, with the thumbs aligned and touching each other, he should make the shape of the moon with the index fingers, positioning them against his chest. This mudrā is the heart essence of Amogharāja. Being his root mudrā, it brings the realization of the Buddha. To summon the lokeśvara Lord , one should recite the following mantra:

2.134[88] “ Oṁ, homage to you with a miraculous panoptic amogha vision! O amogha lotus of the tathāgatas who are established throughout the three times! Be active, diffuse, and unite, hūṁ hūṁ!

2.135“Immediately, the king of mudrās present throughout the three times will magically manifest the open, blazing amogha lotus, one that is perceived throughout the three times. The surrounding buddha fields, as numerous as the atoms in the universe, will quake violently. The blessed buddhas of the three times who dwell there will send forth many hundreds of thousands of millions of multicolored rays of light. Each of these tathāgatas, thrilled with joy and filled with great compassion, will extend his golden arm and, with buddha-like care, place it upon the head of the vidyā holder. Each of them will grant him the supreme accomplishment and give him the blessings that arise from the miraculous amogha manifestation. The gods Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, and other deities such as Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Vāsava, and Sanatkumāra, will stand by to guard, protect, and defend him. This mudrā, through merely being displayed, can remove all negativity and obscurations and deliver the vidyā holder [F.20.b] from the eight great fears. With the obscurations gone, the desired accomplishment will follow. This mudrā, supreme in every respect, is said to accomplish every activity.

2.136“Formed in the shape of an open lotus, this mudrā is known as the main amogha samaya mudrā. [A.12.b] [Ti.43] When the middle fingers and the thumbs are made to resemble lotus goads, with the nails positioned evenly, this mudrā is called equanimity, and it makes for a full maṇḍala of liberation. While forming this mudrā, the vidyā holder should recite the mantra:

2.137[89] “ Oṁ, amogha lotus-goad! Catch, catch the samaya! Hold it, hold! O great being, hūṁ!

2.138“Immediately after the vidyā holder forms the mudrā and pronounces the mantra, the blessed buddhas of the three times will applaud him. All the tathāgatas, uplifted with joy, pleased, and with great compassion swelling in their hearts, will grant the vidyā holder the supreme accomplishment. They will appear to him again and again, bestow upon him every boon, and grant him the accomplishment of the amogha samaya. Once he comprehends the maṇḍala of liberation consisting in the rites, mudrās, mantras, and dhāraṇīs of secret maṇḍala of all the tathāgatas, he will enter into the samaya. He will then understand this secret maṇḍala of Noble Avalokiteśvara in every respect and will fully accomplish the mantras for the necessary tasks. Noble Avalokiteśvara will become the giver of boons, appearing to him and granting his wishes.

2.139“The vidyā holder should form the shape of the lotus with the palms of his hands. The middle fingers and the thumbs should be joined, forming a vajra point, and the little fingers should be outstretched. While forming this mudrā, he should offer incense, flowers, perfume, garlands, [F.21.a] unguents, scented powders, silken clothes, and adornments to the lotus bearer. He should offer a bali and a welcome offering including jars filled with perfume and so forth. He should also use the five-colored threads and various food articles. This mudrā is always supreme, supreme for conveying the articles of offering. This mudrā, empowered by Padmapāṇi, is for making amogha offerings.

2.140“The same mudrā, but with a jewel enclosed between the hands, is the mudrā of the precious lotus-like fearlessness. It is the best mudrā for successful summoning. The accompanying mantra is:

2.141[90] “ Oṁ, Amoghapadma, the great being! Please come into this maṇḍala! Ciri ciri ciri! You with the lotus in your hand, svāhā!

2.142“This mantra is for supplicating and inviting the buddhas who appear throughout the three times. It is for supplicating all bodhisattvas and for inviting Padmahasta. It is also for summoning all the gods and maṇḍala deities. [Ti.44] When this mudrā is displayed, all the buddhas who dwell in the ten directions will arrive together, as will the bodhisattvas, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. They will all arrive instantaneously to offer protection; there is no doubt about this.

2.143“When the hands form the shape of the vajra, the small fingers mark the edges of the lotus, and the middle fingers are contracted, this is the mudrā for demarcating the boundary. This mudrā is effective in the rites of binding the directions, securing the maṇḍala, and protection. By merely forming this mudrā and reciting the mantra one thousand times, the boundary will be set with the radius of seven leagues; the maṇḍala will be secured, and the protection applied. The mantra to recite is:

2.144[91] “ Oṁ, great boundary, formed around [this place] as the diamond-hard amogha lotus! [A.13.a] Protect me! Curu curu, hūṁ phaṭ!

2.145“Now I will teach the amogha mudrā that produces accomplishments, with particular regard to bringing benefit to all sentient beings. [F.21.b] The vidyā holder should form the vajrāñjali gesture, enclosing a hollow space between the palms. The fingers, aligned against each other lengthwise, should curve toward the center, and the small fingers and the thumbs should be outstretched. The index fingers should be folded in. This great amogha mudrā is known as the royal universal lotus. It is suitable for all activities and can be safely employed in any rite. It is said to be the best mudrā for effecting entry into any maṇḍala. The vidyā holder will receive supreme protection if he merely displays this mudrā and recites the mantra. He will obtain the supreme accomplishment of the maṇḍala of liberation of the three times. The mantra that belongs with this mudrā is:

2.146[92] “ Oṁ, vajra! Vajra-blessed lotus that assumes the universal form! Assume, assume it, hūṁ! Enter the course of the three times! Dhiri tuṭi, svāhā!

2.147“When this mudrā is displayed, the buddha fields in the ten directions, inhabited by those who realized the true nature, will quake six times; there is no doubt. The body of Padmapāṇi will blaze up, and an intense joy will be felt. Padmapāṇi will certainly appear to the vidyā holder with a smiling face and will stand before him. He will open the heavenly doors to all buddha fields for him. The gods of the realm of Thirty-Three will keep the doors of their realm open. All the doors to the Sukhāvatī, and all the palaces there, will be open for him as well. He will be able to enter them as soon as he displays the mudrā.

2.148“The mudrā will remove all nonvirtue and destroy all afflictions. The vidyā holder will thus be free from all suffering [Ti.45] and vice. He will be saved from the sixteen hells and the eight great fears. As soon as this mudrā is displayed, all his wrongdoings will be destroyed, the doors of hells will be closed, and he will be saved from fear and terror. By merely displaying this mudrā, all the wrongdoings of the vidyā holder will be purified, including the five acts of immediate retribution. [F.22.a] He will be loved by all beings and blessed by all the tathāgatas.

2.149“The vidyā holder should fold the thumbs in while holding their tips, make the middle fingers into the shape of a lotus braid, and position the hands at his topknot. This is the mudrā of the lotus braid called amogha hand. For the good of all beings, he should recite the mantra:

2.150[93] “ Oṁ, the water of amogha lotus, purify, hūṃ! Viri viri, O pure one, svāhā!

2.151“Placing this mudrā at his head, the vidyā holder should perform ablutions with clean water incanted with the mantra one hundred and eight times. Once the ablutions are performed, the mudrā and mantra will have the power to make the unclean clean, and the impure pure. Vows of celibacy or silence will be mended in those who have broken them. The vidyā holder’s heap of merit will shine as bright as the sun and the moon. He will be loved by the whole world and will certainly win the supreme mantra accomplishment‍—the accomplishment of Amoghapāśa that comes from realizing the amogha nature. All the deities will arrive to protect him; there is no doubt. He will certainly obtain all kinds of boons from Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara, the giver of boons to pure beings, and will see him every day. His lifespan will increase, and he will be forever free from ailments as he never has been before. He will be happy and prosperous. He will be successful in every activity and free from all disease. [A.13.b] With all the obscurations cleared away, everything will be supremely auspicious. This ablution is very special; it is a supreme amogha ablution.

2.152“Clasping his hands firmly, the vidyā holder should form the shape of the downward-pointing precious lotus. The index fingers should be folded in, and the other fingers surrounding them should be brought together. He should sit in the cross-legged posture, as if practicing samādhi. While displaying this mudrā, he should recite the mantra while fully focused. [F.22.b] When this mudrā is formed, his cross-legged posture will become as stable as Mount Sumeru. He will be surrounded with armor that will make him invisible to all the vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, asuras, and garuḍas. They will all [Ti.46] flee far away, disappearing into the cardinal and intermediate directions. Free of obstacles, he will be able to accomplish his activities that depend on the mantra recitation; there is no doubt. The mantra to recite with this mudrā is:

2.153[94] “ Oṁ, amogha lotus lord, firm as diamond! Hūṁ!

2.154“The vidyā holder should join his hands evenly in the añjali gesture, pressing the index fingers between the palms. The front portions of the thumbs should form the shape of an open lotus. This mudrā should be formed in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara while reciting the following mantra of Lord Amogharāja:

2.155[95] “ Oṁ, lotus lord! Conferrer of amogha boons! Bhiri bhiri, svāhā!

2.156“The vidyā holder should first recite this mantra twenty-one times. Then, forming the mudrā, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa with one-pointed concentration, immersed in its reality. If the mantra is repeated mindfully just one time, the earth will quake. Hundreds of thousands of millions of buddhas of the three times‍—the tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas equaling the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river‍—will applaud the vidyā holder and give him comfort. They will bathe him in multicolored light. Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara will appear before him as soon as he thinks of him.

2.157“By merely displaying this mudrā, the vidyā holder will master the six perfections. He will become fully endowed with the ten perfections, the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha, and the ten strengths of a tathāgata. He will also obtain the four types of fearlessness. His practice of the noble eightfold path will be completely pure. [F.23.a] As soon as he forms this mudrā and recollects the heart mantra of Amogharāja, the vidyā holder will obtain great qualities and benefits.

2.158“If the vidyā holder performs a ritual fast for one day while reciting the mantra one hundred and eight times and displaying the mudrā as many times, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before him in person, in his true form, and will applaud him, saying, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder, that you have performed this supreme recitation!’ He will then extend his right arm, place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head, and encourage him, saying, ‘Come, son, I will grant you magical boons, the best that you may wish for! Accept them and become, through my blessing, my eldest vidyādhara -son. You have accomplished a maṇḍala of liberation that is the essence of Amoghapāśa. You should steadfastly uphold this sovereign rite that involves his mudrā. May your thoughts be suffused with great compassion for all beings. This is your last birth from a womb; when you die you will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where you will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. [A.14.a] [Ti.47] You will be adorned with every ornament and graced with the major and minor marks of perfection. Your lifespan will be inexhaustible, continuing until you finally ascend the seat of ultimate awakening.’

2.159“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one thousand and eight times and displays the mudrā one hundred and eight times without engaging in other talk, he will ascend through space after the one thousand and eight recitations are complete. He will become a wheel-turning monarch in the magically created, pure amogha maṇḍala, where his lifespan will be infinite and he will be attended upon by a retinue of eighteen hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of vidyādhara s. He will obtain the magical power called the great and wide amogha splendor, [F.23.b] whereby he will be able to visit any realm in the great trichiliocosm in the time it takes to extend and contract one’s arm.

2.160“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred thousand times and displays the mudrā as many times, he will become like Noble Avalokiteśvara in this very life. Transformed through the samādhi of the illusory nature of phenomena, he will obtain the completely pure, divine amogha vision. He will thus be able to see gods such as Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, and also Rudra, Vāsava, Soma, Āditya, Kumāra, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and so forth, up to and including the different nāga kings with their various forms. He will see the forms of different beings according to their level of development. This worldly sādhana requires one hundred thousand repetitions of the mantra. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred thousand times as part of a transcendent sādhana, he will be able to see, face-to-face, all the tathāgatas in all the buddha fields in the ten directions. He will obtain a prophecy of his own future awakening from each of them, and he will be established on the level from which he will not turn back until ultimate awakening is attained.

2.161“The vidyā holder should sit in the cross-legged posture and form the mudrā. Assuming an attitude of kindness, love, and compassion for all sentient beings, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa a single time. If this recitation is done in combination with the mudrā, it will be the same as reciting the mantra eighty-eight times. He will receive comfort from all the tathāgatas, who will grant him intelligence and good memory and will charge his body with energy. By reciting only the words of the mantra, [F.24.a] he will accomplish the six perfections. Rays of light will issue forth from the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara in the painting.

2.162“When the vidyā holder is asleep, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him in his pure body and grant him every boon as requested. All the vidyā holder’s karmic obscurations will be completely purified. The obscurations caused by his wrongdoings will diminish and completely go away. All his diseases will end. The practices undertaken to fulfill worldly duties [Ti.48] will be fully accomplished. He should continually maintain the recollection of the Buddha. [B3]

2.163“The vidyā holder should join his hands firmly, aligning them in the añjali gesture. The tips of the fingers should be slightly bent and held at the level of the mouth. The little and the middle fingers should be positioned to resemble an open lotus. The mantra to recite is:

2.164[96] “ Oṁ, turu turu! The lotus-related amogha accomplishment, hūṁ!

2.165“This is the mudrā of amogha accomplishment. It brings success in all activities. When this mudrā is displayed, [A.14.b] the vidyā holder will swiftly attain omniscience. Amoghapāśa will appear to him and grant him the amogha accomplishment that is difficult to obtain, as well as every boon, both mundane and supramundane. He will be freed from all his wrongdoings, his store of merit will ever increase, his speech will confer happiness, and he will always be protected by the devas.

2.166“The vidyā holder should carefully form a vajra knot while maintaining a firm and steady mind. He should place the knot at the heart, with the index fingers folded in. This mudrā, called amogha lotus, is the heart essence of the lotus maṇḍala. It is the mudrā of the lotus lord that fulfills the aims of all activities. It should be formed while first reciting the following mantra and then the mantra of Amogharāja.

2.167[97] “ Oṁ, the lotus with an amogha heart essence! Hold it, hold, O lotus holder! The essence of the great maṇḍala, hūṁ!

2.168“This mudrā activates the heart essence of the lotus holder. It effectively actualizes the amogha essence as it really is; there is no doubt about this. [F.24.b] It accomplishes, without a doubt, all activities in every way. The vidyā holder should display this mudrā in secret and recite the mantra in utter secrecy. He should be well washed, wear clean clothes, have pure thoughts, feel compassion for all beings, and have devotion for his master. With complete faith, he should always delight in the worship of Padmapāṇi. He will swiftly accomplish the activities and attain buddhahood. He will swiftly become a lokeśvara and will have the capacity to benefit all beings.

2.169“The vidyā holder should extend his left arm, keeping it at the level of his mouth, and form his hand into the shape of a lotus with the ring finger pointing upward and the thumb bent. The right arm should be extended, with the fingers forming the round shape of a lotus. With the thumb and the middle finger bent, the hand should appear as if holding the noose. Assuming the great, peaceful amogha vision, nurturing thoughts of loving kindness, and with the heart filled with compassion for all beings, [Ti.49] the vidyā holder should recite the following mantra:

2.170[98] “ Oṁ, O noose-holding lord of unfree beings, with a body adorned with hundreds of thousands of light rays! Pull them in! Awaken them, awaken them fully! Bhuru bhuru! You are the master of the unfailing noose, hūṁ!

2.171“This mudrā should be displayed and the mantra recited twenty-one times. After that, the vidyā holder should make the casting movement with the right hand‍—the one that displays the noose mudrā‍—while reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, and then bring it back to the same position. The mantra should be recited, and the casting movement repeated, seven times. The vidyā holder should recite the Amogharāja and maintain a pure heart. As soon as the mudrā of the noose is displayed‍—the great unfailing noose‍—it will elicit complete awakening and effect an instant realization of buddhahood. Whatever other tasks the vidyā holder may have in mind, the mudrā will elicit instant and complete success in them that cannot be matched. Devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, [F.25.a] asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will all arrive that very moment in order to see the vidyā holder. All the buddhas in the ten directions will direct their gaze at him and appear to him in person. The bodhisattvas, too, will arrive in order to honor him. Noble Avalokiteśvara, the boon-granting lord, will place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head. He will instantly manifest before the vidyā holder in his pure body. [A.15.a]

2.172“If any beings‍—such as those destined to be reborn in the Avīci hell because of committing the five acts of immediate retribution, criticizing the noble ones, or rejecting the true Dharma‍—see this mudrā displayed and employed, all their wrongdoings will be quashed, and they will instantly behold the Guide. All their tasks will be accomplished as soon as the mudrā is formed. When the vidyā holder displays this mudrā while reciting the mantra, it is the same as if he were displaying the face of Noble Avalokiteśvara. By merely displaying or seeing this mudrā, all his wrongdoings and karmic obscurations accumulated over hundreds of thousands of births, eon after eon, will be purified; there is no doubt about this.

2.173“The wise vidyā holder should form the shape of a lotus by firmly joining his hands with the fingers arranged symmetrically. His index fingers should form the shape of a jewel, and the middle fingers should be folded. His arms should be extended upward, forming a banner topped by the great wish-fulfilling jewel. The vidyā holder should consecrate the crown of his head while reciting the mantra:

2.174[99] “ Oṁ, you who abide in the three times, consecrate me [Ti.50] with all the consecrations of the three times! O jewel among lotuses! Auspicious amogha lotus, blessed by all the tathāgatas! Hūṁ!

2.175“With this mudrā and mantra alone, the vidyā holder is consecrated by all the tathāgatas. He is consecrated by Noble Avalokiteśvara’s own hand, [F.25.b] becomes the great king of vidyādhara s, and accomplishes all vidyās. All his afflictions and obscurations are purified, and he becomes the most exalted person in the world.

2.176“The vidyā holder should form a vajra lotus on his head with the tips of his extended fingers. His index fingers should form the shape of a hook, and he should knit his eyebrows. This is the mudrā of Krodharāja that accomplishes all activities; it brings all accomplishments. Recollecting this supremely efficacious mantra is the ultimate way of accomplishing everything.

2.177[100] “ Oṁ, Krodharāja, great and unfailing! Strike, strike all the villains, hūṁ!

2.178“It is sufficient to merely recollect this mantra while displaying the mudrā, as it has great power. The vidyā holder will be able to destroy all wicked beings and even shatter Mount Sumeru. When this mudrā is displayed, all miscreants and evil beings will perish, and all the wicked nāgas, vighnas, and vināyakas will be pacified. As soon as the mudrā is formed, they all come under the vidyā holder’s control and will remain so. All devas, humans, monks, brahmins, śūdras, and kṣatriyas will fall under his thrall and will remain so; there is no doubt about this.

2.179“The well-focused vidyā holder should join his thumbs together, so that they are evenly aligned, and stretch out his middle fingers while bending them upwards. This is the great lotus mudrā of the goddess Tārā that is supreme in every respect. It brings unexcelled accomplishments.

2.180“If he shapes the mudrā like a lotus bud with only his thumbs outstretched and his little fingers folded in, he makes the divine mudrā of Mahāśvetā, an unexcelled mudrā that brings every accomplishment.

2.181“The wise vidyā holder should firmly lock his hands in a vajra-shaped añjali gesture, close his right hand, and put a frown on his face. This is the great mudrā of Bhṛkuṭī that grants all wishes.

2.182“The great mudrā is formed when the vidyā holder makes the añjali gesture with his hands outstretched, [F.26.a] then forms the shape of conjoined lotuses by straightening his thumbs and folding them between his hands with his small fingers outstretched, and then positions his hands at his heart. [A.15.b] [Ti.51] This is the mudrā of all the deities dwelling in the maṇḍala. When this mudrā is formed, all the maṇḍala deities will rejoice, and they will all arrive together and offer protection; there is no doubt.

2.183“The same mudrā, if formed with the palms outstretched and joined in the añjali gesture to create the shape of a lotus positioned at the heart, is known as the mudrā of dūtīs and yakṣiṇīs.

2.184“The vidyā holder should form a tightly clenched vajra fist with his middle fingers folded in. His remaining fingers, including the thumbs, should form the shape of a lotus close to his mouth. This mudrā is known as the seven stars. It will produce unexcelled accomplishment in every respect. It will cause all evildoers to perish and will remove all afflictions and diseases; there is no doubt. It will accomplish all the rites and will bring the supreme amogha accomplishment.

2.185“The vidyā holder should align his hands to form the shape of a vajra lotus. His index fingers should be curled in so that they press on the thumbs. This is the mudrā of Hayagrīva, supreme in all rites.

2.186“The vidyā holder should join his hands in the añjali gesture to form the shape of a lotus. His middle fingers, formed into hooks, should touch the joints of his index fingers. His ring fingers should be extended as one. This is the mudrā of Amoghapāśa‍—the mare’s mouth. With it, one can bite diamond. This mudrā is said to accomplish all activities and grant all unexcelled accomplishments.

2.187“The same mudrā formed at the heart, but with the index fingers and thumbs joined and the remaining fingers folded to form the shape of a lotus, is the mudrā of Nīlakaṇṭha; it grants proficiency in all the rites.

2.188“If the vidyā holder forms the ‘lotus fist’ with both his left and right hands and assumes a gentle expression with a loving pair of eyes, he forms the mudrā of the eleven-headed Avalokiteśvara; it is completely inviolable.

2.189“If he aligns his thumbs [F.26.b] symmetrically with the fingertips folded in and the index fingers positioned to form the shape of a lotus, it is the mudrā of Īśvara.

2.190“The same mudrā formed with the middle fingers contracted to form the shape of the moon and the left index finger extended is the mudrā of Maheśvara; it destroys all the bhūtas.

2.191“If the hands are firmly interlocked to form a chain, then extended out, and then brought back close to the heart, this is the mudrā of Yama.

2.192“If the left hand is extended out with the fingers bent upward, and the right hand placed near the heart with the thumb and the small finger folded in and the remaining fingers extended, this is the great mudrā of Varuṇa. It has the power to summon nāgas.

2.193“If the hands are firmly joined so that the fingers of each hand are wrapped around the opposite hand‍—the fingers of the right hand wrapped around the left and vice versa‍—and the hands are then folded at the heart, this is the mudrā of Kubera. It has the power to destroy all the yakṣas.

2.194“If the right hand is raised [Ti.52] with the index finger and thumb folded, and the left hand extended with the fingers pointing upward, this is the mudrā of Brahmā. It can accomplish all activities in every way.

2.195“The same mudrā formed with the little finger of the right hand folded is the mudrā of the hosts of ṛṣis. It is used for paying homage to the gods.

2.196“If the hands are firmly joined to elegantly form the shape of a discus, this is the mudrā of Viṣṇu. It has the power to destroy all asuras.

2.197“If the right hand is made into the shape of a citron, and the left into the shape of a trident with the thumbs and the small fingers folded, this is the mudrā of Rudra. It has the power to destroy all bhūtas.

2.198“If the right hand [A.16.a] is made into a fist with the index finger extended toward the left, and the fist is placed on the hip while the vidyā holder assumes an angry look, this is the mudrā of Kumāra, the general of the army of gods. [F.27.a]

2.199“If the hands are extended upward with three fingers outstretched and the index fingers squeezing the thumbs, this is the mudrā of Āditya; it releases thousands of light rays.

2.200“The same mudrā formed with three fingers squeezed and the remaining two extended is said to be the mudrā of Soma adorned with a multitude of stars.

2.201“For these mudrās, there are the following great mantric formulas that make the practice effective and accomplish the aims of all activities. They remove all wrongdoings and afflictions and are used to purify all the obscurations and exhaust all karma. They bring the amogha accomplishment and fulfill the amogha activity:

2.202[101] “ Oṁ, lotus-like Tārā! Turu turu, hūṁ!

2.203[102] “ Oṁ, great lotus-like, white-bodied goddess! Huru huru, svāhā!

2.204[103] “ Oṁ, lotus-like Bhṛkuṭī! Tara tara, hūṁ!

2.205[104] “ Oṁ, lotus-like Pāṇḍaravāsinī! Kuṇḍa kuṇḍa, svāhā!

2.206[105] “ Oṁ, the giver of the boons of Amoghapadma! Succeed, succeed, hūṁ!

2.207[106] “ Oṁ, you visit everywhere! Bring them here, O fierce goddess! Hūṁ!

2.208[107] “ Oṁ, Amoghinī! Harlot! Deliver beings! O lotus-armed one, hūṁ!

2.209[108] “ Oṁ, dāru! Fresh lotus! Amogha , hūṁ!

2.210[109] “ Oṁ, Vaḍavāmukhā! Massacre the wicked, hūṁ!

2.211[110] “ Oṁ, lotus-like Lord Nīlakaṇṭha! Bhuru bhuru, hūṁ!

2.212[111] “ Oṁ, fair-faced one! Be pleased! Pacify, hūṁ! [Ti.53]

2.213[112] “ Oṁ, lotus goddess! Bring accomplishment, hūṁ!

2.214[113] “ Oṁ, unerring goddess, hūṁ!

2.215[114] “ Oṁ, Samarī! Ture ture, hūṁ!

2.216[115] “ Oṁ, lotus goddess of the nāgas! Hūṁ!

2.217[116] “ Oṁ, general of the yakṣas! Muru muru, hūṁ!

2.218[117] “ Oṁ, Amogha , you are Brahmā’s delight! Hūṁ!

2.219[118] “ Oṁ, amogha-armed, you grant the boons of the ṛṣis! Hūṁ!

2.220[119] “ Oṁ, King Amogha-Viṣṇu with a lotus growing out of your navel and arms surrounded by water! Svāhā!

2.221[120] “ Oṁ, Rudra! Tuṭi mili, svāhā!

2.222[121] “ Oṁ, unerring holder of a spear! Svāhā!

2.223[122] “ Oṁ, thousand-rayed one, hūṁ! Turi, svāhā!

2.224[123] “ Oṁ, the light of Soma! Hūṁ!

2.225“These are the mantras for the mudrās that have been taught, with each mudrā having a corresponding mantra. The vidyā holder should always perform each rite in full as instructed. He should follow the rules of ritual purity, be clean and well washed, and wear clean clothes. He should anoint his arms and hands with fragrant unguents and practice the mudrās one at a time. [F.27.b] If he mindfully repeats a mantra when displaying its corresponding mudrā, it will be the same as displaying this mudrā hundreds of thousands of millions upon millions of times.

2.226“The vidyā holder who displays a mudrā acquires a great amount of merit and receives a prophecy from all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of his future awakening, as well as their blessing. He is protected by all deities, receives unparalleled worship from the entire world, and becomes the favorite teacher of all beings. He enters the samaya bond required for the entire range of mudrā-based rites in every maṇḍala. His lifespan becomes infinite, and he becomes a vidyādhara whose accomplishment cannot fail and whose speech is always heeded. He also acquires the powers of recollection, intelligence, and confidence. [A.16.b] His intelligence becomes perfect.

2.227“Such a vidyā holder will receive boons from Noble Avalokiteśvara. The noble Lord will appear according to the vidyā holder’s wish and generously grant boons. All his enemies, opponents, ill-wishers, and wicked beings, including the very wicked, will be defeated. Victory will follow the vidyā holder everywhere. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, vighnas, vināyakas, asuras, and nāgas will want to see him. He will possess the great fearlessness of all noble beings, and all kings, royal ministers, royal harems, and retinues will remain under his thrall. He will always be their most cherished idol and favorite teacher. His lifespan will be long, and he will be totally free from all disease. His faults, defilements, jealousy, and envy will be purified, [Ti.54] his memory will be good, and his body will be completely pure. [F.28.a]

2.228“At the time of death, the vidyā holder will be able to see the great tathāgatas and Noble Avalokiteśvara. They will all comfort him, saying, ‘Come, dear son! Follow us to the realm of Sukhāvatī!’ He will retain his lucidity at the time of dying. The doors to all the hell realms will be closed, and he will be delivered from all unhappy destinies. This birth will be his last birth from a womb. Retaining the full memory of his previous birth, he will be spontaneously reborn from a lotus flower. He will in this manner move from one buddha field to another until he finally attains the seat of awakening. [Tii.89]

2.229“Now I will explain the emblems and mudrās that are lokeśvara emanations. The vidyā holder should draw their handheld implements‍—which delight and thrill when merely seen‍—around the rim of the maṇḍala. The viewer will be freed from all wrongdoings and attain true accomplishment, whereby he will be continually protected by armor. He will continually shine with the blazing armor of the Dharma and will obtain the accomplishment consistent with each rite, the supreme accomplishment of each mantra.

2.230“When the mudrās are drawn in the maṇḍala and the mantras recited, the yakṣas and rākṣasas will flee, and all grahas will perish at the mere sight of the drawings; there is no doubt. The vidyā holder will be freed from all diseases and ailments. Unassailable by enemies, he will always be virtuously victorious, whether over an enemy army or while leading his own. He will always have the ability to successfully destroy rākṣasas. He will truly attain the accomplishment whereby he can experience the supreme pleasures of the vidyādhara s.

2.231“These mudrā signs and implements of Noble Avalokiteśvara all have their respective forms, and they serve as mudrās according to their respective purpose. [F.28.b] Each of them should be drawn adorned with the petals of the so-called open lotus and be surrounded by a halo of light. All these mudrās are endowed with life, and all produce results. They are as follows: the result vajra, the three-pointed vajra, the javelin vajra, the maṇḍalin, the lotus vajra, the garland of lotuses, the vajra mark, the lotus pedestal, the lotus gesture of giving comfort, the pair of lotuses, the lotus gesture of applauding, the lotus fist, [A.17.a] the lotus threatening-gesture, the opening lotus, the lotus-goad añjali, the lotus cage, the lotus chain that always brings accomplishment, the lotus wish-fulfilling jewel, the jeweled lotus, that which is called auspicious vajra , the amogha lotus, the lotus bell, the lotus sword, that which is called trident, the pestle holder, the jeweled staff, the flower staff, the holder of the seven nooses, the holder of the sea monster, the half circle, the conch, the citron, the pomegranate, the moon holder, [Tii.90] the sun holder, the hammer holder, the tooth stick, the flower pot, the rosary of beads, the five-pointed vajra, the unfailing noose, and the amogha accomplishment. All these are drawn resting on a lotus.

2.232“The hand symbols above should be drawn at their respective locations, as appropriate. These forty symbols should be drawn as being held in the hand, radiating light in all directions, and adorned with jeweled ornaments. They should be drawn on a cotton cloth in a circle. Alternatively, they can be drawn on a wall or wherever appropriate. By merely seeing them, the vidyā holder will be instantly purged of his wrongdoings, including the five acts of immediate retribution that warrant rebirth in the Avīci hell. All his wrongdoings will be purged in an instant, and the vidyā holder will become a so-called pure being. He will be established on the ten bodhisattva levels, irreversibly established on the path to awakening. This irreversible state is attained by seeing the circle of the mudrās. Noble Avalokiteśvara, the boon giver, will always keep his hand on the vidyā holder’s head. [F.29.a] The boon-granting Lokeśvara will always appear to the vidyā holder directly, face-to-face.

2.233“Whichever mudrā-symbol the vidyā holder looks at, he will attain the corresponding excellence. He must memorize the following thirty-five mantric formulas. He will then be successful at everything at all times. He will not follow unhappy destinies; rather, with the maṇḍala of liberation in sight, he will swiftly attain buddhahood. He will become the eldest son of Amitābha and of the Lord of the World without a doubt. He will always be the foremost among the heart sons of the Lord of the World. The Guide will prophesy his future birth as a dharmatā buddha. Being near the tathāgata, the worthy, fully realized Buddha, the vidyā holder will sow thousands of millions of billions of roots of virtue, equal to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. Transformed by this, he will obtain a vast amount of merit that is immeasurable and incalculable.

2.234“When these mudrās are displayed with the hands in combination with the following mantras, they will bring, it is declared, great benefits.

2.235[124] “ Oṁ, amogha añjali! Mili cili, hūṁ!

2.236[125] “ Oṁ, please give comfort to those without freedom! Hūṁ!

2.237[126] “ Oṁ, fearless boon giver! Tuṭi, hūṁ!

2.238[127] “ Oṁ, blessed by all the tathāgatas! Bhiri bhiri, hūṁ!

2.239[128] “ Oṁ, the lotus-essence fist! Hūṁ!

2.240[129] “ Oṁ, remove, remove all impurities! [Tii.91] Threaten! Hūṁ!

2.241[130] “ Oṁ, blossom! Huru huru, hūṁ!

2.242[131] “ Oṁ, unfailing goad, pull! Hūṁ!

2.243[132] “ Oṁ, provide an armor! Turu turu, hūṁ!

2.244[133] “ Oṁ, amogha chain! Miri miri, hūṁ!

2.245[134] “ Oṁ, unfailing wish-fulfilling jewel! Tuṭi turu, hūṁ!

2.246[135] “ Oṁ, amogha jewel! Ciri ciri, hūṁ!

2.247[136] “ Oṁ, vajra! Tuṭi cili, hūṁ!

2.248[137] “ Oṁ, essence of Amogha , be active, be! O pure being! Hūṁ!

2.249[138] “ Oṁ, resounding one! Viṭi viṭi, hūṁ!

2.250[139] “ Oṁ, sword of knowledge, crush the enemies! Hūṁ! [A.17.b]

2.251[140] “ Oṁ, you are free from the three stains! Bhiṭi bhiṭi, hūṁ!

2.252[141] “ Oṁ, suru suru, hūṁ!

2.253[142] “ Oṁ, jewel, jewel! Hūṁ!

2.254[143] “ Oṁ, the victory abounding in flowers! Hūṁ!

2.255[144] “ Oṁ, you who hold the noose of compassion, hold it! Hūṁ!

2.256[145] “ Oṁ, you with the lotus noose, completely pure! Hūṁ!

2.257[146] “ Oṁ, you with the vajra noose, may you be so! Muru muru, hūṁ!

2.258[147] “ Oṁ, you with the noose that is like a wish-fulfilling jewel, the giver of boons! Hūṁ!

2.259[148] “ Oṁ, you with the discus-noose, the crusher! Dhuru dhuru, hūṁ! [F.29.b]

2.260[149] “ Oṁ, you with the trident noose! Watch over me and deliver me from suffering! Hūṁ!

2.261[150] “ Oṁ, you with the noose that binds nāgas! Bind and pull them in! Bring down the wicked nāgas with your noose! Hūṁ!

2.262[151] “ Oṁ, you who originate in the waters! Tear them, tear apart! Hūṁ!

2.263[152] “ Oṁ, pure as the moon! Dispel the darkness, O supreme light! Hūṁ!

2.264[153] “ Oṁ, bring full awakening! Hūṁ!

2.265[154] “ Oṁ, full receptacle of victory! Hūṁ!

2.266[155] “ Oṁ, source of results! Turi, hūṁ!

2.267[156] “ Oṁ, full disk of the moon, be victorious! Hūṁ!

2.268[157] “ Oṁ, you with the thousand rays! Hūṁ!

2.269[158] “ Oṁ, strike all the wicked ones! Discipline them! Hūṁ!

2.270[159] “ Oṁ, remove impurities! You are immaculate and stainless! Hūṁ!

2.271[160] “ Oṁ, you are filled with flowers of the finest fragrance! Hūṁ!

2.272[161] “ Oṁ, you with hundreds of thousands of qualities! Kṣaṇa kṣaṇa, hūṁ!

2.273[162] “ Oṁ, raised vajra with the sharp point! Ciṭi ciṭi, hūṁ!

2.274[163] “ Oṁ, you with the invincible, unfailing noose in your hand! Hūṁ!

2.275[164] “ Oṁ, universal Amogha ! Succeed, succeed, and bring success! Hūṁ!

2.276“These mantras should be combined with their corresponding hand gestures and recited just once while displaying the mudrā. This will instantly remove all wrongdoings and will swiftly bring [Tii.92] buddhahood. One will swiftly accomplish the ritual and the supreme maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa.

2.277“The symbolic implements that belong there are the precious jewel, the flower, the lotus, the water jar, the jewel rosary, the rudrākṣa rosary, the conch, the discus, the club, the spear, the vajra scepter, the trident, the paṭṭiśa spear, the horizontal vajra, the axe, the double trident, the jewel vajra, the jewel spear, the vajra of activity, the wish-fulfilling jewel, the knife, the staff, the mace, the trident of Maheśvara, the sword, the noose, the goad, the serpent, the tree, the coral tree, the axe, the discus, the axe-mace, the hand, the topknot, the jewel lamp, the light, light rays, the pestle, the naula, the axe, the water pot, the water pitcher, the rock, the mountain, [F.30.a] Mount Sumeru, the coil of a snake, the parasol, the banner, the sea monster, the fish, the tortoise, the auspicious diagram, the vidyā circle, the vidyā mudrā, the trident, the circle, the scimitar, the dagger, the lotus garland, that which is called trident, musuṇḍi, the javelin, the sling, the fang, the four mudrās, the four fangs, the gulaka, the conch, the wheel, the vajra conch, the conch that is called trident, the jewel conch, the lotus conch, the rudhā, the cloth, the lion’s face, the partridge, the cuckoo, the goose, the swan, the curlew, the peacock, Yama’s rod, the four-faced, the four small circles, that which is called trident, the full jar, the half-moon, the sun disk, moonlight, the four lotuses, the three lotuses, the ocean, the vase with flowers, the book, the deer skin, the thunderbolt, the chain, the vajra chain, the archway, the bowl, the robe, the mendicant’s staff, the braid of hair, the vedika, the sash, the topknot, the sacred thread, the garland of banyan flowers, the triangle, and the samanta vajra.

2.278“The above are the symbolic implements, as taught by the guides of the world, known as the secret maṇḍala of liberation that belongs to the ritual of Amoghapāśa. [A.18.a] They should be drawn on cotton cloth, a tablet, a wall, or wherever is convenient. The vidyā holder should select the paints and apply them carefully, skillfully combining the colors. All these symbols should be drawn resting upon lotuses, radiating light in all directions. All of them are endowed with life. [Tii.93] They accomplish the aims of all activities and instantly remove all wrongdoings, always bringing the desired results.

2.279“All these symbols are empowered by the lokeśvara-guides. They have also been empowered by all the tathāgata-buddhas, including the king of the Śākyas. For this reason, the wise vidyā holder [F.30.b] should practice them with great effort. As a result, he will be loved by the buddhas as their eldest son; there is no doubt. The vidyā holder who practices this collection of mudrā symbols, which are the heart essence of Amoghapāśa and together constitute his secret maṇḍala of liberation, will become the eldest son of the Lord of the World. He will swiftly obtain the supreme accomplishment of Amoghapāśa’s dhāraṇīs, mudrās, and mantras.

2.280“Now I will teach the seven nooses applicable to all amogha rites, and how to follow the right procedure so the practice will be truly effective. The vidyā holder should learn the complete ritual for each noose individually and how to practice them effectively according to their individual characteristics. For the successful performance of the noose sādhana, the vidyā holder should prepare five required threads. He will obtain instant success by merely holding the noose; there is no doubt. The five threads are cotton thread, lotus thread, giant milkweed thread, aśoka thread, and thread made from tree bark. These threads should each be spun and made into a noose, meeting the procedural requirements for the practice to take effect. They should all be spun using the cotton thread as the measure.

2.281“The vidyā holder should fast, wear clean clothes, be washed clean, observe celibacy, live on the three ‘white’ foods, and stay in a clean place with clean surroundings. In short, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa with thoughts of loving kindness. Then he should take the separate threads and, fully focused, twist them together into a string of eight strands.

2.282“He should prepare an effigy of the upper body of Amogharāja with his hands joined in the añjali gesture and holding a blossoming lotus. The figure should be four fingers in height, crowned with a diadem upon his topknot, and adorned with all ornaments. The vidyā holder should use silver or gold to make three forms of the effigy‍—one peaceful, one frowning, and one in the form of Krodharāja. He should attach a noose that is sixteen cubits long to one side of the effigy, and a trident with a myrobalan fruit to the other side. [F.31.a]

2.283“Then, on the fifteenth day, the day of the full moon, or on the eighth, the vidyā holder should fast for one day and one night and then bathe and put on clean clothes. Sitting cross-legged, he should worship the Buddha with offerings as prescribed. Without uttering other words, he should incant the noose with the mantra one thousand and eight times. When the number of recitations is complete, [Tii.94] he should arrange a divine seat, place the noose on it, and consecrate it with the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. He should perform a pūjā fit for the gods, offering flowers, incense, fragrances, garlands, unguents, scented powders, cloth, and so forth. He should burn incense of agarwood, sandalwood, and olibanum and light lamps.

2.284“He should then incant mustard seeds twenty-one times and cast them upon the noose, and he should worship a cotton painting of Avalokiteśvara with whatever offerings are available. Sitting cross-legged and undistracted in front of the noose, [A.18.b] he should perform worship in the morning and then recite the mantra. Incanting the mustard seeds just once, he should throw them on the noose one thousand and eight times. He should do this every day as much as he can, reciting the mantra in the morning and performing worship. He should avoid spoiled or leftover food and wear clean clothes.

2.285“When the vidyā holder has reached the number one thousand and eight, the noose will blaze with light. If the accomplishment that he has won is worldly, the noose will blaze with the light of a fire; if the accomplishment is supramundane, the noose will blaze with multicolored light. The body of Amoghapāśa will likewise emit light, and he will utter the following words: ‘Good! Good it is, O vidyā holder! You have attained a supramundane accomplishment. With the noose of bodhicitta, [F.31.b] you have drawn to yourself the supreme bodhicitta. You have fully developed the six perfections and are endowed with the ten perfections.’

2.286“From then on, the wishes of the vidyā holder will be fulfilled, and his worldly practice will become like a wish-fulfilling jewel. Any requests he may have will be realized as soon as he flings his hand. Everything desirable will be drawn to him. If he casts the noose in any direction while reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times, anything he wants from that direction will instantly be brought to him. Even if he has committed the five acts of immediate retribution and is destined to be reborn in the Avīci hell, this practice will effectively nullify it. There should be no doubt or uncertainty in this regard.

2.287“Wherever the vidyā holder casts the noose attached to the frowning effigy, all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, [Tii.95] and other nonhuman and human beings will certainly be pulled before the vidyā holder and will remain his servants for as long as he lives. All the kings and royal ministers with their harems and retinues will remain in his thrall, and he will be much venerated by the entire world. Whatever his purpose for casting the noose, that purpose will be realized.

2.288“If the vidyā holder incants the Krodharāja twenty-one times and casts the noose attached to him, then, as soon as it is cast, all the vighnas, vināyakas, and other wicked beings will be bound by the noose and will remain so, according to the vidyā holder’s wish, for a year, a hundred years, a thousand years, or a hundred thousand eons. When he feels pity and love for them, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa three times to free them. If he casts the noose of Krodharāja into the thick of a battle, [F.32.a] all weapons and arms, such as bows, arrows, spears, swords, clubs, musuṇḍis, discuses, lances, shields, and armor, will be bound by the noose. He can free them by casting onto the, water and mustard seeds incanted seven times. He should make offerings to the noose every day according to his means, to succeed in whatever venture he undertakes. This ritual procedure to be thus performed is called the unfailing noose.

2.289“If the vidyā holder wants to become invisible, he should do as follows. He should form his right and left hands into the mudrā of Amoghapāśa as previously described. He should then hold the noose and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times. If he recites the mantra one hundred and eight times twice, he will be able to travel through space and will become the great emperor of the unfailing noose vidyādhara s with a retinue of one hundred thousand million. [A.19.a] He will live one hundred million years. His hair will become wavy and curly, and his strength, energy, and valor can never be impaired.

2.290“If there is need for rain, the vidyā holder can perform the appropriate pūjā, and it will rain as much as necessary. If it rains too much, he can perform the pūjā for stopping the rain, and the rain will stop. If there is need to pacify any misfortune, disasters, calamities, or deadly pestilences, the vidyā holder should bathe, clean himself, and put on clean clothes. [Tii.96] He should climb to an elevated spot with the noose in his hand and hold the noose while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. [F.32.b] He should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times into each of the four directions while casting the noose. As soon as the mantra is recited, all quarrels, disagreements, disputes, and lawsuits will cease, and armies, whether one’s own or those of the enemy, and all opponents and adversaries will be appeased. All fears, hostilities, misfortunes, deadly pestilences, famines, and other dangers will be pacified. Excessive or untimely rains, cold spells, strong winds, heat waves, and all similar dangers will not arise, and a protective boundary will be created with the radius of one hundred leagues. The vidyā holder will accomplish whatever wishes come to his mind.

2.291“He should perform a pūjā, recite the Amogharāja, and pay homage to him. By merely performing the pūjā and making the requests, everything will instantly turn out favorably. He should not question or have any doubts about this. He should perform any of the ritual activities that have been taught in this manual, any of the procedures and practices, and so obtain instant success in everything.

2.292“He should cultivate loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. He should be wholly motivated by pity for all sentient beings. He should worship Noble Avalokiteśvara and feel respect for the Three Jewels. He should contemplate all the tathāgatas and respect his master. He should maintain pure conduct and have pure morality. By its very nature, the prescribed practice of Amoghapāśa, whereby one attracts the principle of bodhi, is like a wish-fulfilling jewel.

2.293“I will now teach vidyā holders the ritual practice of the wheel noose, the nature of which allows them to enter passages to subterranean paradises. [F.33.a] This practice for entering all passages is the supreme means to this effect. The vidyā holder will be able to enter the palaces of asuras, kinnaras, gandharvas, and devas. He will be able to travel through space and enter the realm of Thirty-Three and even travel as far as the realm of Akaniṣṭha. He will also gain entry to the palaces of the nāga kings and their subterranean realms, as well as the abodes of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the nakṣatras. Whether it be forests, mountains, or great rivers, the vidyā holder will be able to enter any place he directs his thoughts, both in this world and beyond. The ritual procedure of the noose can accomplish this with little effort and little practice. He should not harbor any questions or doubts about this.

2.294“The vidyā holder [Tii.97] should be clean, bathe well, wear clean clothes, and live on the three ‘white’ foods. He should chant the Buddhānusmṛti Gāthā in the true spirit of devotion and faith, cultivating thoughts of loving kindness, the heart of compassion, and a pure mind. He should start on the thirteenth lunar day and follow the procedure until the full moon, as is auspicious. He should offer a pūjā according to his means three times a day [A.19.b] and always recite the mantra one hundred and eight times, three times a day. He should do this at the three junctions of the day and the three junctions of the night.

2.295“He should procure three types of thread‍—cotton thread, lotus thread, and giant milkweed thread‍—and make the supreme wheel-noose. He should twine them into a string with three strands exactly thirty-six cubits long. He should also make a wheel four fingers in diameter with three parts‍—hub, rim, and spokes‍—distributed in a circle. The wheel should be made of gold, silver, and copper. He should place the wheel on a divine seat adorned as the Dharma seat. [F.33.b] It should be strewn with the fragrant maṇḍūka flowers and adorned with full jars. The vidyā holder should also provide bowls with an argha offering, placing them opposite the cotton painting.

2.296“He should then place the noose on the Dharma seat and, at the three junctions of the day, make offerings of whatever articles he chooses while reciting the mantra one hundred and eight times. Then, on the fifteenth lunar day when the moon is full, having fasted for one day and one night without speaking, he should make offerings to the cotton painting of Avalokiteśvara. He should burn three types of incense‍—agarwood, sandalwood, and bdellium. Sitting opposite the painting in front of the Dharma seat, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times, each time incanting a single mustard seed and casting it upon the noose.

2.297“When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, the noose will blaze with light. The wheel will stay suspended in the air and revolve, ablaze with light. The body of the vidyā holder will radiate light, with rays emerging from his head. Words of approval will then issue forth from the cotton painting, and the vidyā holder will know that he has accomplished the great rite of the wheel noose that employs the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa.

2.298“The vidyā holder should then offer a large pūjā [Tii.98] and recite the mantra of Amogha­krodha­rāja. After incanting the noose one thousand and eight times, he should grasp it. With the left hand displaying the mudrā of the wheel he should grasp the wheel. With the right hand displaying the mudrā of the noose he should hold the noose. He should then cast the noose in each of the four directions while reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. Afterward, he should cast the noose in the ten directions, each time reciting the mantra of Krodharāja twenty-one times. [F.34.a] He should then swing the noose seven times to consecrate his body. He will be consecrated as the great emperor of the vidyādhara s as soon as the noose is swung and the mudrā displayed.

2.299“Subsequently, he will obtain the supremely great accomplishments. The king Sudarśana with his great army will appear before him in person, bow his head to his feet, and say, ‘Speak, vidyā holder! I will carry out whatever you command me to do.’ The vidyā holder should then specify what he needs, and Sudarśana will do it all. He will become a servant who performs all the tasks.

2.300“Whenever the vidyā holder wishes to enter a particular residence, he should fast for three days and nights and then display the noose mudrā with his hand. He should swing the noose three times in the direction of the entrance or opening, and cast it while reciting the Amogharāja. As soon as the noose is cast, the entrances or openings to any residence will open. All the locks and bolts will unlock and fall away, and all the paths under the great rivers or up the mountains that are made difficult by the yakṣas and rākṣasas will become gentle meanders. [A.20.a] The bolts and door locks will break into pieces, and chains will break, split, and fall off. They will deteriorate and disintegrate.

2.301“Subsequently, the vidyā holder will see huge magical palaces that are immaculate and pure. He will see palatial residences constructed from the seven types of jewels and adorned with various bright jewels and different species of jeweled trees, all enveloped in the fragrance from flower gardens with various species of flowers. At that time, he should hold the noose with the hand that displays the mudrā, place the wheel before him, [F.34.b] recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, and enter. As soon as he enters the palatial compound of the vidyādhara s, [Tii.99] the compound will shake in six different ways. It will move and quake, make rattling and booming sounds, and be awash in a great divine light. He should now enter.

2.302“When he enters, a medicinal goddess named Immaculate Amogha Purity will arrive in a female form adorned with celestial ornaments, clothes, and adornments, magnificent in her pure golden splendor and endowed with great divine beauty, and will hold out a citron. Upon seeing the female form of this medicinal goddess, vitality and strength will be granted to everyone within a radius of one league. The vidyā holder should, at that time, hold up the noose with the wheel of Amoghapāśa. As soon as she sees it, all his vitality and strength will be taken away, and he will feel weak. The female being will laugh.

2.303“At that moment, the vidyā holder should suppress her with the sound of the syllable oṁ and recite the mantra of Krodharāja. She will fall on her face and ooze water. He should not sprinkle himself with this water but recite the Amogharāja. She will cast amorous glances. The vidyā holder should tie her with the noose, whereupon she will ooze the water of immortality. He should collect this water and sprinkle himself. As soon as he does this, he will rise into the air. At first, he will travel upon the wind. If he anoints his eyes with the water, he will be able to see everything in the ten directions, including all the tathāgatas with their retinues of bodhisattvas and all their marvelous palatial compounds in the respective buddha fields. He will see them as if in the palm of his hand. He will see the buddhas who are presently alive and those who have entered final nirvāṇa. [F.35.a] He will see all the buddhas of the past, the present, and the future, as well as the great caityas with relics in the inner sanctums and wooden posts in the pinnacles. He will see them all as houses and retinues.

2.304“He should rub his entire body with the water. As soon as he rubs himself with the water from the pot, his skin will turn a divine golden color. His hair will be of deep blue color with nice, wavy locks. His eyes will turn deep blue, like exquisite celestial lotuses. His lifespan will increase to one hundred thousand celestial eons, and he will have a retinue of eighteen million vidyādhara s and hundreds of thousands of vidyādhara emperors. In his immediate proximity there will be seventy-two apsarases, kinnarīs, and vidyādharīs [Tii.100] and hundreds of thousands of millions of gods. His retinue will be as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river.

2.305“Whatever he wishes for will materialize as soon he thinks of it. [A.20.b] Divine food of one hundred exquisite tastes will appear in front of him, and the best divine beverages tasting of nectar will appear. King Sudarśana with his great army will advance ahead of him, crushing all the enemies and all vighnas and vināyakas‍—breaking, cutting, tearing, stopping, piercing, and destroying them‍—right up to the moment of the vidyā holder’s ultimate realization of bodhi. All medicinal goddesses will pull out their hair to make it into sashes that will turn whatever is bound with them into the seven precious jewels. The vidyā holder will enter any place invisibly. All deities will be his close attendants, and all nāgas, asuras, kinnaras, and vidyādhara s will come under the vidyā holder’s control. They will all, along with their retinues, attach themselves to him and follow close behind him [F.35.b] until the time of his ultimate realization of bodhi.

2.306“If he wants to enter a residence and come out again, he should neither speak to the medicinal goddess nor touch her but instead form the mudrā of the noose with his hands and enter the grand residence. Afterward, all the inhabitants of this residence‍—women, men, boys, and girls‍—will come outside and stand before the vidyā holder. Some will hold full jars in their hands; some, parasols; some, divine clothes; some, great celestial jewels; some, perfume; some, flowers; some, garlands; some, ornaments and adornments of various kinds; some, unguents; some, scented powders; some, perfumed water; some, platters filled with the seven types of jewels; some, various divine fruits; and some will hold various divine flowers such as white, pink, and blue lotuses and water lilies, mandārava, great mandārava, mañjūṣaka, great mañjūṣaka, rocaka, great rocaka, atimuktaka, champak, jasmine, nīla, great nīla, laran, sumanas, yūthikā, nāgapuṣpa, kontagandha, and vārṣika. Some will hold divine [Tii.101] incense such as the incense of gośīrṣa, uragasāra, candana, agarwood, olibanum, or tamāla leaves.

2.307“Some of the inhabitants will hold peacock feathers in their hands; some, a sword; some, a spear; some, a diamond axe; some, a javelin; some, a spear; some, a club; some, a trident; and some will hold a musuṇḍi. Some will arrive and stand nearby to provide protection with armor, coats of mail, metal shields, and cuirasses. Some will hold plates with various jewels, [F.36.a] golden plates, silver plates, and also flowers made entirely of jewels, gold, or silver. They will all respectfully offer these things to the vidyā holder, who, for his part, should visualize himself as Avalokiteśvara in the form of Amoghapāśa. He should feel intense compassion and loving kindness and remember the Buddha. Wholly motivated by compassion, attentive, and silent, he should give them comfort and consolation and cause them to embark on the right path.

2.308“Then, standing in front of a lion seat, the vidyā holder should place the amogha wheel-noose on it and sit down. [B4] [A.21.a] He should bow to all the tathāgatas above and to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the boon granter, and so bring defeat upon all his enemies. If he bows to those who walk upside down, the heads of his opponents will be chopped off with the wheel.

2.309“As soon as the vidyā holder sits down, the residence will shake in six different ways, and a loud sound will be heard. There will be cries of joy and the divine sounds of the five types of instruments. Deities will emerge from space in a great aerial palace and consecrate the vidyā holder’s head, investing him with a silk turban. As soon as he is consecrated, a rain of seven types of jewels will fall, as will a rain of gold, riches, and clothes and a rain of golden, silver, and various other types of celestial flowers and celestial adornments. Apsarases will then arrive and offer plates with seven types of jewels and the elixir of longevity. [F.36.b] The vidyā holder should accept the offerings while reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and touch the elixir to his lips. [Tii.102] As soon as the vidyā holder sips it, he will obtain a divine, completely pure body with a golden complexion. His hair will turn deep blue, his eyes will be like celestial lotuses, and he will obtain divine, pure vision. His lifespan will increase to hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of celestial eons.

2.310“If the vidyā holder wants never to return, he should take as much of that supreme elixir as he wishes, step into rainwater perfumed with sandalwood, and bathe in it. As soon as he has bathed, he will find himself at an entry passage. He will look as beautiful as Maheśvara and be the sole, foremost object of worship in the entire world. Worshiped with offerings and honored as master, he will be like Noble Avalokiteśvara. If in this situation he sprinkles himself with the supreme elixir, his body will be as pure as the gold from the great river Jambu. If he sprinkles a house, mountain, pillar, tree, vessel, pitcher, pot, pill, missile, or clod of earth, it will become refined gold like that from the great river Jambu. Things will materialize as needed.

2.311“If the vidyā holder wants a vidyādhara girl, a nāga girl, an apsaras, or perhaps a young kinnarī to arrive, he should be clean, wear clean clothes, and wash carefully. On the eighth, the fourteenth, or the fifteenth lunar day, he should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara in the cotton painting and fast for one day and one night. He should place the great wheel-noose upon the divine seat adorned as the Dharma seat and perform a pūjā before it while refraining from talking. [F.37.a] He should recite the mantra one thousand and eight times, incant a single mustard seed with each recitation, and throw it at the noose. When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, the noose will coil up like a snake, and the wheel will assume the shape of the snake’s hood. At that moment, the vidyā holder should grasp the noose, stand next to a cleft leading to a palace of nāgas, kinnaras, or apsarases, [A.21.b] and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. He should cast the noose inside the palace and immediately draw it back. [Tii.103] He will catch any girl he has in mind with the noose, and she will do whatever he wishes.

2.312“He should cast the noose at anything else he may wish for, be it money, gold coins, gold bullion, jewels, pearls, beryl stones, conch-like stones, coral, silver, gold, clothes, ornaments, adornments, or other things such as celestial palaces. He can pull anything from anywhere. The objects will manifest wherever he casts the noose. Whatever objects he wishes for will manifest in full, and nothing else will manifest.

2.313“Whoever the vidyā holder wishes to attract‍—a woman, man, boy, or girl from a royal, brahmin, or kṣatriya family‍—will be pulled in as soon as he utters their name and casts the noose. They will be bound by the noose and brought into his presence. He may also attract deer, birds, lions, tigers, elephants, and buffalo. If he casts the noose in the middle of a village while uttering someone’s name, that person will be bound by the noose and brought before him. All his wishes will be realized.

2.314“If he wants the moon or the sun to descend to earth, [F.37.b] he should stand facing them and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times. He should then cast the noose toward the moon or the sun and draw it in again. Bound by the noose, the moon and the sun will be pulled down and descend from the sky and stand before the vidyā holder. They will perform whatever tasks he wants them to. If he wants to visit their respective palaces, he should grasp the noose with the hand that forms the noose mudrā and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa; he will then rise up through space, share the seat with the moon or the sun for as long as necessary, and descend back to earth in good health, uninjured, unharmed, and unaffected.

2.315“If he wants to enter a passage leading to a secret grove, he should be clean, wear clean clothes, and bathe well. He should recite the mantra near the opening of the passageway into the grove twenty-one times and cast the noose. As soon as the noose is released from his hand, all the nāgas that dwell in the palatial residence behind the passageway will come out and stand before the vidyā holder. They will say, ‘Please enter, vidyā holder, into this supreme, great palace.’ At that point, the vidyā holder should recite the Amogharāja. [Tii.104] Displaying the noose mudrā with his hand, he should enter the passageway in the grove. As soon as he enters, the residence in the grove will shake in six different ways. In the center of the area toward the end of the grove there will be a lotus pond, built with the seven types of jewels, whose water will have the divine fragrance of sandalwood and will be neither too cold nor too hot. It will taste sweet when used for rinsing the mouth and will have the properties of the elixir of longevity.

2.316“The vidyā holder should incant some mustard seeds with the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times and cast them into the center of the lotus pond. [F.38.a] As soon as they are cast, a girl resembling the jewel of a woman will emerge from the pond, revealing the upper half of her body, [A.22.a] holding a jar filled with the seven types of jewels, and adorned with divine flowers of various colors. She will offer the jar to the vidyā holder. With her head bowed low, she will say coyly, ‘May the venerable vidyā holder please enter the house without further delay!’ The vidyā holder can request three types of magical accomplishment‍—entry into the world beyond, the state of a vidyādhara , or the worldly accomplishments with their attendant pleasures. He can request the girl to be either his mother, sister, or servant. He should say, ‘I would like to enter the other world. Please grant it, sister, so that I may enter.’ She will say, ‘Accept it, vidyā holder, and enter the house!’

2.317“He should then display the noose mudrā with his hands and enter, reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja. The supreme great palace‍—constructed from the seven types of jewels and adorned with divine wind chimes, lattices, golden hangings, silken hangings, and garlands‍—will be open to view. The girl will offer the vidyā holder a great precious jewel, saying, ‘Accept this great precious gem, O vidyā holder, if you wish to enter the world beyond.’ The vidyā holder should accept it and request a seat. Arranging the noose nicely into a circle, he should place it on the seat and place the great precious jewel on top of that. He should offer flowers and incense and then recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja.

2.318“As soon as the mantra is recited, the noose and the great precious jewel will emit light. The jewel will also ooze milk. [Tii.105] The vidyā holder should scoop the milk and sprinkle himself with seven handfuls of it. As soon as he sprinkles the milk, [F.38.b] his entire body will become pure and immaculate. It will acquire a glow that is called the wide circular aura of the effulgent amogha light. He will be irreversibly established on the supreme path to awakening and progress through the ten bodhisattva levels. He will obtain the mirage-like samādhi of Noble Avalokiteśvara with its magical displays.

2.319“Avalokiteśvara himself will appear before the vidyā holder in his completely pure true form wearing the attire of Amoghapāśa, place his right hand on his head, and give him comfort by saying, ‘You are my eldest son who has attained the state of vidyādhara with a completely pure body of a buddha in the great maṇḍala of liberation.’ The vidyā holder will see all the tathāgatas in the ten directions, who will all applaud him, saying, ‘Good! Good it is, O great being, that you have entered and definitively established yourself on the path to awakening.’

“This practice is known as the path to liberation.

2.320“If the vidyā holder wants to become a vidyādhara instead, he should offer golden flowers by taking them and placing them on the head of the girl while suppressing her with the syllable oṁ. As soon as the syllable is positioned upright and its sound clearly pronounced, the girl’s beautiful eyes will overflow with tears. The vidyā holder should collect the teardrops and sprinkle himself. As soon as he does, he will become an emperor of the vidyādhara s. His hair will become curly, and he will travel through space with the wheel noose in his hand, surrounded by a retinue of one trillion eight hundred billion vidyādhara s. He will be able to recall seven thousand of his former births.

“This is the vidyādhara practice . [A.22.b]

2.321“Alternatively, the girl may offer the vidyā holder the procedure for worldly practice, in which case she will say, ‘Accept my hair, vidyā holder.’ She will then cut off her topknot and [F.39.a] give it to him. He should take all of it and use it to make a plait with three strands. He should make twenty-one knots in it and tie the plait around his head. Whatever he thinks about will manifest as a magical display. He will be able to conjure at will all the [Tii.106] flowers and fruits he desires, and he will cause whatever he desires to appear in reality. If he ties the plait around his neck, he will become invisible. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, kumbhāṇḍas, mahoragas, and humans will come under his control. If he ties the plait around his forehead, all devas and nāgas will come under his control. If he ties it around his right arm, he will have the strength of ten elephants and be unassailable by armies or any wicked opponents and adversaries.

2.322“If he ties the plait around his left arm, all the members of the four castes will come to him and remain under his thrall. If he ties the plait around his left hand, whomever he touches will fall under his thrall and place themselves and their wealth at the vidyā holder’s disposal. If he ties the plait around his right hand and knocks at the eastern gate of the city three times, he will bring the king, his harem, and his retinue, as well as the capital city with all its women, men, boys, and girls, under his thrall. They will place themselves and their wealth at the vidyā holder’s disposal. All animals and birds, both carnivorous and herbivorous, venomous snakes, and other venomous creatures that are in his vicinity will come under his control. If he ties the plait around his right thigh, all medicinal substances and herbs, and all the deities that live in the forests, crevices, mountain wildernesses, caves, or forest dwellings that he enters will appear before him in their respective forms as soon as he enters there. [F.39.b]

2.323“If he ties the plait around his right foot or right calf, he will cross the great ocean by foot, not to mention the great rivers. The water will be just knee-deep. If he ties the plait around his left foot, he will be able to travel one hundred leagues every single day and return without getting tired. If he ties it around his left thigh and subsequently enters a great charnel ground, all the beings who live there will become naked and remain under his thrall.

2.324“If he wants to have sex right there in the palace, he should grasp the full jar with his left hand, and the girl with the right, and enter this great supreme dwelling. That supreme place will have a lotus pond in the center that is strewn with flowers. They both should bathe in that lotus pond and splash in the water. As soon as he has bathed and performed his ablutions, the vidyā holder will become the emperor of vidyādhara s with the wheel and the noose. He will have a retinue of seven billion vidyādhara s and will live ten thousand eons. [Tii.107] His hair will become wavy and curly, and he will be the master of eight hundred forty palatial dwellings in the grove.

2.325“If he requests the girl to be his mother, she will care for him as if for her own son, and will procure money, grain, clothes, ornaments, precious stones, pearls, coral, silver, and gold for him. If he requests her to be his sister, [A.23.a] she will provide all supplies and services without any hesitation and will not neglect any detail. Every single day she will procure a divinely-adorned celestial woman and arrange for heavenly delights in palatial mansions. She will provide a heavenly residential palace. When dispatched, she will go wherever she is asked to go, [F.40.a] whether it is to the palaces of the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, or bhūtas. She will perform whatever other tasks come to the vidyā holder’s mind and are assigned to her.

“This was the practice procedure of the grove.

2.326“If the vidyā holder wants to enter subterranean paradises, he should clean himself, bathe, put on clean clothes, and draw a four-sided maṇḍala in a hidden place on a clean patch of ground. He should smear the maṇḍala with various fragrances, arrange a bali offering of various tastes, and burn agarwood incense. After fasting for three days and three nights, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times while displaying the hand mudrā of the wheel noose. When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, incense smoke will issue forth from the center of the maṇḍala. He should then recite the mantra of Krodharāja seven times. When this is done, a huge, black-colored man will emerge from inside the maṇḍala, exposing the upper half of his body. He will be grimacing, bearing his fangs, and his hair will flow upward from his blazing head. He will have red eyes, a red tongue and lips, red fingernails, blue hair, firm and taut arms, and a protruding belly. He will wear a white sacred cord, have a five-headed venomous snake above his head, and have a lolling tongue. He will be clad in a tiger’s skin and hold an axe and a bell in his hands. He will cast glances in the ten directions.

2.327“The vidyā holder should not be afraid at this time, but should remain steadfast and recite the Krodharāja. He should cast the wheel noose and cut off the head of the black-colored man. A lot of blood will gush out, which he should smear all over his body. As soon as he does this, his body will turn into an unbreakable and infrangible vajra. [Tii.108] Having gouged out the eyes from the severed head, the vidyā holder should anoint his own eyes by rubbing them with the gouged eyeballs. He will then obtain the divine eye. Having extracted the bone marrow from the corpse, he should sprinkle it over himself; his lifespan will increase to ten thousand eons. He will become an ocean-like receptacle of sacred knowledge. [F.40.b] He will remember his former births stretching back for hundreds of thousands of eons. If he eats a little bit of the corpse’s heart, he will travel through space. If he makes a bindi on his chest with the blood from the corpse, he will become invisible. If he cuts out the corpse’s tongue, it will turn into a sword that can be used to destroy all enemies.

2.328“If the vidyā holder wants to enter subterranean paradises, he should incant the wheel noose with the Krodharāja one hundred and eight times, grasp the noose with the hand displaying the mudrā, and strike the earth three times with the wheel. The gates to the subterranean paradise will fall open, and he should enter as if he were entering his own house. He will be able to visit it repeatedly and perform any other task. All the inhabitants of the paradise will fall under his thrall.

2.329“If, after that, he wants to travel through space, he should direct his gaze upward and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times. He should smear his body with mustard oil incanted just as many times. By forming the hand mudrā of the noose, he will ascend to the firmament of the sky and remain there suspended in space. If he wishes to enter the palace of a god, he should go to a temple, [A.23.b] stand by the side of the god, and tie the noose around the god’s neck. He should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times. The god whom he ties and whose name he recalls will descend to earth and stand before him. Whether it is Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Maheśvara, he will say to the vidyā holder, ‘I will grant whatever you wish for, O vidyā holder.’ The vidyā holder should reply, ‘I intend to visit the god’s palace.’ That god will also grant any other boons he might wish for.

2.330“The vidyā holder will then go to the abode of the god. Held by the hand, he will, by the god’s magical power, ascend through space up to the god’s abode, and he will enjoy himself to his heart’s content in the great celestial mansion. When he has had enough, [F.41.a] he can leave the god’s abode and descend back to earth. Any other wishes that he may have or tasks that he wants performed will be accomplished in full; one should not harbor any doubts or uncertainties about it. [Tii.109]

“These are the ritual procedures for the practice of the wheel noose.

2.331“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the lotus noose, he should bathe, put on clean clothes, and fast for either three, five, or a single day and night. He should procure the right type of thread for the noose‍—either cotton or lotus thread dyed the color of beryl and cut to the measure of twenty-one cubits. The lotus should be made from the three types of precious material, and its petals should be open and measure four fingers. The material to be used for the petals should be gold plate or silver plate. Its kernels should be made of either beryl or sapphire and surrounded by pearl. The lotus should then be attached to the noose, and the hand at the opposite side should display the noose mudrā.

2.332“The vidyā holder should then prepare a divine seat adorned as the Dharma seat and draw a circle with cow dung. Above the circle he should visualize a lotus rich in fragrance and place the Dharma seat within the circle. He should adorn the circle with full jars, strew it with flowers, and burn incense of agarwood, sandalwood, and olibanum in front of it. He should also set out argha water for the feet. The lotus noose should be placed on the Dharma seat.

2.333“The vidyā holder should sit cross-legged in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ten thousand times, incanting with each recitation a single mustard seed and throwing it on the noose until he has reached the number ten thousand. On the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, after fasting for one day and one night, he should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and to the noose. [F.41.b] Then, displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one hundred and eight times and, after that, the heart mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. He should recite at the three junctions of the day and make offerings. The lotus noose will then blaze with light of various colors, and the words ‘Good! It is good!’ will be heard. The painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara will also radiate light of various colors. At that time, the vidyā holder, displaying the mudrā, should sit in the cross-legged posture without blinking, with a smiling countenance and his heart filled with great compassion. [Tii.110] Looking at Noble Avalokiteśvara’s face, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa three times.

2.334“After this, Noble Avalokiteśvara [A.24.a] will appear before the vidyā holder in his true divine nature. He will extend his right arm, place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head, and applaud and comfort him, saying, ‘You, a vidyā holder, are my eldest son and very close to me. This great ritual procedure of recitation and offerings constitutes my ultimate worship. This is the supreme way of reciting, and the supreme practice. You have accomplished the heart mantra of Amogharāja and mastered the practice of the great lotus-noose. You have obtained the desired boons and fulfilled all your wishes. You are freed from the dreadful prison of saṃsāra. You are freed from the terrible fears of birth, old age, death, and despair. You are saved from the sixteen great and terrible hells. You are saved from the eight great fears and from terrible suffering and pain. This is your last birth from a womb with its dreadful suffering. [F.42.a] After you die, O vidyā holder, you will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where you will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. This will continue until you attain the ultimate and final awakening. You have planted roots of great virtue in the presence of eighty-four billion tathāgatas equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. Your store of merit, O vidyā holder, is huge. You have performed many acts of respectful service. You, O great vidyā holder, are prophesied to attain liberation. You are saved from all the terrors of the hells and cleansed of all your past obscurations. You may request whatever boon comes to mind.’

2.335“At this point the vidyā holder will obtain a boon according to his wish. He should grasp the lotus noose and, in a clean place, make copious offerings with reverence. Whenever a task needs to be performed, he should grasp the noose with his hand; he will then be able to perform any task. He should place the lotus in the left hand of Noble Avalokiteśvara, grasp the noose with the right hand, and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one hundred and eight times. [Tii.111] Whatever being or deity’s name he focuses on while reciting the mantra, that being will arrive in front of the bodhisattva when the number one hundred and eight has been reached. The bodhisattva will grant that being all the desired boons.

2.336“If the vidyā holder wants his future awakening to be prophesied, he should be well bathed and clean and wear clean clothes. After fasting for one day and one night, he should offer a large pūjā to the blessed Buddha Śākyamuni and place the lotus noose in the blessed Buddha’s hand. He should tie the other end of the noose to his own neck and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja the full one thousand and eight times. When this number is reached, the blessed Buddha will arrive before the vidyā holder in his golden body [F.42.b] and place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head. He will comfort him, prophesy his future awakening, and make all his wishes come true. He will remove all his wrongdoings and obscurations accumulated over hundreds of thousands of his former births; they will be exhausted completely.

2.337“The body of the vidyā holder will become completely pure. His stains will be removed, and his envy and jealousy will be gone. His current birth will be his last birth from a womb. He will experience the splendor of the celestial realms. All beings will treat him as their unique master and offer due worship. The tathāgatas in the ten directions will think about him at the time of his death, [A.24.b] offer him comfort, and show him the right path. Noble Avalokiteśvara, too, will appear before him and give him comfort, placing his right hand on his head. He will leave his body while facing Noble Avalokiteśvara, who will be aware of his presence. As soon as he dies he will, as is his destiny, proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. His body will be adorned with all the ornaments, including the major and minor marks of perfection. He will recover the memories of his former births, going back in time hundreds of thousands of eons, and this Heart Essence of Amoghapāśa ‍—this maṇḍala of liberation, the ritual text complete with its collection of mudrās‍—will remain prominent in his memory. He will be irreversibly established on the ten bodhisattva levels, from where there is no turning back. [Tii.112] Until the moment of his ultimate and final awakening, he will travel through all the buddha fields in the ten directions, from one to another, living in supremely great residences and celestial palaces that have been miraculously created through great magical power.

2.338“If the vidyā holder wants to see the realm of Sukhāvatī [F.43.a] just as he sees this temporal world, he should draw a four-sided maṇḍala in a clean place in a house, forest, park, garden pavilion, or a walking area, on a mountaintop, or in a hut. It should be drawn in a clean spot on the ground with a smooth, well-swept surface. The maṇḍala should be one or two cubits across, regular in shape, and with four corners and four sides. It should be daubed with a mixture of clay and cow dung, have a smooth surface, and be adorned with green and tender medicinal grass. Using thread, the skilled vidyā holder should demarcate the sections of the maṇḍala, the perimeter, and the central area. In the central area he should use paints of vivid colors to expertly draw a lotus with one hundred petals and one hundred and eight kernels.

2.339“Around the perimeter of the lotus he should draw various circular motifs and lotuses in a variety of colors, each four fingers in size. He should draw beautiful blue lotuses in the inner corners of the main lotus and a circular jeweled platform around it. He should draw a surrounding ocean filled with divine water and palaces made of various jewels. The ocean’s waters should be strewn with various flowers and contain many nesting birds such as geese, cranes, curlews, cakravāka birds, jīvaka birds, cuckoos, and various other birds. It should be filled with fish, crocodiles, and dolphins. On the ocean’s shore he should draw various jewel trees, blossom-bearing trees, and fruit trees provided with benches. Outside the circular platform, he should draw hand mudrās and implements. The Four Great Kings should stand at the four gates. A divine seat should be depicted on the lotus in center of the maṇḍala, with the blessed Amitābha seated upon it. The vidyā holder should also draw Noble Avalokiteśvara and Mahā­sthāma­prāpta. [F.43.b]

2.340“The maṇḍala should be adorned with full jars, strewn with flowers, smeared with scented oils, and adorned with various divine banners. The vidyā holder should offer a bali consisting of ‘white’ foods, drinking water, argha water for the feet, and a row of lamps. [Tii.113] He should place the lotus at the end of the lotus noose in Amitābha’s hand. Clean, well washed, and wearing clean clothes, [A.25.a] he should sprinkle himself with the five products of the cow. On the day of the full moon, after fasting for one day and night, he should sit cross-legged with his face toward the east while displaying the noose mudrā with his hand and reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. Dedicated to caring and feeling pity for all beings, he should cultivate loving kindness and compassion. He should thus carry on reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa until, in the last watch of the night, Amitābha will blaze with light. The great maṇḍala will also emit light. The body of the vidyā holder will move and blaze with golden light.

2.341“At dawn, the noble Tathāgata Amitābha, a worthy, fully realized buddha, will appear before the vidyā holder in his golden tathāgata body, place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head, and comfort him. He will make all his wishes come true and then disappear. The vidyā holder will subsequently have a dream called stainlessly pure light. As soon as he goes to sleep and closes his eyes, he will see the realm of Sukhāvatī with its palatial dwellings. He will see all the inhabited places in the world and the full assembly of bodhisattvas. He will see the Tathāgata Amitābha teaching the Dharma and giving comfort to everyone in the assembly. [F.44.a] He will see miraculous creations appearing through the power of magic. His current birth will be his last birth from the womb, and when he dies he will, as is his destiny, be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī. He will retain his memories from one birth to another and be able to recall seven thousand of his former births.

2.342If after waking from the dream the vidyā holder incants the noose with the mantra one thousand and eight times and grasps it with his right hand, he will ascend into the sky. He will live for ten thousand years and become an emperor of the vidyādhara s, all of them the masters of the noose. His retinue will number eighteen thousand.

“This was the procedure for the practice of the lotus noose. [Tii.114]

2.343“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the vajra noose, he should make a thread twenty-one cubits long that combines equal measures of tree-bark fibers, cotton, and silk. He should make a vajra that is four fingers long from white sandalwood. The vajra should be five-pronged and bound with a rope made of a nāga with a head. It should be garlanded by flames like the nāga king Nandopananda. The vidyā holder should attached the vajra to the noose.

2.344“He should be clean, wear clean clothes, bathe thoroughly, and sprinkle himself with the five products of the cow. He should sit on a seat of grass opposite the painting. Pressing down on the noose with his right hand, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ten thousand times and, afterwards, the mantra of Krodharāja one thousand times. The noose will blaze with light. If he then grasps it, he will ascend into the sky. All the deities of the vajra, tathāgata, jewel, and lotus families will meet him face-to-face. He will possess beauty, strength, diligence, [F.44.b] and valor similar to that of Vajrapāṇi. He will live twelve thousand celestial years.

2.345“The vajra noose can accomplish all tasks and destroy all enemies. [A.25.b] Wherever the vidyā holder casts this noose, whether up or down, he will bind any being he has in mind and bring it into his presence. If he casts the noose into the cardinal or intermediate directions while reciting the Krodharāja, he will quickly bind and draw any woman or man, or any other being, whoever it is, with the noose. There is no doubt about this. Whether it is a deva, a nāga, a yakṣa, a rākṣasa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a bhūta, or a mahoraga, he can swiftly summon any of them, bound by the noose. There is no doubt.

2.346“If the vidyā holder incants the noose with the Krodharāja twenty-one times on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, during a dark night, and casts it in the four cardinal directions, all the vighnas, vināyakas, wicked yakṣas, and rākṣasas will be bound and brought into the presence of the vidyā holder as soon as the noose is cast. They will perform all his tasks and remain in his thrall as his servants for the rest of their lives. All grahas will leave him alone if they merely see the noose. [Tii.115]

2.347“If the vidyā holder incants the noose with the Krodharāja one hundred and eight times and then enters a charnel ground while holding it in his hand, he will be invisible. The gates to all palaces will be open for him, and if he approaches any secret passage and strikes its opening with the vajra noose, it will open. All the locks and bolts will split. All the dangers of the road, bad people, nonhuman beings, and river crossings will vanish, and venomous aśīviṣa and gonāsa snakes [F.45.a] will become lifeless. Walking straight on a straight path, the vidyā holder should enter the passage as if entering his own house. Once he has accomplished all his intended tasks there, he can leave the dwelling again.

“This was the practice procedure of the vajra noose that accomplishes all activities.

2.348“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the jewel noose, he should procure a suitable jewel. It could be a diamond, beryl, natural crystal, emerald, or sapphire the size of a finger joint. Having cleaned it thoroughly with utmost care, the vidyā holder should set it in a golden setting shaped like a flower and surround it with pearls. He should prepare a thread, cut to the measure of exactly twenty-one cubits, from divine cotton the beautiful orange color of champak blossoms bristling with filaments. At one end, the vidyā holder should attach the jewel, which should be the size of the middle finger, and at the other, a hook made of precious stone or gold.

2.349“The vidyā holder, ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, should then perform ablutions and sprinkle himself with the five products of the cow. He should prepare a maṇḍala in front of a painting with four sides of equal length, smear it with every fragrance, and put out full jars. He should arrange incense bowls around it, offering incense of agarwood, sandalwood, and olibanum. In the center of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should arrange a divine seat the size of a Dharma seat. The maṇḍala should be surrounded by various banners, well adorned, strewn with flowers, and perfumed, and it should have musical instruments placed around it.

2.350“The vidyā holder should live on the three ‘white’ foods and avoid bad food and drink, food and drink that has been inappropriately stored, and leftovers. He should then recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one thousand times. The noose [F.45.b] should be placed on the Dharma seat and pressed down with the right hand. [Tii.116] When the vidyā holder has completed twenty-one thousand recitations, he should recite the mantra of Krodharāja a full one thousand and eight times. With each repetition of the Krodharāja, he should cast a single mustard seed onto the noose. When the number one thousand and eight has been reached, he should offer a large pūjā in front of the cotton painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara. [A.26.a] He should likewise offer a large pūjā to the blessed Amitābha and the Tathāgata Śākyamuni.

2.351“During the full moon on the fifteenth lunar day, after fasting for one day and one night, he should worship the noose with elaborate offerings, fully completing each stage of the ritual exactly as required. He should incant the offerings with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times and offer them. Then, sitting in a cross-legged posture all day and all night, he should recite the same mantra one thousand and eight times, casting, with each recitation, a single mustard seed onto the noose. When the number one thousand and eight has been reached, there will be a great earthquake, and Noble Avalokiteśvara in the cotton painting will emit multicolored light. This light will make the jewel noose blaze with light, and the body of the vidyā holder will blaze too. The vidyā holder should grasp the noose with the right hand as soon as it blazes, whereupon a loud sound will be heard.

2.352“At that time, Noble Avalokiteśvara and the tathāgatas Amitābha and Śākyamuni will appear before the vidyā holder in their true divine forms. They and the sovereign lord Avalokita will, through their magical power, remain suspended in space in their golden tathāgata-bodies and will applaud the vidyā holder. Extending their golden arm, each of them will place his hand upon the vidyā holder’s head [F.46.a] and comfort him, saying, ‘Good! Good it is, vidyā holder! You have accomplished the pure practice of the great wish-fulfilling, unfailing jewel-noose. You have accomplished the supreme procedure of this ritual practice that has both worldly and supramundane applications. Noble Avalokiteśvara will fulfill all the wishes of the vidyā holder who holds the great wish-fulfilling jewel-noose that brings amogha accomplishments. You should strive, O vidyā holder, with all your being, to demonstrate the successful performance of the required tasks that are based on worldly and supramundane procedures. You should display, through your magical power, various magical creations according to your wish. [Tii.117] When you die, O vidyā holder, you will proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī.’

2.353“If the vidyā holder wants to see the realm of Sukhāvatī and worship the tathāgatas, the worthy ones, with heaps of divine offerings suitable for them‍—offerings such as divine flowers, fragrances, garlands, scented oils, scented powders, clothes, parasols, banners, flags, ornaments, adornments, and fabrics‍—he should prepare a fragrant maṇḍala at a prominent spot and offer flowers and incense. With his left hand he should press down on the great unfailing noose attached to the wish-fulfilling jewel and grasp the wish-fulfilling amogha jewel with his right hand. He should place his right knee on the ground and, in the spirit of great sincerity, bring to mind whatever heartfelt wishes he may have. He should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja seven times while bowing to the great wish-fulfilling jewel. Then, as his heart overflows with great loving kindness and compassion, he should recite the following heart mantra of Noble Avalokiteśvara, which promotes great amogha activity, one hundred and eight times, [F.46.b] wholly motivated by a sense of care for all beings. [B5] The mantra is:

2.354“Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas established throughout the three times, comparable to the expanse of the ocean! Homage to all the pratyekabuddhas and the hosts of the noble śrāvakas, those of the past, present, and future! Homage to those who follow the right path and have the right understanding! [A.26.b] Homage to Śāradvatīputra, the great lord of charity! Homage to the great inhabitants of the supreme abode of Tuṣita, headed by Noble Maitreya, together with the eminent hosts! Homage to the noble Tathāgata Amitābha, who dwells in the realm of Sukhāvatī! Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great and most compassionate bodhisattva being! Homage to Avalokita who manifests all forms, including those of the divine sons headed by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and Īśvara!’

2.355“The part of the mantra to be repeated is:

[165] “ Oṁ, the great wish-fulfilling jewel in the lotus! Jewel, jewel, the amogha jewel, the good jewel, the great jewel! The great amogha jewel that adorns all the tathāgatas! Act, act, be active! [Tii.118] O lord of spirits that roam at night! The great lotus-armed one! The most compassionate boon giver! The great and most excellent bodhisattva who can assume any form! You hold a lotus, sit on a lotus seat, wear a lotus diadem and garland, and are adorned with many lotuses. You have a thousand arms, a thousand eyes, and various magical implements, and your thousand arms are adorned with mudrā gestures. Be victorious, be! Your body is adorned with hundreds of thousands of light rays. O wearer of fine adornments, wear them, wear! Your body is adorned with jewels, gold, diamonds, beryls, emeralds, sapphires, and corals, ciri ciri! [F.47.a] You are a great boon-granting bodhisattva of illustrious conduct. You assume the forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. You take on the form of the lotus lord, the lokeśvara, and the eternal lord. You wear the garb of Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, the sages, and the general Kumāra, dhara dhara, dhiri dhiri, dhūra dhūra! You, consecrated by all the tathāgatas, assume the form of the four great elements. Remember your samaya, O lord! Make the moon full! Ferry beings to the other shore! Train the beings! Threaten the wicked ones! Bring down the vighnas! Kill those who are stained by the three faults! Assail evil, assail, assail! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ! Succeed, succeed, O holder of the unfailing noose with its great wish-fulfilling jewel! Bring accomplishment! Grant me the great accomplishment of the goddess of the threefold universe! O compassionate one, be awake, be! Awaken, awaken others! Awaken them fully! You wear the garb of the great Paśupati. Please display your infinite power of magical transformation! Turū turū, you travel across the sky. Homage to you who are seen inside a grand palace! You hold a large treasure trove of merit. O great Amoghasiddhi, hūṁ hūṁ! Give me an initiation! You confer great fame of the goddess of the threefold universe, svāhā! Bhuva svāhā! Bhūr bhuva svāhā! Svāhā to Amoghavipula! Svāhā to the one who grants the accomplishment of the wish-fulfilling jewel! Svāhā to him who grants all the supreme accomplishments! Oṁ, majestic lord, lord of the world, great lord, you are a great wish-fulfilling jewel! O great Amoghasiddhi! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

2.356“Immediately after incanting the great unfailing jewel-noose with this mantra one hundred and eight times, the vidyā holder’s entire body will blaze will light. If he then presses down on the unfailing noose with his hand, he will magically fly into the sky. Through his great magical power, he will display illusion-like miraculous creations. He will be able to see the realm of Sukhāvatī, [Tii.119] where he will behold the Tathāgata Amitābha with his retinue and the great gathering of bodhisattvas in their palatial estates, surrounded by magical creations. Great clouds of offerings will appear, raining down.

2.357“Through the power of the Tathāgata Amitāyus, great clouds of offerings will continuously rain down offerings upon all the inhabitants of Sukhāvatī. [A.27.a] [F.47.b] The Tathāgata Amitāyus and all the inhabitants of Sukhāvatī will congratulate the vidyā holder, who will hear all their words and will see the clouds of offerings raining down. If he wants to descend back to earth, he will descend as soon as he thinks of it. If he does not want to, he can remain there in the sky and become the great emperor of all the siddhas that live throughout the expanse of space, and of the vidyādhara s who hold in their hands the great wish-fulfilling jewel that grants the vast amogha accomplishments. He will live there for eight billion great eons and then descend to earth.

2.358“On earth, he will live ten thousand years and be a unique celebrity throughout the world, receiving offerings and great respect like a lokeśvara. The devas will descend to earth with him and will make bountiful, excellent offerings to him. All beings will joyfully welcome him as if he were their only son and will honor him. All the deities will protect him and praise him. He will become an ocean-like receptacle of great learning.

2.359“If the vidyā holder wants to make offerings to all the tathāgatas of the three times and the ten directions, who are surrounded by retinue-hosts of bodhisattvas and the congregations of pratyekabuddhas and noble śrāvakas, along with the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas who are favorably disposed to the teachings of the Buddha; if he wants to accumulate great merit equal to that of all the tathāgatas of the three times and the ten directions; [F.48.a] if he wants to plant the roots of great virtue; if he wants to satiate all the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and the hosts of noble śrāvakas with the divine elixir of immortality and the best of food and drink; [Tii.120] if he wants to make large donations or offer worship every single day with clouds of offerings, he should bathe, purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and prepare a four-sided maṇḍala as is practicable. The vidyā holder should then offer flowers and burn incense in front of the painting of the Blessed Lord , Noble Avalokiteśvara. Kneeling down, he should hold the noose with his hands folded in the añjali gesture. Keeping all the tathāgatas in his heart, he should offer a large pūjā to the great wish-fulfilling amogha jewel and recite the heart mantra of Noble Avalokiteśvara seven times. He should visualize large and extensive clouds of offerings and offer gifts consisting of food, drink, perfume, garlands, scented oils, scented powders, robes, parasols, banners, flags, clothes, ornaments, adornments, jewelry, song, music, and the sound of tāḍāvacaras. He should visualize jewel trees, fruit trees, blossoming trees, lamp trees, and wish-fulfilling trees.

2.360“While reciting this dhāraṇī mantra, he should swing the noose in the ten directions and wish for the visualized things to manifest. Consequently, all useful items will manifest, just as he wanted and in perfect condition, in front of the tathāgatas of the three times who dwell in the ten directions together with their retinues. Great clouds of offerings will appear, raining down offerings. [F.48.b] All useful items will manifest in perfect condition as great clouds of offerings. This very powerful dhāraṇī that produces vast clouds of precious amogha offerings is the heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara. [A.27.b]

2.361“If the vidyā holder recites this dhāraṇī three times at each of the three junctions of the day every day, the tathāgatas of the three times together with their retinues will be pleased with him. If he thus worships and venerates them, he will accumulate a great deal of merit and plant many roots of virtue. All the tathāgatas of the three times together with their retinues will grant him excellent memory, intellect, strength, energy, and vitality. All the tathāgatas will appear to him in person every day and will always think of him. He will always have a bond with Noble Avalokiteśvara, [Tii.121] who will appear to him in person and grant him boons.

2.362“In this very life, they will pacify all the vidyā holder’s suffering and fear of saṃsāra, which is so frightening and terrifying. He will never fall ill again and will not succumb to fever or come into contact with poison or toxins. His body will not be harmed by weapons, fire, or water. He will face no danger from enemies, foreign soldiers and armies, opponents, or adversaries. He need not fear devas, yakṣas, [F.49.a] gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, rākṣasas, ḍākinīs, or shapeshifting yoginīs. They will not be able to approach him within the radius of one league and will flee far away. No obstacles will arise for him.

2.363“Any being who has committed the five acts of immediate retribution and is destined to be reborn in the Avīci hell, any being who criticizes the noble ones and rejects the true Dharma, and any being whose body is beset with karmic obscurations accumulated over hundreds of thousands of eons will exhaust all his negativities and win liberation in this very life.

2.364“If the vidyā holder recites the dhāraṇī one thousand and eight times without speaking any other words‍—if he performs this recitation even once during a fast‍—the recitation will free him from the karma he accumulated over hundreds of thousands of millions of births, and he will leave saṃsāra. His evil deeds accumulated over thousands of eons will be purified, and he will no longer be defiled by saṃsāra’s faults, just as a lotus is not defiled by mud. Like a lotus he cannot be defiled by any wrongdoings or obscurations, and he will obtain the fifth bodhisattva stage in this life. Through his practice, which adheres to the rules of the recitation procedure, he will attain the level of not turning back. Merely through recitation, he will accomplish the six perfections and live in accordance with the ten perfections.

2.365“If the vidyā holder recites the dhāraṇī every day one hundred and eight times, he will attain the state of Samantabhadra in this very life. He will gain access to all mantra rites, maṇḍalas, and mudrās. He will enter all the samayas and will be in accord with the way everything comes together. [F.49.b] By merely seeing it, all the vidyā holder’s wrongdoings that would otherwise lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell will be eradicated.

2.366“At the very least, when the vidyā holder enters a charnel ground and his shadow falls on a corpse’s bones, [Tii.122] flesh, or rotten remains, or even just a deceased person’s discarded shroud, their garlands, or a painting on a wall, those beings on whose remains the shadow falls will be instantly liberated and will ascend to the realm of Sukhāvatī, even if they were destined to be reborn in hell. This should not be doubted or questioned. How much more is this the case for those for whom the vidyā holder performs dedicated rites.

2.367“If any son or daughter of noble family, a monk or a nun, a male or a female lay practitioner, [A.28.a] or any person with faith upholds this dhāraṇī, propagates it, recites it, memorizes it, contemplates it, meditates on it, makes offerings to it, writes it down, or commissions it to be written, they will never again turn back from supreme, perfect awakening. They will obtain hundreds of thousands of great qualities in this very life. By means of this dhāraṇī, they will, in this very life, accumulate the roots of every virtue. By applying the six perfections, their accumulation will become complete.

2.368“As this dhāraṇī, when accomplished, brings every possible benefit, what is the point of the vidyā holder exhausting himself with too many undertakings if, once he has accomplished the wish-fulfilling amogha jewel-noose, he can accomplish every activity he sets out to do? Any tasks that need to be carried out will be accomplished. Just as he can obtain boons and a prophecy about his future awakening when seeing Noble Avalokiteśvara face-to-face, so too can he obtain the same when seeing this wish-fulfilling amogha jewel-noose. [F.50.a] He should not harbor doubts about this.

2.369“If the vidyā holder puts the noose around his neck and takes the jewel and goad into his right and left hands respectively, he will become invisible and will be able to enter any place he wants. The light emanating from the jewel will make the night become as bright as day. He can enter any place, including the abodes of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. Entrances to caves, mountains, forests, and subterranean paradises will fall open. The vidyā holder can enter and exit anywhere without being seen [Tii.123] and do whatever he pleases. He will live among humans for one hundred celestial years. All his afflictions, impurities, and faults will be pacified.

2.370“If the vidyā holder wants to know how to accomplish the required tasks, he should, on the full moon, eighth day, or fourteenth day of the waxing moon, bathe, purify himself ritually, and put on clean clothes. In a clean place, he should smear the ground with cow dung and purify it with the five products of the cow. In the center of that space, he should prepare a small perfumed maṇḍala, strewing it with flowers and arraying it with full jars. It should be made fragrant with various scents and various types of incense. Then, in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, he should prepare a divine seat and place upon it the noose, neatly coiled like a snake so that the jewel ends up right in the center.

2.371“The vidyā holder should then perform the rite of worship, reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times, the mantra of Krodharāja twenty-one times, and the heart mantra of the wish-fulfilling jewel-noose of Amogha one hundred and eight times. Then, he should offer incense of agarwood, sandalwood, [F.50.b] and olibanum. If he watches the jewel attentively, he will see everything within the noose-surrounded jewel, including tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, devas, and nāgas. He will see yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. He will see battles and military conflicts. He will see a person’s lifespan, when it will be exhausted, and their transition between lives. He will see if someone will obtain a kingdom, a village, a province, or a city. He will see the locations of raw or smelted gold, jewels, pearls, beryl stones, mother-of-pearl, coral, silver, wrought gold, clothes, jewelry, ornaments, and decorations.

2.372“He will receive information about metallurgy, magical displays, fields, [A.28.b] treasure troves, and grain stores. He will see how to obtain a girl, accomplish a rite or a mantra, enthrall someone, or obtain majestic power. [Tii.124] He will see all this inside the jewel. He will see everything, both the auspicious and the inauspicious. He will see rains and drought, all misfortunes, calamities, and catastrophes such as deadly plagues and pestilences, and the dying of animals such as cows, horses, and elephants. He will see great dangers and terrors, whether due to local or foreign armies. He will see all this as if reflected in the mirror. He will see whatever he thinks of or requests, and he will see whether it is possible to accomplish it or not and whether it is auspicious or not. This should not be doubted, dismissed, or questioned. No result other than the one desired will come about.

2.373“If during excessive rain the vidyā holder places the jewel in a pool inhabited by nāgas, the clouds will give off the desired amount of rain. If during a heavy downpour [F.51.a] he displays the jewel to the sky, the downpour will stop. If at sunrise he displays the jewel to the rising sun, the god of the sun will descend and grant the vidyā holder every boon. If he displays the jewel to the new moon, the youthful god of the moon will descend and grant him every boon he desires. If he displays it to the middle of a great river, fine jewels will appear. If he displays it in a clearing in the forest, all the medicinal substances and herbs will manifest before him in their own forms so that he can take whichever one he needs. If he displays it to a cleft in a mountain, all the herbs there will begin to glow, and he can then collect whichever ones he wants. If he displays the jewel to a heap of grain, all the grain will be transported wherever he desires.

2.374“If the vidyā holder shows the jewel to Mahākāla in a place frequented by mātṛs and places it on his head, Mahākāla will arrive in person before him surrounded by a host of mātṛs, fall under his thrall, and carry out all the tasks assigned to him. If he displays the jewel to a king, the king will fall under his thrall along with his best troops in their four divisions, horses, ministers, ladies of the harem, and entire retinue. They will be at the vidyā holder’s disposal along with their gold, gold bullion, jewels, pearls, beryl stones, mother-of-pearl, coral, silver, wrought gold, clothes, jewelry, adornments, ornaments, palaces, and other wonderful things. They will attend upon the vidyā holder for the rest of their lives.

2.375“If the vidyā holder casts the noose into a crowd of people while reciting the dhāraṇī of the wish-fulfilling amogha jewel, he will bring forth a rain of flowers, fruits, and palaces‍—anything he may wish for or think of.

2.376“The vidyā holder who follows the noble eightfold path can mount the jewel on the tip of a banner and set it up in the hall of the house of an anointed kṣatriya. [Tii.125] While feeling compassion for all beings, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times, the mantra of Krodharāja twenty-one times, [F.51.b] and then the dhāraṇī of the wish-fulfilling amogha-jewel one hundred and eight times in a loud voice. When he has reached the number one hundred and eight, a rain of whatever he has in mind will fall, whether it is money, grain, clothes, adornments, and so forth, along with flowers and fruits. All quarrels, arguments, contests, disputes, famine, the dangers that one meets with in the wilderness, and misfortunes will cease through the power of Noble Avalokiteśvara. They will all be pacified. All beings will be granted fearlessness and released from all enmity and fear. All wicked beings, even wild animals, will become friendly. All beings will be content, and all their wishes will be fulfilled.

“This was the practice of the wish-fulfilling jewel-noose.

2.377“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the vidyādhara sword-noose, [A.29.a] he should forge a sword of heavy iron that is sixteen fingers long. The handle should be made of silver and inlaid with shining gold. He should commission a thread made from tree bark, a thread made from giant milkweed, and a thread made from silk, each sixteen cubits long and prepared following the full procedure as required. These threads of equal length should be aligned lengthwise and twisted together.

2.378“The vidyā holder, ritually pure, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, should then attach the noose to the sword, place it inside a circular maṇḍala, and grasp the sword with his right hand while angrily knitting his eyebrows and making a fierce expression. Sitting in a cross-legged posture in front of a painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should recite the Krodharāja one thousand and eight times. When the mantra has been recited the full one thousand and eight times, the sword will blaze with light, and the vidyā holder will ascend into the sky. [F.52.a] He will become the powerful emperor of all the sword-wielding vidyādhara s and siddhas, will possess irresistible power and valor, and will live eighteen thousand years.

2.379“The vidyā holder will become invisible if he grasps the noose with his left hand, [Tii.126] the sword with his right, and angrily pronounces the syllable hūṁ. He will become a powerful king, an emperor of all the invisible siddhas and vidyādhara s with their noose-swords, and he will live for ten thousand years.

2.380“If the vidyā holder swings the sword angrily, he will cut down all the vighnas, vināyakas, wicked yakṣas and rākṣasas, and all wicked bhūtas. If he swings the sword just once in the midst of a battle, he will shatter all the weapons of the warriors. They will all be brought to a halt and will flee in the ten directions. If he swings the sword in the middle of a charnel ground, he will cut down all its wild inhabitants so that their houses are emptied out. If he swings the sword at any gate, all its locks and panels will split, and the door bolts will break. All the wicked nonhumans who roam around creating obstacles will be cut down and completely annihilated, while others will carry out whatever tasks the vidyā holder wants them to.

“This was the practice procedure of the sword.

2.381“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the snake noose, he should prepare five threads, dye them in the five colors, cut them to an appropriate length, and join them together so that they can be effectively used as part of the practice. He should then take some pure food that has been powdered, madhupuṣpa, rasapuṣpa, realgar, lotus filaments, nāgapuṣpa, and the sap of giant milkweed, blend them with asafetida into a single compound [F.52.b] of smooth consistency, and glue it firmly to the end of the cord. He should incant it with the mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times, arrange it like a coiled snake‍—one with three heads, each with a hood‍—cover it with gold, and join them together. The supreme noose has six coils.

2.382“The vidyā holder, ritually pure, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, should then use cow dung to make a four-sided maṇḍala of appropriate size. He should perfume it with fragrances, strew it with flowers, array it with full jars, and adorn it with banners. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should make a divine seat and place the snake noose on it, arranged in a circle with the central snake’s hood facing east. [Tii.127] He should present a bali offering of the three ‘white’ foods, including argha water for the feet, and burn incense of sandalwood, [A.29.b] agarwood, and olibanum. He should sprinkle the maṇḍala with parched grain and mustard seeds.

2.383“Placing the noose in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should make abundant offerings. He should then sit in a cross-legged posture and follow the extensive recitation procedure, starting with the one thousand and eight recitations of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. When this is complete, he should recite the Krodharāja, which is the supreme recitation, one thousand and eight times. With each recitation, he should cast a single mustard seed on to the snake’s head. When all the parts of the rite have been completed, the snake will invariably blaze with light, and the noose will move from its seat, rising to the height of four fingers.

2.384“If the vidyā holder grasps the noose at that time, he will become invisible. If he visits the abode of the nāgas, or stands in a nāga pond, the doors to the nāga dwelling will fall open. He should enter while mindfully reciting the Amogharāja and swing the snake noose three times. [F.53.a] The nāga king will then arrive with his harem and retinue to welcome the vidyā holder, saying, ‘Come in, vidyā holder!’ The vidyā holder should then grasp the snake noose and enter while swinging it. The nāgas’ malice will entirely disappear; he will experience none of it. Locks and doors will split and fall away. As soon as the vidyā holder enters, divine nāga girls will arrive, beautiful in form, kind, adorned with every ornament, and wearing garlands. They will bow to the vidyā holder.

2.385“The vidyā holder should grab one of the nāga girls and place her on his head. As soon as he does that, he will fly up into the sky together with the girl, her two breasts oozing milk. If the vidyā holder takes some of the milk and drinks it, he will live twelve thousand years. His hair will form into curls, and he will become an emperor-like overlord of all the nāga kings. He will be powerful, bold, and valorous.

2.386“If the vidyā holder mindfully repeats the heart mantra of the nāga noose [Tii.128] and anoints himself with a sprig of oleander, he can summon whomever he has in mind, and in an instant they will be brought together. If, at the time of a drought, he swings the noose from an elevated place just once, a heavy rain will fall the instant he swings the noose. If it rains too much, he should descend from that elevated place with snake noose, and the excessive rain will stop. If it is cold, windy, or hailing, the vidyā holder should swing the nāga noose in the four directions before dawn, and hail will not fall for a radius of one hundred leagues, and the cold wind will cease.

2.387“If, the vidyā holder recites the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times every day while winding the noose with his right hand and holding it back with his left, [F.53.b] then every day all kinds of divine food, drink, and pleasure will appear from the nāga realm and be given to thousands upon thousands of beings. All snake venom will be neutralized just by seeing it.

2.388“When there are clouds in the sky during the spring or autumn, the vidyā holder should grasp the nāga noose with his right hand while holding a snake with his left, swing the noose while repeating the Krodharāja, and then cast it into the air. Any flowers or fruits that are normally harvested when ready will fall from the sky down to earth, perfectly ripe and ready to eat.

2.389“If the vidyā holder swings the nāga noose twenty-one times while reciting the Krodharāja, the nāgas’ palaces, ornaments, clothes, jewelry, and adornments will all fall to earth. If he swings the noose once more while bringing to mind the Krodharāja, the nāgas, along with their retinues and palaces, will fall to earth. If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a king together with his harem and retinue, he should set the noose down and throw mustard seeds at it one thousand and eight times, [A.30.a] each time reciting the Amogharāja. He should then grasp the noose and swing it specifically in the direction of the royal household. The king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under his thrall and will remain so for as long as he lives.

2.390“If during an armed conflict the vidyā holder casts the noose into the thick of the battle while reciting the Krodharāja, a great venomous serpent will appear with huge eyes and a flicking tongue. At the mere glance of its eyes, glowing like embers, all four divisions of the enemy army will flee in all directions. The vidyā holder can also perform any other necessary tasks, whatever he may have in mind. [F.54.a]

“This was the practice procedure of the nāga noose. [Tiii.13]

2.391“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the noose of the lord of bhūtas, he should twist the long hairs from the tail of a female yak into a single strand and attach it to an iron trident that is four fingers long. Having fasted for one day and one night, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times, and the mantra of Krodharāja one thousand and eight times. Ritually pure, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, he should do this practice on the fourteenth day and night of the dark fortnight. Then, when he grasps the trident noose, he will become identical in form with the lord of bhūtas. As the lord of all the bhūtas, he will live eight thousand years and rule over the palaces of the bhūtas.

2.392“If the vidyā holder enters a charnel ground with the noose in his hand, all the dwellers therein will gather before him. The doors to all their dwellings will be open, and they will invite him to enter and do what he pleases. If the vidyā holder ties the noose around the neck of a corpse and pulls it while bringing to mind the Krodharāja mantra, the corpse will attend to him, tell him whatever he wants to know, and do whatever the vidyā holder commands. When the animating spirit is released, the dead body will be discarded.

2.393“If the vidyā holder ties the noose around the neck of a yakṣa and pulls him angrily while mindfully repeating the Krodharāja mantra, the yakṣa will approach the vidyā holder and say, ‘Command me, sir! I will follow your orders.’ The vidyā holder should say, ‘Be my servant and messenger for as long as I live!’ The yakṣa will reply, ‘So be it!’ From then on, every single day, the yakṣa will do whatever the vidyā holder commands.

2.394“If the vidyā holder ties the noose around the neck of a yakṣiṇī and brings to mind the Krodharāja mantra, the yakṣiṇī will approach and stand before him. Staring at the vidyā holder without blinking, [F.54.b] she will ask, ‘What would you like me to do, vidyā holder?’ The vidyā holder should say, ‘Perform one of the three roles for me: either that of a mother, a wife, or a sister!’ If she becomes his mother, she will care for him as if he were her son, looking after his food, drink, bed, clothes, money, and grain. As a wife, she will furnish him with everything he needs, grant him masculine power, and join him in pleasure. If she becomes his sister, she will fulfill all his desires and make his wishes come true. She will do everything that needs to be done. She will go everywhere and return, day after day, bringing jewelry, clothes, ornaments, and adornments. [Tiii.14] Every day she will procure celestial girls for his pleasure.

2.395“If the vidyā holder ties the noose around the neck of Vaiśravaṇa and pulls him angrily while reciting the mantra of the lord of wrath, Vaiśravaṇa will come every day to offer one thousand dinars and one thousand pieces of gold. The vidyā holder should give it away every day as gifts, thus accumulating merit.

2.396“The vidyā holder should tie the noose around the neck of Mahākāla and recite the Krodharāja seven times while holding the noose with his right hand and slapping Mahākāla angrily. [A.30.b] The vidyā holder should not be afraid when Mahākāla shrieks, but instead angrily threaten him further. When Mahākāla starts shedding tears, the vidyā holder should collect a tear and apply it to his forehead as a bindi. When he does so, he will become invisible and will be able to see all hidden treasures. He should slap Mahākāla again, causing him to vomit blood. If the vidyā holder touches it, he will fly up into the sky and become the great lord of the yakṣas.

2.397“If the vidyā holder offers bdellium incense while mindfully repeating the Krodharāja mantra, Mahākāla will come before him in his true form and grant him every boon he desires. [F.55.a] His host of mātṛs will remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall, and he will perform all the tasks that need to be performed or that the vidyā holder wants performed.

“This was the practice procedure of the trident noose.

2.398“Now I will explain how to use the painting when performing the noose practice. It is an unsurpassable method for mastering reality.

“This pertains to the practice procedures of the noose that involve the painting.

2.420“Now I will teach a homa procedure that accomplishes the aims of all amogha activities. It instantly removes every evil and destroys all obstacles. It crushes all enemies, destroys all vighnas, and repels all wicked beings. It is the best way to eradicate any vice. It saves from the sufferings of the sixteen hells. [F.56.a] It continuously removes the eight unbearable fears. It obliterates adversaries and is the best means for repelling foreign armies. It instantly removes all diseases and pacifies every argument, quarrel, and dispute. It prevents famines and other misfortunes and calamities, and it attracts divine pleasures and happiness.

2.421“The homa rite can truly accomplish buddhahood. It is the best means to effect every accomplishment, including the supreme awakening of the Buddha. It is accessible to all beings, granting them the best of boons that are difficult to obtain. It always pleases the deities and brings joy to the nāgas. The tathāgatas will, without a doubt, watch over the vidyā holder day and night, and the bodhisattvas will rejoice. The vidyā holder, constantly focused, will always receive boons from the Lokeśvara; there is no doubt about this. The Four Great Kings together with their retinues and ministers will always look after him, affording him every kind of protection.

2.422“A wise vidyā holder should therefore perform the homa. He should go to a place that is clean, choose an area on the ground that is clean and well concealed, and perform the activities of pacifying, nourishing, or assaulting, all while free from distraction. Pacifying should be performed for the sake of all beings to remove all their negativity. Through the rites of nourishing, the vidyā holder will obtain complete well-being without any deficiencies. If the vidyā holder is afraid of enemies or vināyakas, or wicked yakṣas, rākṣasas, and guhyakas, he should perform the rite of assault with a wrathful mind in order to frighten and tame them. This homa is an unsurpassable means to accomplish the mantra. It is performed for worldly aims, as well as those that relate to the hereafter. It can be used to summon the god of fire, devas, nāgas, and vidyādhara s.

2.423“The vidyā holder should dig a pit shaped like a lotus and draw a lotus there as always, with filaments in the center. The pit should be dug according to procedure as a [F.56.b] square or circular pit. It should be carefully wiped, completely white, well concealed, well proportioned, and perfect. [Tiii.17] The day and the stars should be auspicious. He should make an extensive bali offering with fine articles and place divine incense and flowers all around.

2.424“He should first summon the god of fire and thereafter perform the homa rite. Then, ritually pure, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, he should recite the mantras according to the procedures necessary for the setting of the boundaries, performing self-protection, tying his hair in a topknot, establishing the sacred area for the protection of others, and creating protection for his assistants. For fuel, he should always use sticks of giant milkweed and fragrant wood. He should cast ghee, mustard seeds, and parched grains twenty-one times for the fire to consume, and he should summon the god of fire with the mantra:

2.425[166] “ Oṁ, I salute you, O blazing fire, blazing brightly with large flames and a halo of light. You are the omniscient fire of sacrificial oblations, burning hot with smoke and hissing sounds; the flames are your face. As hot and bright as a forest fire or lightning, your main function is to consume oblations. You are the great energy, the great victory, the great power, and the destructive ability of all gods and yakṣas. Burning everything, you freely expand through space in cloud-like swirls. [A.31.b] You are universally worshiped and honored as a fearless form of the divine. You are a bringer of winds and the oblation-eating god, Hutāśana. When there is darkness, you dispel it by radiating light. You have the fragrance of beautyberry and are born from the tastes of the best of fruits and food. Beloved, you are subtle, very sharp, and a reviver of the dead. Ashes for flowers and ashes for clothing, ashes are useful‍—they are always used to cover. You arise within the billows of smoke. Accomplished in cooking, you bring out the best of flavors. You run everywhere, wiping out everything. Once you touch and sting, you don’t want to let go. Among the gods of the thirty-two abodes, you are the chief god of fire. You give vitality and strength to those without appetite. You are a great fire priest, the fearless god of gods, always the most noble. Swiftly make the rites truly successful! Oṁ, burn, burn! Remain! Huru, huru the samaya! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā! [F.57.a]

2.426“The vidyā holder should magnify Agni with this mantra, repeating it seven times while offering seven handfuls of bdellium and mustard seeds smeared with ghee into the fire. A welcome offering of argha water for the feet should be offered by hand. [Tiii.18] The skilled vidyā holder should also offer perfume, scented oils, incense, and a handful of fruits. He should then sprinkle himself with water. Following the prescribed order for the specific deity rite, he should take a sip of the water and commence the homa ritual, using clean sticks of fragrant wood from bodhi tree, cluster fig, great flowering jasmine, champak, or karnikara. One may also use white and blue lotuses, cedar, surabhi, and sandalwood.

2.427“For the rites of pacifying, a skilled vidyā holder, peacefully disposed, should use sticks of bodhi tree, or other fragrant sticks or slats of wood, and the darbha grass of the best quality. Having lit the fire with them, he should continue with the homa ritual, using parched rice, sandalwood powder, agarwood, olibanum or frankincense, fenugreek, spikenard, and beautyberry. He should mix these ingredients together, adding ghee and freshly churned butter to the mixture. He should recite the mantra of Amogharāja one hundred and eight times and offer the mixture to the fire. He should offer it as one thousand and eight oblations in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara.

2.428“When the vidyā holder has thus reached the number one thousand and eight, the god of fire will appear in person at midnight. Blazing steadily, he will look in the ten directions, examine everything, and applaud the vidyā holder: ‘Good! This is good, vidyā holder! I am pleased that you, the vidyā holder, have successfully performed the supreme homa procedure. I will give you everything you ask for.’ The vidyā holder should request whatever boons he desires, and he will be given whatever he requests. The vidyā holder should then offer argha water for the feet and make a ritual bali offering. [F.57.b]

2.429“Next, he should offer a large sacrificial cake smeared with ghee into the fire while feeding the fire with sticks of a fruit tree and reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times. When this number has been reached, a man will emerge halfway from the middle of the fire pit and will present the vidyā holder with a silver dish filled with food, holding it up at the level of the vidyā holder’s thighs. If the vidyā holder takes this dish, he will fly up into the sky, as soon as he grasps it, as bright flames issue from his body. [Tiii.19] Upon eating the food, his lifespan will extend to ten thousand years, and he will become an emperor of celestial vidyādhara s. He will recover memories of his former births as far back as ten eons, and this maṇḍala of liberation of the sovereign amogha ritual will remain prominent in his memory.

2.430“If the vidyā holder does not grasp the silver dish but instead offers another twenty-one oblations, the earth will shake violently, and Noble Avalokiteśvara [A.32.a] will appear before him in person. He will comfort him by saying, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder, that you have performed the homa ritual successfully. I will give you whatever you ask for.’ The vidyā holder should then request whatever boons he desires, and all will be granted. Noble Avalokiteśvara will take the dish from the man in the middle of the fire pit and hold it out to the vidyā holder with his own hands. The vidyā holder should take some of the food and eat it. As soon as he does, he will magically rise into the sky, his light-filled body blazing with multicolored rays. He will become an amogha emperor of vidyādhara s. [B6]

2.431“His retinue of vidyādhara emperors will number ninety-two hundred thousand million billion, [F.58.a] matching the number of grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. The palatial amogha-founded estates that manifest will number, again, ninety-two hundred thousand million billion, matching the number of the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. All the palaces will be made of the seven types of jewels and will be furnished with mountains, forests, and gardens with flowers and fruit-bearing trees. The trees will have a variety of unusual vines, shoots, leaves, and root growths. Some will have golden flowers; others, silver; and still others will have flowers of different types made of seven types of jewels. Some will have a variety of auspicious and unusual celestial flowers.

2.432“Each palace will be adorned with pleasant, landscaped gardens and parks that provide fuel and are the homes of sal trees, tamāla trees, champak, latātāla, vārṣika, sumanas, yūthika, taraṇa, and kupyaka both charming and pleasant. The palaces, made from the seven types of jewels, will be graced with divine brooks, lakes, tanks, and lotus ponds, all filled with divine water scented with sandalwood and adorned with divine white, pink, and blue lotuses and water lilies. Golden sand will spread throughout the water. [Tiii.20] The palaces will be made pleasant by the celestial apsarases, goddesses, kinnarīs, and gandharvīs playing there in groups. They will be filled with groups of devas, dānavas, gandharvas, nāgas, vidyādhara s, and kinnaras and furnished with divine pleasure houses. The vidyā holder will play and enjoy himself there, roaming freely until his complete and final awakening. He will sit under the Bodhi tree and subsequently turn the wheel of Dharma until he enters final nirvāṇa. [F.58.b] All of this will occur during a single lifetime. This constitutes the great, unsurpassed accomplishment. He will always have a connection with Noble Avalokiteśvara until complete and final awakening.

2.433“Such is the practice procedure of the sacrificial cake, which is extremely difficult to find. The vidyā holder will travel to meet with all the tathāgatas of every buddha field in all ten directions, and he will listen to Dharma discourses in their presence. He will fill the great trichiliocosm with blazing light and illuminate the world systems. This Amoghapāśa, the heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara honored by all the bodhisattvas, a collection of mantras and mudrās that constitute a maṇḍala of liberation with a complete set of practice procedures, this entire huge collection of rites, will remain prominent in his memory. Tens of thousands of millions of nāga kings will remain permanently in its thrall, as will all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. The gods up to the Akaniṣṭha realm will remain bound to the vidyā holder as his great retinue. Palaces with varieties of the choicest food and drink of divine taste will spontaneously [A.32.b] manifest for him, as will the palaces furnished with various pieces of clothing, ornaments, and adornments.

2.434“This homa rite and other amogha practices bring accomplishment that is plain to see.

2.435“If a vidyā holder who lacks the seed of the buddhas and bodhisattvas due to his ill fortune grasps the dish, he will, as soon as he grasps it, acquire the might of a king and enjoy celestial and human splendor. [F.59.a] By merely touching it, [Tiii.21] his lifespan will extend to eighty-four thousand god-years, he will not suffer again from any disease, and he will be free of every evil, obscuration, and affliction. All his opponents and adversaries, and all wicked and corrupt beings, will disappear. He will likewise be saved, once and for all, from rebirth in the hell realms, the animal realm, the world of Yama, and the preta realm. He will become the sole object of worship for all beings. All beings‍—women, men, boys, and girls‍—will long to see him, and he will be victorious in all things. He will obtain amogha speech that is pleasant to hear.

2.436“At the time of his death, all the tathāgatas will wish to see the vidyā holder, and he will behold Noble Avalokiteśvara directly. At death, he will be in a state of stable awareness, and after he dies, he will, as is his destiny, be spontaneously reborn from a lotus flower in the realm of Sukhāvatī. He will remember all his previous lives and will never again fall into the lower realms or be born from a mother’s womb. Instead, he will move from one buddha field to another, where he will see all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas.

2.437“If the vidyā holder marks his forehead with a bindi, he will become invisible. As soon as he recalls the god of fire, the god will appear in person before him, grant him every boon, and perform all duties on his behalf.

2.438“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the amogha oblation cake, he should mix rice with barley, cook it into a mush, blend it with ghee, molasses, sugar, and honey, and make it into balls the size of bilva fruits. Then, after making a fire with oleander, [F.59.b] he should offer the balls one by one into the fire, incanting each of them seven times. He should offer one hundred and eight of them at each of the three junctions of the day over the period of three days. Then, he should combine mustard seeds with whatever flowers are available, incant them twenty-one times, and cast them into the fire. He should also sprinkle parched rice and mustard seeds incanted seven times with the Krodharāja.

2.439“The god of fire will then appear in the middle of the fire, exposed from the waist up. He will offer up sacrificial cakes on a dish made of seven jewels and say, ‘Vidyā holder, [Tiii.22] take these great and divine sacrificial cakes. You have successfully performed the practice procedure of the sacrificial cake.’ The vidyā holder should accept this dish of sacrificial food; as soon as he touches it, it will transform into an elixir of longevity. He will then fly up into the sky, his hair will become wavy and curly, and his complexion will become impeccably clear. He will become an emperor of the vidyādhara s with a retinue of sixty-eight thousand. The fire deities together with their retinues will remain in his thrall, allowing him to use their dwellings and palaces and performing all the tasks for him.

2.440“Whoever touches the sacrificial cakes will acquire great learning as vast as an ocean. This heart essence of Amoghapāśa, a maṇḍala of liberation honored by all the bodhisattvas, [A.33.a] complete with its rites and the collections of mudrās and mantras, will remain prominent in his memory. If he recites one thousand stanzas every single day and reflects on it, he will, at the end of his life, go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. He will have memories of his successive births and will never again forget anything. His speech will be pleasant, and he will be loved by all beings. [F.60.a] He will be worthy of great honor.

2.441“If the vidyā holder marks his forehead with a bindi, he will become invisible and will bring all bhūtas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas under his control. The doors to every home will open to him. If a man’s wife desires a son and eats the sacrificial food, she will have a son. He will be handsome, amiable, and good looking, with a most wonderful pale complexion. He will be intelligent, live long, have a keen mind, and become very learned and confident. He will gain expertise in all branches of knowledge.

2.442“If the vidyā holder wants to feed one hundred thousand people, he should procure some milk pudding and, in a clean place that is free from distractions, cook it over a fire of oleander sticks until it thickens. He should keep the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa in mind until it is ready. He should then sprinkle it with water and mustard seeds incanted with the mantra of Krodharāja and place a single sacrificial cake in the pot containing the pudding. He should then divide it into portions and offer the first portion to the Three Jewels as alms, [Tiii.23] the next to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and the next to Noble Mañjuśrī. After that, he should give them to mendicants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras. He should give them to women, men, boys, and girls, and he should give generously to the poor, the destitute, travelers, and beggars, until he has given them to one hundred thousand people. They will eat as much as they like, but the amount in the pot will neither diminish nor increase, nor will it be exhausted.

2.443“Those who eat this food will be freed from their past obscurations, misdeeds, and impurities. They will be freed from all disease and will not face misfortunes, enemies, or adversaries. They will not face danger from bhūtas, yakṣas, or rākṣasas. [F.60.b] Their bodies will become smooth and soft, and their voices will be divinely sweet and soft like the voices of kinnaras. They will always be free from evil and suffering, and they will be happy for as long as they live. After they die, they will remain on an auspicious course.

2.444“The vidyā holder should fill a dish with milk pudding and, having drawn a maṇḍala at an elevated and open spot, place it in the maṇḍala circle and offer it to all the tathāgatas in the ten directions. As soon as he offers it, all the tathāgatas from the ten directions, equal in number to the many hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, will arrive from each and every buddha field and stand before the vidyā holder. Dishes filled with divine foods of one hundred flavors and a bowl filled with balls of the divine milk pudding will appear. A ring of divine sandalwood powder strewn with divine flowers will also appear. All the tathāgatas who dwell in the buddha fields of the ten directions, along with their assemblies, the host of bodhisattvas, and the congregation of śrāvakas, will be sated with the excellent food of one hundred flavors.

2.445“In consequence, all these tathāgatas together with their assemblies, the host of bodhisattvas, and the congregation of śrāvakas will purify the gifts of the vidyā holder and his patron. With his gifts purified, the vidyā holder will obtain great power, influence, [A.33.b] [Tiii.24] and gold in the same life, as is his destiny. His numerous granaries and treasuries will be full of riches. All the tathāgatas will keep him in their minds, all the bodhisattvas will yearn to see him, and all deities will guard, protect, and defend him.

2.446“If the vidyā holder wants to enthrall a king together with his harem and the four divisions of his army, [F.61.a] he should make himself ritually pure, bathe, and put on clean clothes. He should mix the milk pudding with ghee and offer it into the fire one thousand and eight times. He should then make a fire using sticks of cedar or giant milkweed and repeat the homa one thousand and eight times. The king, his harem, his retinue, and the four divisions of his army will remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall, putting both themselves and their wealth at his disposal.

2.447“If the vidyā holder performs this rite over three consecutive nights, all nāga kings will fall under his thrall along with their households and retinues. If he performs it over five consecutive nights, all bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other nonhuman and human beings will come under his thrall together with their retinues. If he performs the rite over seven consecutive nights, all vidyādhara s will come under his thrall. If the vidyā holder practices it every night, the gods of the realm of Thirty-Three, headed by Śakra, and all apsarases and beautiful celestial girls will arrive and remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall. They will attend upon him for as long as they live.

2.448“Alternatively, the vidyā holder should commence the rite on the day of the full moon and continue until the eighth or fifteenth day, making the homa offering twenty-one times at the three junctions of the day. On the fifteenth day, he should make a fire with the sticks of giant milkweed. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in person and will applaud him, saying, ‘Good! Good, vidyā holder! I am pleased with you. Ask for a boon and I will grant it. I will grant all that you desire, whether it is the ability to find treasure, skill in the alchemical arts, knowledge of agriculture, the ability to travel through space, the ability to become invisible, ability in mantra, or success in ritual activity‍—I will grant it all. [F.61.b] I can grant the position of the king or a minister, the powers of speech, villages, [Tiii.25] clothes, cows, horses, buffalo, camels, and other animals. I can also grant money and grain. I can grant everything‍—sky travel, invisibility, magical powers, samādhi, dhāraṇī, the accomplishment of rites involving mudrās and maṇḍalas, the power to animate corpses by summoning vetālas, the state of a siddhi vidyādhara , strong-arm vidyādhara and space vidyādhara , the ability to find openings in the ground, and the power to enter forests, mountains, or cemeteries. I can grant all of this.’

2.449“The vidyā holder should then state his wishes, and all will be granted. Through the mere act of seeing, his body will be purified in a manner known by the name stainless amogha gaze. Upon his death, he will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from the pericarp of a lotus flower and will retain his memories from each of his rebirths. This heart essence of Amoghapāśa honored by all the bodhisattvas, this maṇḍala of liberation complete with its rites and the collections of mudrās and mantras, will remain prominent in his memory until he attains complete and final awakening.

2.450“If the vidyā holder wants to successfully perform the homa rite with modaka sweets, he should prepare one thousand and eight sweetmeats [A.34.a] and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times. Then, ritually clean, bathed, and wearing clean clothes, he should offer the sweetmeats, mixed with ghee, into a burning fire made with sticks of fragrant wood. When he has offered all one thousand and eight of them, a boy will appear in the middle of the fire, holding out a dish filled with divine sweetmeats. [F.62.a] At that point, the vidyā holder should sprinkle the boy with mustard seeds incanted seven times.

2.451“The boy will then say to the vidyā holder, ‘What do you request, vidyā holder?’ The vidyā holder should reply, ‘Fulfill all my wishes!’ The boy will say, ‘If you take this dish of sweetmeats, O vidyā holder, all your boundless activities will succeed. [Tiii.26] This is the sublime elixir of longevity, vidyā holder. Take it and you will gain the supreme accomplishment.’ The vidyā holder should take the full dish and say to the boy, ‘Please be my assistant!’ The boy will reply, ‘I will. As an assistant, I will succeed in any undertaking. Whenever you have a task to perform, you should offer a homa using sticks of giant milkweed for fuel and consisting of mustard seeds smeared with ghee, mixed with bdellium and sandalwood, and incanted seven times with the mantra of Amoghāṅkuśa. As soon as the homa is offered, I will be summoned and immediately arrive to perform all tasks and activities. For as long as I live, I will stand by and perform the duties of an assistant. I will ward off all vighnas, vināyakas, bhūtas, and rākṣasas.’

2.452“If the vidyā holder touches the sweetmeats, he will fly up into the sky, where he will visit all the vidyādhara clans. He will become the great emperor over all vidyādhara s and have a retinue of one hundred and eighty million vidyādhara emperors. His hair will become wavy and curly, and his lifespan will increase to sixty thousand celestial eons.

2.453“If the vidyā holder puts the sweetmeats in a dish, places them in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, sprinkles them with water incanted with the Amogharāja-krodha, and then hands them out to be eaten by all the [F.62.b] mendicants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras, including women, men, boys, and girls, the sweetmeats will not be exhausted but will continuously reappear. For as long as the sweetmeats are in the dish, they will continue to appear without diminishing, even after being given in generous portions to one hundred thousand people.

2.454“If the vidyā holder incants the sweetmeats seven times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, then anything he touches will turn into celestial gold. If he incants the sweetmeats seven times and throws them into the home of nāgas, all the nāga kings as far away as the distant shores of the ocean, together with their entire retinues, will fall under his thrall and become servants to carry out his orders. In the case of a drought, they can be ordered to send rain. In the case of excessive rainfall, they can be ordered to stop the rain. They will stop hurricanes, cold spells, heat waves, and thunderstorms [Tiii.27] at his command.

2.455“If the vidyā holder incants the sweetmeats seven times near openings in the earth and smashes them on the entrances, the doors will all fall open; all locks, bolts, and door panels will break, and the inhabitants of the dwellings will all come out and stand before the vidyā holder, ready to carry out his orders. If the sweetmeats are cast into the entrance of a deep forest, the doors to the dwellings in the forest [A.34.b] will open, and all the medicinal substances and herbs will appear before the vidyā holder in their own respective forms.

2.456“If the vidyā holder incants the sweetmeats seven times and casts them into the middle of a vast charnel ground, the doors to the houses of all the bhūtas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas who dwell there will fall open, and all the yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas will become naked. All of them will remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall and attend upon him for as long as they live. [F.63.a]

2.457“The vidyā holder should wash an untouched corpse in scented water, then incant a sweetmeat twenty-one times and place it in its hands. He should wrap the corpse in white cloth and sprinkle it with water and mustard incanted seven times with the Krodharāja mantra. It will tell the vidyā everything he wants to know about contentment, prosperity, poverty, diseases, misfortunes, calamities, dangers from foreign armies, opponents, and adversaries, as well as about pestilence and plague. It will foretell his rebirth in a deva realm, a buddha field, or a hell. It will tell him whether his lifespan will be short or long, and it will foretell an untimely death. It will tell him about finding a treasure and about alchemical processes, give him farming advice, and tell him the secrets of magic. It will explain how to accomplish a rite, a mantra, a mudrā, or a maṇḍala. It will teach him about applying magic ointments and making magic pills. It will teach him everything about moving through the air, becoming invisible, animating corpses by summoning a vetāla, soothing fevers, subduing enemies, or enthralling someone. It will teach him useful skills and how to increase or diminish something. And it will describe this entire eon, past, present, and future. After this, the vidyā holder should splash water on the corpse’s face and remove the sweetmeat from its hands; the corpse will then collapse.

2.458“If the vidyā holder incants a sweetmeat twenty-one times and places it at the gate to a royal palace, the king, harem, [Tiii.28] and retinue will remain under the vidyā holder’s thrall and place themselves and their wealth at his disposal. If he places the sweetmeat at a city gate, all its inhabitants‍—women, men, boys, and girls‍—will fall under his thrall. He will come to be revered and will be a master of amassing wealth. [F.63.b]

2.459“If he incants a sweetmeat seven times and places it in the hands of the statue of the great goddess Śrī, Śrī will fall under his thrall and will grant him great wealth. She will attend upon him for as long as he lives.

2.460“If he incants the sweetmeat one hundred and eight times, places it in a pouch, and keeps it under his arm, he will remain invisible for as long as he keeps it there, and he will be able to enter any place he wants.

2.461“If he incants the sweetmeat twenty-one times by a lonely tree next to a stream and places it at the root of the tree, he will enthrall all beautiful shapeshifting women. They will provide every pleasure and offer every service depending on his wish, and they will serve him for as long as he lives.

2.462“If he incants the sweetmeat twenty-one times, places it on the head of Mahākāla in a place sacred to the mātṛs, and sprinkles the sweetmeat with water and mustard seeds incanted seven times with the Krodharāja mantra, all yoginīs and ḍākinīs will fall under his thrall and attend upon him as servants to carry out all his tasks. If the vidyā holder incants a sweetmeat twenty-one times and places it in at Mahākāla’s navel, the entire host of mātṛs will appear before him in their respective forms, grant him every boon, and perform all tasks.

2.463“If he incants the sweetmeat one hundred and eight times, places it in Mañjuśrī’s alms bowl, and sprinkles it with water incanted with the Krodharāja mantra, [A.35.a] various foods of the best flavors that afford divine pleasure will appear before all the tathāgatas in the ten directions. For as long as the sweetmeat remains in the bowl, the tathāgatas together with all the śrāvakas and bodhisattvas in the great assemblies will become fully sated. [F.64.a] All these tathāgatas, the hosts of bodhisattvas, and the congregation of śrāvakas will purify the vidyā holder’s gift.

2.464“The vidyā holder should incant the sweetmeat one hundred and eight times and consecrate it with the Krodharāja mantra. He should then incant water with the Aṅkuśarāja mantra [Tiii.29] and use it to demarcate the border of the fire pit. He should light a fire using sticks of giant milkweed and place the sweetmeat in the middle of the fire pit. He should then make one hundred and eight offerings of ghee and mustard seeds smeared with curds and honey into the fire. When he has reached the number one hundred and eight, the god of fire will appear in person before the vidyā holder and say, ‘Good! Good, vidyā holder! I am sated and overjoyed. I obtained the highest happiness. Please tell me, vidyā holder, what your heart desires, and I will grant it.’

2.465“The vidyā holder should then tell him what boons he desires, and the god of fire will grant them all. He will remain in the vidyā holder’s thrall and will serve him, enabling him to accomplish all his activities. The vidyā holder will be able to enter and exit a great mass of fire with thousands of blazing flames as if it were water, and it will feel as cool as snow-covered mountains. Touching the fire lightly with his hand, he will be able to place its blazing mass on his head, and not a single hair will be singed or affected by the fire in any way. He will be able to carry fire in his mouth and not feel any of its heat, and if fire touches his body, the vidyā holder will feel refreshed as if by sandalwood balm. The god of fire will perform all kinds of deeds for him.

2.466“Fire will not burn the vidyā holder’s clothes if they comes into contact with it, and if the vidyā holder places fire beneath water, the fire will not go out. The god of fire will attend upon the vidyā holder in person during all homa procedures and will successfully complete any tasks he is given, wherever they may take him. [F.64.b] He will always instruct him in all successful uses of every mantra and maṇḍala. He can travel a thousand leagues and back again, propelled by smoke, wind, cloud, and flame. He will indicate what needs to be done and will do all of it. He will ensure success in all things.

2.467“Next is the practice for the vidyā holder who wants to accomplish the amogha blaze fire, a supreme divine fire that is like a wish-fulfilling jewel. It is bright as the rising sun, illuminates the entirety of the ten directions, brings success in the diverse activities, and is the ultimate catalyst for ripening. It is the sublime elixir of longevity, is indispensable in alchemy, produces a variety of excellent results, makes the night bright as day, and is as bright as the daytime sun.

2.468“To succeed the first time, the vidyā holder must perform the required activities well and mix the precious substances thoroughly. If he recites the mantra while ritually pure and practices pure conduct, he will succeed. I will now explain [Tiii.30] what firewood should be used for the amogha blaze fire. To make the blazing fire evenly bright, the vidyā holder should use all these types of fuel together so that the rite will be the best: sandalwood, khadira, pataṅga, oleander, sticks of giant milkweed, śamī, bamboo, śirīṣa, karṇakārika, bodhi tree, kṣīravṛkṣa, wavy-leaf fig tree, sumanas, gandha, jasmine, and lotus stalks and leaves; the roots, leaves, and flowers of white and blue lotuses and of white water lilies; sticks of wood-apple tree, citron tree, chaste tree, champak, kāṇī, neem tree, vālaka, and citraka. To perform the rite, the vidyā holder should procure sticks of all these species to use as fuel. [A.35.b]

2.469“The oblation should consist of mustard seeds, ghee, curds, honey, and parched rice. Also necessary are three palas of fine copper, twice as much vermillion, one pala of costus, ten palas of white sandalwood, and one pala of realgar. These ingredients should be mixed together with twice as much yellow orpiment. [F.65.a] The vidyā holder should put them in a crucible in the middle of the fire pit and offer one thousand and eight oblations while clear minded and well focused.

2.470“Ritually pure, following pure conduct, wearing clean clothes, bathed, and perfumed with scents and fragrances, the vidyā holder should prepare a bali consisting of foods with various flavors, flowers, and fruits. When he has completed one thousand and eight recitations and oblations, he should offer the bali composed of food, along with the flowers, incense, and the offering of argha water for the feet. He should then douse the fire with milk and use the milk to cool the crucible.

2.471He should strike the crucible with mustard seeds while reciting the mantra one thousand and eight times and then consecrate it twenty-one times with the Krodharāja mantra. The crucible will blaze with light. The vidyā holder should next make offerings to the crucible and then retrieve the jewel that has formed in the crucible and place it in a copper or silver box. Like a wish-fulfilling gem, this amogha blaze will possess tremendous power. At night, it will display the splendor of the moon, and during the day, the splendor of the sun. When preparing food, all acts of nourishment, baking, and cooking can be accomplished by placing the stone in the cooking area. When the vidyā holder is performing a homa, he should place the jewel in the middle of the fire pit and pour in the oblations. A great [Tiii.31] fire will blaze forth. It will accomplish any tasks anywhere that are difficult to perform.

2.472“In the case of a brave man entering a great battle or a fight, such a person should be well bathed, wear clean clothes, bind his armor, and fasten this great jewel to the top of his head. He can then enter the battle alone, where he will turn into a single large flame and defeat the enemy. [F.65.b] They will flee into the ten directions, their spirit broken, and they will never again present any danger. Nor there will be any threat from opponents or adversaries.

2.473“With the jewel in his hand, the vidyā holder will be able enter passages and homes. The doors to all the residences will open to him, and all the inhabitants will come out to meet him. If the vidyā holder goes to a nāga dwelling and enters it with the jewel in his hand, water will no longer be found there, and all the nāgas will come before him. They will stand by any promise they make. Falling under his thrall, they will be his servants for as long as they live, carrying out his every command. They will cause all the crops, grass, bushes, and trees to thrive with ease, and any beings who eat these crops or enjoy the flowers or fruits will have a soft and smooth complexion and will be full of energy, mindful, and contented. The nāgas will also perform many other activities.

“This was the practice of the great jewel, the amogha blaze, the great fiery blaze.

2.474“Next is the practice of summoning Noble Avalokiteśvara using the radiant amogha gaze. The vidyā holder who wants to behold him in person should be ritually pure, bathe thoroughly, wear clean clothes, and perfume his body with scented water. He should build a fire with the sticks of giant milkweed and offer one thousand and eight oblations of mustard seeds, agarwood, and sandalwood smeared with curds, honey, and ghee. After that, he should offer bdellium twenty-one times while reciting the mantra of Amoghāṅkuśa. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in person [A.36.a] to grant him the boons that fulfill all his wishes and that accord with his cherished desires. [Tiii.32] [F.66.a] The vidyā holder needs only to speak of his cherished desires, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant them all.

2.475“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the magical eye ointment, he should become ritually pure, bathe thoroughly, and wear clean clothes. After fasting overnight, he should construct a round copper box and fill it with one measure of collyrium mixed with two measures of yellow orpiment. After incanting it one thousand and eight times, he should place it in the middle of the fire pit. Upon this fire made of giant milkweed, he should then cast one thousand and eight oblations of vetiver root, mustard seeds, and sandalwood that has been smeared with curds, honey, and ghee. When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, he should retrieve the ointment and grind it in a stone mortar into a fine powder, adding realgar, camphor, and musk. He should incant the mixture one hundred and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and twenty-one times with the king of vidyās Amoghāṅkuśa. This mixture can always be employed in acts of summoning.

2.476“He should then consecrate the mixture with the Amogharāja mantra while forming the mudrā of Amoghapāśa seven times. If he then anoints his eyes with this mixture, he will fly up into the sky and become the overlord of all vidyādhara s. His hair will turn wavy and curly, and he will live for ten thousand eons. If he uses the mixture to mark a bindi on his forehead, he will become invisible. If he anoints his eyes and enters a royal palace without speaking to anyone, the king, his harem, and his retinue will fall under and remain in his thrall. As a great person, he will be much venerated and will be successful in accumulating great wealth.

2.477“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes when practicing, or during recitation, he will become invisible to all vighnas, vināyakas, and the deities in the company of Māra . [F.66.b] They will no longer be able to impede him or create obstacles, and he will easily succeed in the ritual procedure. If he anoints his eyes and enters a great crowd of people, everyone will fall under his thrall. He will acquire a lot of money, grain, clothes, ornaments, and adornments. If he gazes at a woman without blinking, she will become enthralled, and she will be at his disposal along with her wealth. If he anoints his eyes and enters a great forest, he will not be in any danger from thieves, bandits, robbers, wild animals, or poisonous and nonpoisonous creatures, and he will pass through it easily and safely.

2.478“In the event of quarrels, disputes, contests, or squabbles, the vidyā holder should anoint his eyes; [Tiii.33] his claims will be unmatched, and he will be victorious. If, while a war rages, he anoints his eyes and enters into the thick of the battle, he will always be victorious and free from all danger. If he anoints his eyes after being exposed to poison from a bite, the poison will be neutralized. If he anoints his eyes when fever strikes, whether the fever returns every day or every two, three, or four days, he will be cured. If he anoints his eyes after drinking poison, the poison will be neutralized.

2.479“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes when seized by any graha, he will be freed from the influence of the eighty-four thousand grahas. If afflicted with eye pain, it will be cleared away the moment he anoints his eyes. If he anoints his eyes when suffering from an acute headache or edema, he will be cured immediately. When seized by brahmarākṣasas or apasmāras, he will be released from the seizure the moment he anoints his eyes. Those to be led to their execution for incurring a king’s wrath will be freed the moment they anoint their eyes, and they will have nothing to fear. [A.36.b]

2.480“If the vidyā holder anoints the eyes of an image of Mahākāla, Mahākāla will appear before him in person to grant boons and perform all tasks, [F.67.a] and the entire host of mātṛs will fall under his thrall. If he anoints the eyes of an image of the goddess Śrī and gazes at her without blinking while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja three times, the great goddess will appear before him. She will accomplish all his tasks and bestow upon him great wealth.

2.481“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes when he goes to sleep, he will have many wonderful dreams. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before him in person and grant him every boon. He will develop excellent memory and intelligence. If he anoints his eyes and enters a crowd of people, he will be greatly revered. If he anoints the eyes of an image of Noble Avalokiteśvara, he will always receive boons from him and will be able to see him whenever he desires.

2.482“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes with the same eye ointment combined with bovine bezoar and then enters a royal palace, his power and influence will greatly increase, and he will obtain great pleasures and prosperity and accumulate much wealth. [Tiii.34] He will be loved by the king and by his harem and ministers, as well as by their retinues. They will all fall under his thrall.

2.483“If the vidyā holder anoints the eyes of an image of Mahādeva, he will become an overlord of all bhūtas. They will all remain under his thrall and serve him by performing all his activities. If he anoints the eyes and forehead of an image of Mahākāla, all yakṣas will fall under his thrall. If he anoints the eyes of a corpse, it will be revived. If he anoints the eyes of any mantra deities, garas, or kākhordas, they will all be done away with and will never trouble him again.

2.484“If the vidyā holder is hungry, he should anoint his eyes and enter a city. He will effortlessly acquire a feast of food and drink. If, as an alms seeker, he anoints his eyes when making his alms rounds, [F.67.b] he will obtain plentiful food of various tastes, as well as plentiful offerings. He will be able to cure all eye diseases, such as bleary eyes, cataracts, partial blindness, eye tumors, night blindness, itching, discharge, foreign objects in the eye, boils, and swelling, and he will regain his health. With his divine sight purified, he will be, like a bird, able to see everything pleasing and will be able to bring it under his control. He will obtain money, grain, and great influence.

2.485“Now I will teach the elaborate homa rite that unfailingly summons the god of fire in order to attract and increase everything, including wealth, grain, clothes, jewelry, adornments, and ornaments. This rite brings the ultimate accomplishment, the instantaneous accomplishment of all goals, and brings supreme happiness to the learned. Through this rite, the vidyā holder will instantly obtain influence, pleasure, and abundance. This should not be doubted, nor should there be uncertainty or ambivalence.

2.486“The material benefits of this supreme homa rite are inconceivably great. It should be performed by a vidyā holder who is ritually pure, thoroughly bathed, and wearing clean clothes. He should procure the root, sticks, leaves, flowers, and fruits of pongamia oil tree and kindle the fire using sticks of giant milkweed and white fig tree. He should offer into it one thousand and eight oblations of the seven types of seeds, rice, parched rice, sesame, and mustard seeds, all smeared with curds, honey, ghee, and white mustard oil. When he has reached one thousand and eight oblations, he should consecrate bdellium and black mustard seeds smeared with ghee using the Krodharāja mantra [Tiii.35] and offer the mixture into the fire while reciting the Amoghāṅkuśa, the king of vidyās, one hundred and eight times.

2.487“Once the vidyā holder has successfully completed all the stages of the rite, he will be able to effortlessly augment his food, drink, furnishings, medicines, [A.37.a] utensils and tools, money, grain, treasury, and storehouse. Various types of clothes, jewelry, [F.68.a] ornaments, adornments, flowers, perfumes, garlands, and unguents will appear effortlessly. He will obtain great power and influence that will last as long as he lives.

2.488“On the eighth day of the bright fortnight, after fasting for one day and one night, the vidyā holder should incant the eye ointment with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ninety times, consecrate it with the Krodharāja mantra, and anoint his eyes while forming the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. He will magically fly up into the sky, where he will become a powerful emperor of the vidyādhara s who have mastered the eye ointment. His hair will turn wavy and curly, and his lifespan will increase to ten thousand years.

2.489“If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes with the ointment, he will be able to see at night as if it were day. He will have the ability to become invisible and to enter the abodes of all bhūtas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas. He will be able to appear at any place at will. [B7] If, after applying the ointment to his eyes, he enters a haunt of the mātṛs and gazes at the chief deity without blinking while mindfully repeating the Krodharāja one time, all the mātṛ goddesses will appear before him, grant him every boon, and serve him for as long as he lives by performing all kinds of activities for him. He will be loved by the host of mātṛs and their retinues, and they will always stand by to guard, protect, and defend him.

2.490“Now I will teach the homa procedure performed with bovine bezoar, a sacred legacy of Amogharāja that delights all vidyādhara s and is worshiped by gods and dānavas. It is a proven means to accomplish all goals and is a supreme means to enthrall. It is the best method for sky travel, becoming invisible, gaining entry to enclosures that are difficult to enter, or immediate entry to forests. [F.68.b] This homa procedure also confers magical powers, such as the ability to enter mountain caves, subterranean paradises, and the watery abodes of the nāgas and to cross great rivers. [Tiii.36] It removes all dangers, pacifies all diseases, and destroys all evil. It grants victory in battle or in war, and it consistently destroys every enemy. It uproots all families of grahas and cures all fevers.

2.491“This homa procedure removes past obstructions and eradicates wrongdoings. It confers power, grants pleasure, and increases wealth and grain. It pacifies all quarrels, disputes, contests, and disagreements. It breaks open all fetters, shackles, and chains, and it saves those who are to be executed by wicked, violent kings, who will thereafter serve them and speak to them kindly as if they were their royal offspring. In this way they will be entirely released from their predicament. The vidyā holder will be worshiped wherever he goes and will be loved by all creatures. He will always be very dear to the king, his harem, and his retinue, and to renunciants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras. He will be loved by all women, men, boys, and girls.

2.492“The vidyā holder who regularly offers the bezoar homa will always receive boons from Noble Avalokiteśvara. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara will also grant him boons and will stand by him day and night in order to guard and protect him. Many other gods, including powerful nāga kings, bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, kuṣmāṇḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, gandharvas, asuras, and the powerful garuḍa lords will voluntarily stand by day and night and protect him. This supreme homa of divine bezoar is thus very powerful. [F.69.a]

2.493“To perform the rite, the vidyā holder should be ritually clean, thoroughly bathed, and wear clean clothes. [A.37.b] He should procure bezoar and human blood, add some saffron, and put them in a copper pot in front of an image of Amoghapāśa. He should complete one hundred and eight recitations of the mantra and then cover the pot with silk. He should make a fire with sticks from the cutch tree and kindling of giant milkweed and then offer into the fire one thousand and eight oblations of parched rice, mustard seeds, bdellium, rice grains, and sesame, all mixed together and smeared with curds, honey, and ghee.

2.494“When one thousand and eight oblations have been completed and the fire has died down, [Tiii.37] he should take some fine ash that has cooled, throw it into the pot, and complete another one hundred and eight mantra recitations. He should then consecrate the pot with the Krodharāja mantra while displaying the mudrā. If he marks the space between his eyebrows with a spot of the mixture from the pot, he will fly up into the sky and become a great vidyādhara emperor‍—the lord of all vidyādhara s. His hair will turn wavy and curly, and his lifespan will extend to ninety-nine thousand years. The doors to every home will always remain open to him.

2.495“If the vidyā holder marks his forehead with a spot of the mixture, he will become invisible, be able to enter any home, and become the master of that house. The doors to the dwellings of every bhūta, yakṣa, and rākṣasa will be open, and all the bhūtas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas will come out together with their retinues and armies. They will remain his servants as long as he lives. If the vidyā holder anoints his eyes with the mixture, he will be able to see at night as if it were day, and he will see hidden treasures. He will watch as the entrances to caves and subterranean paradises open, and he will be able to enter them, perform any activity there, and come out once again.

2.496“If the vidyā holder enters a broad river, he will perceive it as a palatial residence adorned with the seven types of jewels. [F.69.b] All beings who live in the water will fall under his thrall, and he will be able to enter and exit the watery abodes of nāgas as if they were his own house. If the vidyā holder smears his entire body with the mixture and enters into the thick of the battle, he will be perceived as wearing protective armor and will achieve a complete victory. If he enters the royal household while holding the mixture in the front of his mouth, the harem and retinue will fall under his thrall. Any instructions he gives will be carried out, all requests will be fulfilled, and every command will be acted on.

2.497“If the vidyā holder applies the mixture to his face, all women, men, boys, and girls will fall under his thrall wherever he goes, and they will put both themselves and their possessions at his disposal. If he anoints his right hand, any person he touches will fall under his thrall. He will hold power over money, grain, and gold, as well as male and female servants, attendants, and underlings. They will come under his control and remain his servants. If the vidyā holder anoints his right forefinger [Tiii.38] and in the midst of a thunderstorm faces the rumbling clouds and points that finger at them, all the cold wind and hail will cease within the radius of one league.

2.498“In the event of excessive rain, the vidyā holder can stop it by displaying his right hand to the cloud. In the event of a drought, he should anoint the palm of his right hand and slap the water of a lake where nāgas live three times. At that moment, the frightened nāga king will release torrents of rain. If he does not send rain immediately, the vidyā holder should slap the water five times. All the nāgas will then release torrents of rain. If they do not, they will all suffer from headaches. [F.70.a] After the vidyā holder slaps the water seven times, all the nāga kings will experience total ruin, and their families will be exiled. [A.38.a]

2.499“If the vidyā holder anoints the eyes of anyone suffering from seizures caused by grahas, all eighty-four thousand grahas will be pacified at that very moment. If the vidyā holder uses the mixture to mark a bindi on the foreheads of those afflicted with fever, all the types of fever‍—those that return every day or every two, three, or four days‍—will be pacified. If those afflicted with any disease are bathed in water infused with the mixture, they will be instantaneously cured of every disease. As soon as they are anointed with the mixture they will be cured of all boils, abscesses, fistulas, eczema, and gland inflammations in the neck.

2.500“In the event of a poisonous bite, all the poison will be neutralized as soon as the bite victim is anointed. They will be released from all the effects of the poison as soon as they drink the mixture. The diseases of all those who suffer from abdominal ailments, such as enlargement of the spleen, edema, spleen diseases, flank pain, heart pain, bladder pain, hemorrhoids, dysentery, urinary problems, gastroenteritis, indigestion, and constipation will be permanently cured as soon as they drink the mixture with hot water.

2.501“The vidyā holder should take a pill made from the bezoar mixture and place it on top of his head. If he stands next to a door to a passageway and slaps it with the palm of his right hand smeared with the mixture, all the doors in that passageway will open. He should enter without fear, as he will meet no obstacles. All the inhabitants who live there, enthralled, will come forward and perform every duty with great success. [Tiii.39]

2.502“If the vidyā holder anoints his feet with the mixture and enters a blazing fire, the god of fire will come forward in person and take the vidyā holder by the hand. [F.70.b] He will say, ‘Vidyā holder, enter my palace and command me! I will perform any task for you.’ He will then perform any duties the vidyā holder has. If the vidyā holder anoints his arms, he will have the strength of seven elephants. If he anoints his thighs, he will become an invincible wrestler. If he anoints his calves, he will be able to ford great rivers and reach the other shore. If he anoints his throat and enters a forest passage, the doors within the passage and the doors to dwellings in the forest will fall open. All the medicinal herbs and substances will appear before him in their respective forms so that he can take whichever one he wants.

2.503“If the vidyā holder enters inaccessible mountain valleys or caves while keeping the bezoar pill in the front of his mouth and utters three loud cries, all the secret doors to the dwelling there will open. All their inhabitants will come before the vidyā holder in their respective forms and become his servants. Grasses, bushes, trees, minerals, and herbs will appear before him in their respective forms. Those among them that produce excellent sap will ooze it, and the guardian spirits of the sap will appear before the vidyā holder in their respective forms and fall under his thrall. Every need he has will be fulfilled without fear.

2.504“If the vidyā holder marks his chest with a bindi, all his heartfelt hopes, desires, wishes, and needs will be immediately fulfilled. If he marks his abdomen with a bindi, he will obtain all his favorite food and drink. Everything will come to him without any effort on his part. If he anoints his sides with the mixture, he will obtain whatever clothes he fancies. If he anoints his spine, he will obtain whatever bed or seat comes to his mind. [F.71.a] If he anoints his ears or other exposed body parts, he will obtain the desired ornaments and adornments. If he smears his tailbone with the mixture, he will obtain a horse-drawn vehicle.

2.505“Every day before dawn, before speaking to anyone else, the vidyā holder should swallow a single bezoar pill while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja. [A.38.b] [Tiii.40] On the first day, he should read and memorize one thousand verses , and he should double the number each consecutive day. On the seventh night his learning will greatly increase; after fourteen days his voice will become as beautiful as that of female kinnaras; after twenty-one days he will acquire learning as vast as an ocean, and his voice will be deep and sweet, as melodious as a cuckoo.

2.506“If the vidyā holder wants to obtain a son, he should offer the bezoar pill together with ghee to a woman. Even those women who give birth to only one child, or are barren, will give birth to a son. If the vidyā holder is in jail, he should smear his shackles, fetters, and chains with the mixture. They will break into pieces and vanish as soon as they are smeared.

2.507“On the eighth, fourteenth, or fifteenth lunar day, the vidyā holder should mix the bezoar pill with scented water and bathe in it while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja seven times and then consecrate himself with the Krodharāja mantra. The moment he bathes, all his evil deeds and previous obscurations will be removed. After he has bathed for three nights, he will be able to accomplish his practice of mantras and mudrās. He will have no adversaries or enemies, will not encounter evil, wicked people, will be safe from every danger, and will never again be stained by evil.

2.508“If the vidyā holder grinds the bezoar pill with sesame oil, anoints his face with it, and stands before the king, the king will embrace him like his own son. He will win the king’s true affection [F.71.b] and will pacify all fear of incurring the king’s anger. If he smears his entire body with the mixture, no weapon will be able to harm his body, not even if he were sentenced to death. The weapons will shatter before they penetrate his body, and bows will break. If the vidyā holder ties the pill to his neck, he will be able to enter forested wilderness and deep mountains that are difficult to gain access to. He will not face any danger from thieves, bandits, robbers, yakṣas, rākṣasas, humans and nonhumans, wild animals, poisonous snakes, or any venomous animals. None of them will be seen.

2.509“If the vidyā holder ties the pill onto his right arm, he will be invincible and highly esteemed by all. His strength, power, and valor will be impossible to overcome. If he ties the pill onto his left arm, he will be loved by all women, men, boys, and girls, who will long to see him. He will be greatly honored and will accumulate much wealth. [Tiii.41] If he ties the pill to his right knee, he will be able to travel one thousand miles without getting tired.

2.510“The vidyā holder should place the bezoar pill in his mouth and take some mustard seeds into his right hand. He should mindfully repeat the summoning mantra of Amoghāṅkuśa without uttering any other words. He should stand at a high place and cast the mustard seeds in the direction of a specific woman, man, boy, or girl, and they will be summoned to him. Even if they are at the distance of one hundred leagues, they are certain to arrive after three days. There can be no doubt about this. If the vidyā holder ties the bezoar pill to his right or left hand, any money, grain, gold, jewels, pearls, conches, śaṅkhaśilā stones, coral, [F.72.a] silver, wrought gold, clothes, or adornments that he touches will all be drawn to him and transferred wherever he wishes.

2.511“If the vidyā holder enters an eating hall and slaps its door with his palm, all the prepared food will be drawn to him and transferred wherever he wishes. If he goes to a perfume shop, all the shop’s contents will be transferred wherever he wishes. If he slaps the door of a tavern, all the containers of alcohol will be transferred wherever he wishes. If he slaps the door of a granary, all the grain will be drawn to him. [A.39.a] If he enters a sweet shop and touches the display, all the sweets, delicacies, and candies will be drawn to him and transferred wherever he wishes. If he slaps the city gate with his hand at sunset, all the residents there will fall asleep.

2.512“If the vidyā holder buries the pill at the door of an enemy, the enemy will be driven out. If he throws the bezoar pill inside an armory, all the weapons and armaments will break and be rendered inoperable. If he buries the pill at the door of the royal palace, all his opponents, adversaries, and other wicked beings will be bound, immobilized, and defeated. If the vidyā holder anoints a conch with the mixture and blows it from a high place, all those who hear the sound will be saved from quarrels, disputes, contests, disagreements, kākhordas, poison, and disease. If he blows it at a city gate, all plagues, calamities, and epidemics will be pacified. [Tiii.42] If he blows it near a cowshed, all the milk will be taken from the cows and will be collected and transferred wherever he wishes. If he blows it near a goat pen, all their milk will be taken and transferred wherever he likes. If he blows it in a midst of a crowd of people, they will all become naked, and the vidyā holder will be able to take all their clothes.

2.513“If the vidyā holder smears a drum with the mixture and places it in a high, open place, all cold, wind, and hail will cease, be dispersed, [F.72.b] and not return. The vidyā holder will be able to stop all hail within the radius of one hundred leagues. If he plays the drum in the cities around the kingdom, all diseases, plagues, calamities, and catastrophes will be pacified and all quarrels, disputes, and discord will cease. All danger from epidemics and famines will pass. The vidyā holder will be also able to perform various other activities and employ them in any context.

2.514“Now I will explain how to bring peace and prosperity to all beings equally, how to pacify all disease, dispel all evil, pacify all plagues, calamities, famines, and disasters, and destroy all bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, grahas, and apasmāras. The vidyā holder should be ritually pure and well bathed, wear clean, nicely scented clothes, and perfume his body with fragrances. Wholly moved by kindness for all beings, and with great compassion filling his heart, he should perform the homa as follows.

2.515“He should make fire with sticks of giant milkweed, śamī tree, kṣīravṛkṣa, or bodhi tree and offer one thousand and eight oblations of parched rice, mustard seeds, and the flowers, stalks, and leaves of lotuses smeared with curds, honey, and ghee. Each oblation should be accompanied by a single recitation of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. He should then consecrate it one hundred and eight times with the Amoghapāśa-Krodharāja mantra while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa the same number of times. As soon as all the parts of the homa ritual have been completed, all plagues, calamities, catastrophes, epidemics, terrible famines, disasters, [F.73.a] dangers from one’s own or foreign armies, dangers from opponents and adversaries, or dangers from all thieves, bandits, robbers, wild animals, poisonous snakes, or other venomous creatures with poisonous bites will be pacified and not occur again within the radius of one hundred leagues.

2.516“There will be no fever, disease, or ailments. Yakṣas, [Tiii.43] rākṣasas, bhūtas, and grahas will be pacified and no longer appear. There will be no quarrels, disputes, discord, brawls, riots, threats, blockades, imprisonments, or beatings. They will cease, and all the beings will live at ease. Human populations will thrive, with plentiful supplies of food, pleasures, flowers, and food. [A.39.b] There will be an abundance of money, grain, and crops. The crops will taste excellent, ripen fully, and be perfect. The sap, outgrowths, roots, and fruits of all grasses, bushes, herbs, and trees will fully develop.

2.517“Never again, for as long as the vidyā holder lives, will that country be subject to invasion, nor will anyone hear about such attempt. All renunciants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras there‍—the women, men, boys, and girls‍—will remain free from disease. They will experience comforts and pleasure and will be happy and content. Their thoughts will be suffused with love, and they will practice compassion. They will be well protected by devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, who will always remain within one hundred leagues in order to guard, defend, and protect them. They will grant them protection, [F.73.b] succor, peace, and well-being. The Four Great Kings together with their armies and retinues will be at hand to guard, defend and protect them. They will keep them safe and ward off the wicked. Gods such as Īśvara and Maheśvara will always be there to guard, defend, and protect beings. Indra, the king of gods in the realm of Thirty-Three, and his retinue, as well as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and all the hosts of gods together with their retinues, will guard that country well and suffuse it with vitality. They will support and protect everyone within the radius of one hundred leagues. They will be on hand to protect, guard, and defend all the renunciants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras, as well as all women, men, boys, and girls.

2.518“By the power of this homa rite of pacifying, all beings will be freed from every obscuration and evil. All the tathāgatas will fix their attention on that land, and all bodhisattvas [Tiii.44] in the ten directions will gather there with their hosts, appearing with the wish to bring relief to all beings. The moon, the sun, and the host of nakṣatras will provide safety to all beings, offering them total protection. Noble Avalokiteśvara will always be present, giving comfort to every woman, man, boy, and girl as if they were his only child. He will protect them, fulfill all their hearts’ desires, and appear to them again and again.

2.519“If the vidyā holder mixes ashes from the homa with scented water and sprinkles it in the four directions, he will create a large protective ring. [F.74.a] If he sprinkles it on anyone afflicted with disease, their diseases will be entirely cured. In the case of fever, he should make a bindi to cure them of all fever. Those who bathe in the ash and scented water will be cleansed of all their evil and obscurations. If he sprinkles the water on the clothes of someone in shackles or in prison, their shackles will break. If he anoints someone bitten by a poisonous animal or affected by poison, the victim will be detoxified.

“This concludes the section on the homa procedure for invoking the god of fire.

2.520“Now I will teach a great sovereign rite of Noble Avalokiteśvara that belongs to the great lotus maṇḍala of the lotus family and constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation, the essence of Amoghapāśa. This rite will accomplish hundreds of thousands of activities that would otherwise not be accomplished. On a day when the stars are favorable and auspicious, the vidyā holder should bathe, wear clean clothes, and focus on loving kindness.

2.521“The most beautiful adornment is compassion and love for all beings, and the best accomplishment is one that is won by this rite of Amoghapāśa, the great king of vidyās. [A.40.a] After completing the recitations this rite will, without doubt, accomplish all activities. Padmapāṇi, who always grants boons to beings, will cherish the vidyā holder who always keeps the teachers of the world in his heart. The vidyā holder’s store of merit will increase a hundred thousand times, as if he were in the presence of thousands of millions of buddhas equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. He will accumulate the roots of virtue and will accomplish the deeds of the Buddha.

2.522“Learned vidyā holders should fast and remain focused on their recitation. Whether they are a monk or nun, [Tiii.45] or a male or female lay practitioner, they will be able to swiftly travel to Sukhāvatī and be freed from afflictions and unbearable pain and suffering. They will, at all times, be able to see the buddhas and the bodhisattvas. Of this there is no doubt.

2.523“I will now explain the recitation procedure of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa as required for the rite. If the vidyā holder performs the ritual recitation, he will obtain the true accomplishments of a vidyādhara . [F.74.b] Using cow dung, he should build a complete four-sided maṇḍala in front of an image of Amoghapāśa. Using powdered conch and gold, he should trace the shapes of the four corners and the four doors and, in the center, another quadrangle with four sides. He should then draw the supreme maṇḍala, a hundred-petaled lotus, out of white sandalwood and scatter saffron on it. In the middle of the lotus’ pericarp he should place a pitcher filled with scented water and mustard seeds. Burning incense of agarwood, he should place full jars around the maṇḍala, decorate them with various flowers, and place four bowls with the welcome offering of water.

2.524“The vidyā holder should make himself ritually pure, wear clean clothes, and observe the ritual fast. He should live on the three ‘white’ foods and perform three ablutions at the three junctions of the day. He should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times at the three junctions of the day. Seated in a cross-legged position before Noble Avalokiteśvara, he should display the mudrā of recitation while holding a rosary of beads with the index and the middle finger extended. Calm and collected, he should focus his mind on compassion. In a state of meditation, with a balanced body and tranquil gaze, he should recite while refraining from speaking any other words.

2.525“The moment he begins his recitation, the ground will quake violently. He should form the mudrā of Amoghapāśa and bow in greeting, after which there will be a great earthquake. He must not be afraid but, with a steady mind, wholly focus on compassion for all beings. He should fix his gaze on the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa and recite the Krodharāja mantra seven times. As soon as seven recitations are completed, there will be a violent shaking and roaring. Rays of light will issue from the forehead of Noble Avalokiteśvara and shine everywhere. [F.75.a]

2.526“The vidyā holder, [Tiii.46] his heart filled with tremendous joy, will smile. With goose bumps from rapturous delight, he will look up at the face of the Lord . As soon as he looks up, the right face of the noble lord Avalokiteśvara will say ‘Good!’ as he looks around. As soon as the word ‘good!’ is heard, all the vidyā holder’s obscurations will be purified, and his body will be replete with great purity. He will accumulate roots of virtue equal to that of hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, and all bodhisattvas will be willing to see him. His body will be soft, supple, and tender, his hair will become curly, and his speech will be pleasant and sweet. His vision will be purified, as will his body and mind. [A.40.b] His grey hair will disappear. He will also attain the samādhi called the pure perception of all beings. Before dawn, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear in person and give him comfort.

2.527“He will place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head and grant him every boon, including the ability to travel through space, become invisible, possess the divine eye, see buddha fields, attain samādhi, attain dhāraṇī, and find success in the rites connected to the essence of Amoghapāśa. He will also be granted the ability to explain scientific treatises and mantras, to remember what he has heard, and to explain the location of treasure or mineral deposits. He will gain the ability to work magic, visit divine realms, enter terrestrial passages and the abodes of nāgas, describe any realm, summon yakṣas or rākṣasas, raise vetālas, [F.75.b] enter inaccessible forests or mountains, enter cities, and identify and use medicinal herbs. He will be able to become a sword vidyādhara, a siddha vidyādhara, or a wheel-turning monarch and to obtain a kingdom, a country, or the position of the governor of a country. He will be able to crush great armies, work as spy, or dive deep into the ocean. Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant all of this [Tiii.47] and will help him accomplish every task. He will protect the vidyā holder wherever and in whatever way is required, and he will purify the five acts of immediate retribution. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra continuously, he will attain the samādhi called removing impediments to seeing all beings.

2.528“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the magical eye ointment, he should place some realgar paste in a copper vessel on the eighth day of the bright fortnight, trace a maṇḍala with sandalwood powder in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara, and place the vessel there. Bathed and wearing clean clothes, he should sit in a cross-legged position facing Noble Avalokiteśvara and recite the mantra. He should create a protective boundary by bringing to mind the Krodharāja mantra seven times while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. He should live on the three ‘white’ foods. Vidyā holders‍—sons or daughters of the Buddha’s family‍—should observe the eight limbs of the one-day fast before engaging in mantra recitation.

2.529“As soon as the vidyā holder has completed the recitation, the paste in the vessel will begin to blaze and emit smoke and foam. Once it has heated up and foamed, he should take it and anoint his eyes with it. He will magically ascend into the sky and will see all the buddha fields and all the tathāgatas and buddhas in the ten directions. He will become a great emperor of the vidyādhara s. He will see all underground passages and dwellings open wide, and he will see all treasures rise to the surface. He will watch as the gates to all the palaces in the god realms open, and he will be able to enter whichever one he wants. [F.76.a] He will be invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, grahas, and other nonhuman and human beings, as well as to his opponents and adversaries.

2.530“On the eighth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days of the lunar fortnight, he should recite the mantra one thousand and eight times without speaking any other words and while seated in a cross-legged position in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara. As soon as he completes the recitation, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in person in his divine form and place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head. The vidyā holder will then attain the samādhi called the wondrous display of the immaculately arising gaze and will obtain the magical power called the splendorous display magically created by the gaze of all the tathāgatas . His lifespan will be extended to one thousand divine eons.

2.531“Having obtained a divine form, the vidyā holder will be able to see all the tathāgatas. The Tathāgata Amitāyus, the worthy, fully realized Buddha, [A.41.a] [Tiii.48] will induct him into the true Dharma. All the bodhisattva great beings who dwell in the realm of Sukhāvatī will approach him and attend upon him. He will obtain a divine form, his hair will become wavy and curly, and he will acquire a palatial residence called The Resplendence and Purity of a Lotus.

2.532“If the vidyā holder wants to have a body with a diamond core, he should fill a pitcher with scented water and incant it with the mantra sixty-two thousand times in front of the image of the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara while fasting for one day and one night. He should then perform ablutions with the water from the pitcher. As soon as he does, his body will be as if made from diamond. All the tathāgatas will look upon him, and his lifespan will increase to one thousand divine years. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and grahas will fall under his thrall. All gods and nāgas will manifest and perform all his worldly duties. [F.76.b]

2.533“As soon as the vidyā holder recalls something or has a particular idea, all the grahas and apasmāras will come and tell him everything there is to know: whether something is true or untrue, real or unreal, or proper or improper, whether it has happened or not, whether it can be increased by magic, or whether it will bring comfort and prosperity‍—they will tell him all of this. They will perform all these and other necessary duties. Like servants, they are ready to perform any task.

2.534“Now, if the vidyā holder wants to ascend through all the worlds, one by one, and bring all of them under his control; if he wants to liberate all hell beings, animals, and the inhabitants of the realm of Yama; if he wants to attain the samādhi called the magical display of the amogha wisdom; if he wants to accomplish the maṇḍala of liberation; or if he wants to successfully perform the rites of the essence of Amoghapāśa or the great rites of the essence of Amoghapāśa, he should make individual images of Noble Avalokiteśvara in his form of Amoghapāśa.

2.535“The figure should be adorned with a topknot and a diadem and should wear a garment made from the skin of a black antelope as worn by Paśupati and all ornamentation. The figure should be sitting either in a cross-legged posture or in the manner of the bodhisattva Sudhana, with his right knee raised and his left on the ground. [Tiii.49] It should have the face of Krodharāja, with an upward gaze and the six arms characteristic of his wrathful form. Amitābha should be at the top of its diadem, and it should be adorned with all types of ornaments. All the figures should have relics inside them. They should be placed on a lotus seat on top of a mountain.

2.536“Ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, the vidyā holder should fast for one day and one night, without even drinking. He should sip the five products of the cow, consecrate himself by sprinkling himself with water and mustard seeds, and gaze out with a heart overflowing with compassion. Because the ritual will succeed even if it is only read and not properly performed, [F.77.a] why speak of what will happen if the recitation and ritual actions are complete?

2.537“Vidyā holders‍—be they a monk or nun, male or female lay practitioner, king or queen‍—who wants to see and worship the tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas, who are equal in number to the eighty-eight million grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river; who want to plant many roots of virtue for themself and for all beings; and who want to purify all evil should follow this procedure:

2.538“The vidyā holder should make, according to his means, a golden figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa [A.41.b] and install it facing east. Using saffron, he should draw a four-sided maṇḍala that is well measured and outlined with vermillion. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should draw a garland of lotuses, in the center of which should be placed a pitcher of water and a rosary. He should adorn it with various flowers and place around it four jars that are filled with scented water and decorated with flowers to the extent his means allow. He should add five bowls of offering water, burn agarwood incense in five incense holders, and light sixteen lamps filled with scented oil. He should worship Noble Avalokiteśvara with offerings of flowers, incense, fragrances, and garlands.

2.539“Facing the Lokeśvara, the vidyā holder should sit in a cross-legged position, display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa, [Tiii.50] and consecrate himself by bringing the mantra of Krodharāja to mind one time. Imagining the tathāgatas in the ten directions, he should bow to them and mentally pay them homage. Forming the recitation mudrā, he should recite the mantra. [F.77.b] After one hundred and eight repetitions the ground will shake violently, thrilling the vidyā holder, who will then perceive himself blazing with light. All the tathāgatas will reveal their faces to him. Noble Avalokiteśvara’s topknot will blaze with light from within, and the word ‘good!’ will resound.

2.540“After the vidyā holder completes the second round of one hundred and eight recitations, he will witness a sign of his profound accomplishment: Noble Avalokiteśvara will extend his hand and place it on the vidyā holder’s head. The vidyā holder will obtain the samādhi called the direct perception of all the tathāgatas and will become the holder of the vidyā of Amoghapāśa. The tathāgatas will appear to the vidyā holder before dawn and show him all buddha fields. He will plant the roots of virtue of all the tathāgatas.

2.541“After the vidyā holder completes the third round of one hundred and eight recitations, Avalokiteśvara will appear before him in the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara when the sky turns pink before dawn. He will give the vidyā holder a noose called stainless lotus and will grant him every accomplishment. Amitābha, the victorious one, will also applaud him, saying ‘Good!’

2.542“Anyone who sees the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara will plant the roots of virtue equal to those of sixty-four thousand tathāgatas. All the gods, headed by Brahmā and including Īśvara and Maheśvara, will always wish to see the vidyā holder. They will free him of all disease, grant him every boon, and always be nearby to guard, protect, and defend him. The vidyā holder will be free from all evil. [B8] [F.78.a] [F.78.b]

2.543“Alternatively, the vidyā holder should make a silver figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa just like the previous one and prepare a maṇḍala using white sandalwood powder. In it he should place a vase filled with water scented with white sandalwood and surround it with five dishes with the water offering. He should scatter a variety of flowers and burn incense made of white sandalwood. He should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and light forty-two lamps with scented oil. He should arrange four incense burners [Tiii.51] and bring to mind the Krodharāja mantra twenty-one times.

2.544“The vidyā holder, ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, should display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa seven times and form the mudrā of recitation. Sitting in a cross-legged posture, he should extend the index finger of his left hand, formed into the shape of a lotus, and count one hundred and eight recitations. When one hundred and eight recitations have been completed, the word ‘good!’ will resound from the eastern direction, and the vidyā holder will get goose bumps. The king and all ministers along with their harems [A.42.a] and retinues will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and will come from a thousand leagues away at the mere mention of their names. They will remain in the vidyā holder’s service, eager to perform their assigned tasks and do whatever they are told to do. [F.79.a] The vidyā holder will become a widely venerated, powerful lord.

2.545“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred and eight times for a second time, Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and other gods will fall under his thrall, follow his commands, and do what is asked of them. The four kings with their retinues of yakṣas and rākṣasas will also fall under his thrall. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred and eight times for a third time, the moon and the sun will descend from the sky and come before him. The deities of the night and the deities of space will descend and come before him, eager to carry out his orders. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra one hundred and eight times for a fourth time, all nāgas, including all the nāga kings in the ocean headed by Nanda and Upananda, will fall under his thrall.

2.546“Alternatively, the vidyā holder should make a copper figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa and prepare a maṇḍala using red sandalwood powder. He should scatter red flowers and place four incense burners around it to offer incense. He should also light fifty-two butter lamps and arrange five dishes with offering water as offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara. He should mindfully repeat the Krodharāja mantra twenty-one times and display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa the same number of times. Sitting cross-legged in front of the cloth painting and [Tiii.52] taking all beings into consideration, he should focus his mind on all the tathāgatas and look to the four directions with loving kindness. He should think about all the hell beings, the beings in the world of Yama, and the asura and preta realms. He should turn his attention to beings in the eight great hells and look upon them with compassion.

2.547“Forming the lotus-shaped mudrā of recitation, he should begin reciting. When he has completed one hundred and eight recitations, the four directions will quake and roar with sound. [F.79.b] All hell beings will be liberated as the gates of all the hells break open, fall away, and are reduced to ash. All hell beings will take favorable rebirths and be entirely free of suffering until their ultimate and final awakening. Their bodies will be adorned with the auspicious marks of a divine being, and any beings who look upon them will be established irreversibly on the path to awakening.

2.548“After the second round of one hundred and eight recitations, all the blind beings living in darkness in the subterranean worlds will be freed from that darkness through the power of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and begin to radiate light. All these beings will be liberated and instantly reborn in the realm of Noble Avalokiteśvara, where they will be free from aging and dying until they reach the ultimate, final awakening. The vidyā holder will attain the samādhi called stainlessly pure, arising everywhere majestically, and will live for an eon. Upon his death, he will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī and will remain at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara, completely free from all sorrow until ultimate and final awakening.

2.549“The vidyā holder should grind white sandalwood, musk, camphor, and various other fragrant substances into a fine powder and mix them with olibanum, the sap of sal tree, myrrh, and water. He should then add molasses and mix them well. Using this mixture, he should make a figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara eight fingers tall and adorned with all the ornaments. [A.42.b] It should have a diadem on its topknot and be dressed in the skin of the black antelope as worn by Paśupati. [Tiii.53] The first of its four hands should hold a lotus; the second, a noose; the third, a spear; and the fourth should display the gesture of comfort. The figure should sit on a lotus seat and radiate a six-foot halo of light. A figure of Noble Tārā should be to the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa, and one of Vimalamati to the left. Krodharāja should be below the Lokeśvara, [F.80.a] and the victorious Amitābha should be above him.

2.550“The vidyā holder should be ritually pure and put on clean clothes. From the eighth day of the lunar fortnight to the fifteenth he should perform ablutions at the three junctions of the day, change his clothes three times a day, and recite the mantra three times a day, one hundred and eight times each. He should smear the maṇḍala with various fragrant substances and draw a boundary with a five-colored line. In the center of the maṇḍala he should paint the vidyā deity Amoghapāśa with one knee down on the ground and his gaze directed upward. In the four corners he should paint, respectively, Īśvara, Maheśvara, Yama, and Varuṇa. The maṇḍala should have four gateways.

2.551“The vidyā holder should place vessels filled with fragrances in the four corners, and at the four gates he should place vessels filled with a bali made of aromatic substances, as well as a bali consisting of the three ‘white’ foods. He should also set up eight dishes with argha water, scatter a variety of flowers, burn incense made of agarwood, light one hundred and twenty-eight lamps with scented oil, and adorn the maṇḍala with banners. Facing east, he should make offerings to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in the maṇḍala. He should fashion a five-colored cord that is sixteen cubits long and woven with gold at one end and pearls at the other. He should then wind it like a snake and place it in the center of the maṇḍala.

2.552“He should be ritually pure and put on clean clothes. Sitting in a cross-legged posture and facing the maṇḍala, he should display the noose mudrā of Amoghapāśa thirty-two times as a rite of self-protection. He should then bind the maṇḍala and the directions by reciting the Krodharāja mantra one hundred and eight times. Then, with a broad smile on his face, he should form the mudrā of recitation and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times, incanting a single mustard seed with each recitation and casting it upon the cord. He should do this without speaking. [Tiii.54] [F.80.b] When the number one thousand and eight has been reached, the cord will blaze, radiating light of various colors. The word ‘good!’ will issue forth: ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder, that you have accomplished the noose of Amoghapāśa. You will accomplish every activity while holding it. Having won the supreme accomplishment of the wish-fulfilling jewel-noose, you will accomplish all worldly and supramundane activities.’

2.553“Noble Avalokiteśvara will then blaze with light, and from the Lokeśvara’s body a great cloud of fragrance will issue out and spread six leagues. Anyone who merely smells this fragrance will be cured of all diseases and freed from all pain, obscurations, kākhordas, and poison. They will all disappear after applying the powder. Their bodies will become free from all impurity, and they will be established irreversibly on the path to awakening.

2.554“The vidyā holder should then pick up this wish-fulfilling jewel-noose, put it in a copper box, and place it at the feet of the image of Noble Avalokiteśvara. Whenever there is a task to perform, the vidyā holder should bathe, make himself ritually pure, and then take the jewel noose and do what is to be done. If the vidyā holder worships the noose every day at each of the three junctions of the day, he will be able to ascend into the sky, where, completely pure in his body and mind, he will play with those who had previously become vidyādhara s, who will all fall under his thrall. [A.43.a] His lifespan will increase to one thousand years, and when he dies, he will, as is his destiny, be spontaneously reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī from the pericarp of a lotus flower. Until reaching ultimate and final awakening, he will be a great emperor of all vidyādhara s, with a lifespan of one hundred thousand eons. Those beings who merely see this image of Noble Avalokiteśvara will be freed from the results of the five acts of immediate retribution and other such offenses. [F.81.a]

2.555“The vidyā holder should incant jasmine flowers one hundred and eight times and offer them to Noble Avalokiteśvara one at a time and accompanied by a single recitation of the mantra. When he has completed one hundred and eight recitations, the king and all his ministers, along with their harems and retinues, will fall under his thrall. They themselves will become the vidyā holder’s servants, eager to perform tasks for him and serve him with their gold, grain, and male and female servants.

2.556“The vidyā holder should take the jasmine flowers that were discarded after the offering, mix them with mahaleb cherry, and grind them into a fine powder together with crepe jasmine, costus root, saffron, spikenard, sāmaka, fenugreek, nalada, myrrh, and mustard seeds. [Tiii.55] A pill made from this powder mixed with rainwater is the best medicine. Known as lotus, it primarily brings glory and fame but will also cure all diseases such as fever, skin eruptions, boils, rashes, scabies, leprosy, and festering abscesses. As taught by the sage s, all these diseases will be easily cured after being anointed with the pill infusion, and all evil will be cleared away after bathing in it. This pill prolongs life and brings prosperity to kings.

2.557“If the vidyā holder makes a bindi with the infusion and goes into battle, he will always be victorious. The wearer of such a bindi will be delightful to women. This is the ultimate enthrallment. And, as the Lokeśvara has said, all those who apply the powder‍—whether in the form of a bindi or ointment, or if they eat it or bathe in it‍—will easily overcome the problems in this world caused by kākhordas, poisons, garas, or the magic involving poisonous powders or mantras. For headache, the pill can be applied as an ointment for the head, and for eye pain, as an ointment for the eyes. It can be held in the mouth for toothaches, taken with warm water for abdominal pain, and rubbed in with ghee for pain in the flanks. One should use the ointment mixed with ghee. For aches in the body or limbs, it can be rubbed evenly into the affected area.

2.558“For effecting enthrallment, the vidyā holder should anoint the palm of his hand. In the case of serious illness, he should rub the ointment on his body and then bathe. To destroy yakṣas and grahas, he should burn the pill as incense while holding it in his hand; he will then be freed from all grahas. [F.81.b] To counter the harmful influence of mudrās, he should make a bindi mark on the crown of the head. For diseases of the heart, he should mix the pill with hot water and salt. To pacify grahas, he should add three measures of parched rice; this will pacify them completely. In each case, the vidyā holder should incant the ingredients with the mantra twenty-one times.

2.559“In the event of any quarrels, disputes, contests, or disagreements, the vidyā holder should draw a maṇḍala with cow dung, scatter flowers, and arrange four bowls with scented powders, four bowls filled with milk, four bowls with argha water, and four incense burners lit with agarwood and olibanum. He should also burn frankincense that has been incanted twenty-one times. He should then make offerings to a figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara made from fragrant substances. Having incanted mustard seeds by reciting the Krodharāja one hundred and eight times, he should cast the seeds in the four directions. He should mindfully repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ninety-one times. He will then emerge victorious in all quarrels, disputes, contests, and squabbles. He will also win all battles and armed conflicts, defeating all four divisions of every army, including his own and the enemy’s. If he can win over Śakra together with the asuras, what need is there to mention ordinary humans? [Tiii.56]

2.560“If the vidyā holder wants to summon Śakra, he should incant lotus flowers one hundred and eight times and offer them one by one to the figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara made of fragrant substances while reciting Śakra’s name. He should offer one hundred and eight oblations of mustard seeds, bdellium, and ghee, incanting each with the mantra. To do this, he should make fire with the sticks of giant milkweed [A.43.b] and perform this rite on the fourteenth lunar day, before the full moon. When the vidyā holder has completed the recitation procedure, Śakra, the king of gods, will descend with his army and appear before the vidyā holder, ready to carry out his orders. They will all fall under his thrall. Śakra will give him anything he asks for, including the rank of Śakra, without hesitation.

2.561“Placing his foot on a figure of Brahmā, the vidyā holder should recite the mantra one hundred and eight times. When he has reached this number, Brahmā will appear before him in person and offer any boon, granting whatever the vidyā holder wishes. [F.82.a] To summon Nārāyaṇa, the vidyā holder should incant bdellium ninety times and offer it to Nārāyaṇa as incense, along with water and mustard seeds incanted twenty-one times. Nārāyaṇa will appear before the vidyā holder in person and will perform all his tasks. He will grant him a great variety of forms and give him control over Hiraṇyakaśipu. The vidyā holder will obtain the powerful force of the great Nārāyaṇa.

2.562“Gazing at the face of a figure of Maheśvara, the vidyā holder should incant the figure’s right ear one hundred and eight times with the mantra and sprinkle its head with mustard seeds incanted twenty-one times. He should also burn incense of bdellium and offer argha water for washing the feet incanted seven times. At that moment, the figure of Maheśvara will begin to move, and the word ‘good!’ will sound. The god will then appear before the vidyā holder in person, he and his retinue will all fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall, and Maheśvara will fulfill all wishes and grant every boon.

2.563“If the vidyā holder wants to summon Mahākāla, he should burn bdellium incense incanted with the mantra one hundred and eight times and offer blood and wine. He should incant mustard seeds twenty-one times and sprinkle them on top of an image of Mahākāla. Mahākāla will then be summoned, and like a servant he will perform all kinds of duties. He will go wherever he is commanded, as will his retinue and followers. [Tiii.57] The vidyā holder will find all the doors to yakṣa dwellings open, and he will be able to do whatever he wants. All the grasses will be well disposed to him, and all yakṣas will love him and perform all his tasks.

2.564“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra twenty-one times at the three junctions of the night without saying any other words, the deities of the night together with their retinues and followers will all fall under his thrall. This includes beings active during the day or at night, such as devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other nonhuman and human beings. They will perform every task. They will all remain close to the vidyā holder at all times and will provide him with palaces to use for his nightly pleasure. [F.82.b]

2.565“The vidyā holder should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, be thoroughly bathed, speak the truth, cultivate loving thoughts, and always maintain kindness for all beings. Filled with great compassion, he should recite the mantra continually.

“This concludes the section on the recitation procedure.

2.566“Now I will teach the homa rite that accomplishes every activity, both the auspicious activities of pacifying and nourishing and the activities of assault. This rite affords protection, removes all diseases, destroys the kākhordas, and enthralls without fail. If the vidyā holder wants to protect his home, he should smear lotus petals with mustard oil, make fire with the sticks of giant milkweed, and offer one hundred and eight oblations of the lotus petals while reciting the heart mantra one hundred and eight times. When that is complete, the vidyā holder should recite the Krodharāja mantra seven times. This will ensure effective protection of the house. All quarrels, disagreements, contests, and disputes will cease. All adversaries and opponents, all diseases, fevers, [A.44.a] misfortunes, calamities, and catastrophes, as well as all grahas, famines, disasters, pestilences, and plagues, will be completely pacified for every woman, man, boy, and girl. All deities will be on hand to guard, protect, and defend the vidyā holder. Īśvara and Maheśvara will always follow him, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him whenever the vidyā holder wants to see him.

2.567“If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations of ghee, mustard seeds, and bdellium, the entire realm‍—its cities, towns, villages, and settlements‍—will enjoy great peace. [Tiii.58] If, during the full moon, the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations of fragrant white flowers‍—such as mahaleb cherry or crepe jasmine‍—smeared with mustard oil while in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the king and his ministers with their harems and retinues will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall, as will the inhabitants of the cities, towns, villages, hamlets, and settlements, and elephants, horses, cattle, and buffalo.

2.568“If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations of white flowers smeared with curds, honey, and ghee into a fire made with sticks of chaff flower, [F.83.a] he will obtain one thousand villages. If he offers one thousand and eight oblations of lotus stalks smeared with curds, honey, and ghee while in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara, he will obtain one hundred and eight dinars before the night is through. If he makes the fire of cutch wood and offers into it one thousand and eight oblations of white lilies with stalks, roots, and leaves smeared with mustard oil, he will be freed from all the vināyakas.

2.569“On the eighth day of the bright fortnight, the vidyā holder, observing a fast, should make himself ritually pure, bathe, and wear white clothes. He should offer one thousand and eight oblations of sandalwood and beautyberry sticks smeared with ghee and mustard oil. At midnight, a yakṣiṇī will arrive and offer five thousand pieces of silver.

2.570“On the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, the vidyā holder, having fasted for one day and one night, should go to the bank of a river that empties into the ocean and make a fire using wood of the wood-apple tree. He should offer one thousand and eight oblations of wood-apple flowers smeared with ghee and honey into the fire until, at midnight, a yakṣa girl arrives, adorned with every ornament and holding a box full of jewels. The vidyā holder should grasp that box without looking at the yakṣiṇī’s face and further recite the mantra one hundred and eight times. She will drop the box at her feet and say, ‘Vidyā holder, I am dying!’ He should then incant the box with the Krodharāja mantra twenty-one times. Subsequently, whenever there is a task to perform, he should recite the mantra at midnight one hundred and eight times. The yakṣiṇī will then arrive and will perform every task. She will go wherever commanded and act as his servant.

2.571“On the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, the vidyā holder should go to the place where treasure is hidden, recite the mantra one thousand and eight times, and offer a bali according to procedure. He should make offerings to Noble Amogharāja and make one thousand and eight oblations of jasmine flowers, fruits, petals, and mustard seeds mixed with ghee. [Tiii.59] [F.83.b] Having incanted water and mustard seeds twenty-one times, he should throw them forcefully to the ground. All treasures will then rise to the surface, and the vidyā holder should take them, offering one part to the Three Jewels and keeping the rest for himself.

2.572“If the vidyā holder makes a fire with the wood of beleric myrobalan and offers into it one thousand and eight oblations of sesame and rice smeared with ghee, the king, his harem and retinue, and his entire army with its four divisions will come under the vidyā holder’s control, as will their money, grain, refined gold, and gold bullion. They will remain under his control for as long as he lives. If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations of white mustard, champak flowers, and lotus flowers smeared with ghee, all the inhabitants of the realm‍—women, men, boys, and girls‍—will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall. [A.44.b] If he offers ninety-one oblations of rice chaff with salt, the people of all four castes will fall under his thrall.

2.573“The vidyā holder should make fire with the wood of hummingbird tree and offer into it one thousand and eight oblations of flowers of giant milkwood smeared with honey and ghee. If he makes offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara, he will obtain one hundred dinars every single day. If he offers one thousand oblations of parched rice into a fire kindled with sticks from a flame-of-the-forest tree, he will obtain one thousand pieces of gold. Any portion of it that he offers to the Three Jewels will be restored to him.

2.574“On the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, after fasting for a full day and night, the vidyā holder should wade waist deep into the water of a river that flows to the ocean and recite the mantra one hundred and eight times. He should then incant mustard seeds twenty-one times and angrily throw them into the water. A girl will emerge from the water and give the vidyā holder many jewels. He should take them and offer one half to the Three Jewels and to Noble Avalokiteśvara.

2.575“On the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, the day of the full moon, the vidyā holder should make offerings to Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara after fasting for a full day and night. [F.84.a] He should then offer one thousand oblations of chaff-flower sticks smeared with honey, ghee, and the resin of the sal tree, and recite the mantra one hundred and eight times while focusing on his own name. All his evil deeds and obscurations will be cleared away, all diseases and ailments will be cured, and all his opponents and adversaries will be defeated. [Tiii.60]

2.576“If the vidyā holder offers one thousand and eight oblations with sticks of giant milkweed, sesame, and rice grains smeared with agarwood and ghee, the rite will effect great pacification. If he offers one hundred and eight oblations of parched rice mixed with milk, mustard seeds, ghee, and white sandalwood, it will be a most excellent and auspicious rite for nourishing. For rites of assault, the vidyā holder should offer, on the fourteenth lunar day of the lunar fortnight, oleander flowers mixed with seven kinds of salt into a fire of thorny sticks smeared with pungent oils. At times of drought he should also offer one hundred and eight oblations of lotus, sandalwood, and mustard seeds smeared with ghee that have been incanted twenty-one times with the mantra. Then, after mindfully repeating the Krodharāja mantra seven times, a heavy rain will fall for as long as the vidyā holder demands.

2.577“If the vidyā holder takes some ashes after this homa offering, incants them twenty-one times, and throws them into the air, any excessive rain will stop. If he casts the ashes in the four directions, he will create a great protective boundary. If he casts the ashes in the direction of a cloud, all wind and hail will cease. The vidyā holder can paralyze an army with a homa of sesame and rice. He can repel an enemy army with a homa of using seven kinds of seeds and find terrestrial passages with a homa of pataṅga sandalwood. If he offers oblations of the leaves of giant milkweed smeared with ghee, all the doors to such passages will open. If he wants to enter a forest, he should offer oblations of white water lilies, crepe jasmine, and mustard seeds smeared with ghee. All access points into the forest will open, and all the medicinal substances and herbs will come before the vidyā holder in their respective forms.

2.578“If the vidyā holder makes fire with flame-of-the-forest wood and offers one thousand and eight oblations of black pepper, [F.84.b] gods such as Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara will descend to earth and come before the vidyā holder. If he offers one thousand and eight oblations of globe amaranth flowers, karnikara flowers, and blue lotus flowers, Candra and Sūrya will descend and grant the vidyā holder every boon. He will also be capable of sky travel.

2.579“If the vidyā holder makes fire with the sticks of rājavṛkṣa and at the three junctions of the day over the period of seven days offers twenty-one oblations of dill flowers, wild asparagus flowers, pataṅga sandalwood, mustard seeds, and barley grains smeared with ghee, the king, his harem, and his retinue will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall. If the vidyā holder wants to repel all bhūtas, grahas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas, he should offer oblations of rice grains, mustard seeds, and salt. In all these rites he should display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. In each rite he should also employ the mudrā of the lord of wrath and mindfully repeat his mantra.

“This has been the homa procedure. [A.45.a] [Tiii.61]

2.580“I will now teach the painting procedure from the great sovereign ritual, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. Through merely seeing this painting, even someone who has committed five acts of immediate retribution and is bound for rebirth in the depths of the Avīci hell will be purified. The canvas should be two cubits square and have an uncut fringe and no loose threads. It should be compact, smooth, clean, and square in shape. The painter should observe a vow of silence and maintain a fast. He should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, subsist on the three ‘white’ foods, and bathe three times a day. He should use uncontaminated paints kept in new containers, and a clean, new brush.

2.581“Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa should be painted either standing, sitting, or sitting in a cross-legged posture. His topknot is adorned with a diadem, and he wears a black antelope skin, is attired like Paśupati, and is adorned with all ornaments. He has sixteen arms and a peaceful countenance, and he smiles with both his mouth and eyes. He is crowned by Amitābha, the victorious one. The face facing south has a crescent moon on its topknot.

2.582“One pair of his hands are raised and display the vajra-añjali gesture in the shape of a lotus. The next, lower pair display the mudrā called facing everywhere. [F.85.a] The third pair of hands display the mudrā of recitation with the right index finger extended. They form the shape of a lotus, within which rests a string of beads. The fourth pair displays the mudrā of Amoghapāśa. The first of the remaining hands holds a trident; the second, a lotus; the third, a volume on Amoghapāśa; the fourth, the unfailing noose itself; the fifth displays the gesture of comfort; the sixth holds a small pot; the seventh holds a casket filled with various jewels; and the eighth holds a vase with various flowers.

2.583“The figure is adorned with a halo of light extending for one fathom, and its body is beautified with various flowers of vivid colors. The painter should draw a palace atop Potala Mountain, one that is well proportioned, has four corners and four pillars, and shines as a wonder of the world. It is inlaid with various colorful jewels, adorned with garlands of lotuses and diamonds, and decorated with a variety of flowers and the fronds of banana trees. A sun should be drawn in the upper right, and a moon in the upper left. The gods of the Pure Abode should be drawn worshiping the Lord with various flowers and streamers of silk in their hands.

2.584“Potala Mountain should be drawn in the shape of a lotus, including its seed pods and stalk. [Tiii.62] It should be adorned with lotus ponds teeming with fish and lakes full of fantastic sea creatures, swans, cranes, partridges, and ducks. Atop this mountain made of various jewels and gems is a lotus seat flanked by lion seats. Outside the temple-dwelling, on a seat to the right, is Īśvara; on the seat outside and to the left is Maheśvara, adorned with every ornament.

2.585“On the inside, to the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara, is Noble Tārā, her body bowed and exhibiting modesty. To his left is Vimalamati, displaying the gesture of giving comfort. She is opulent in appearance and sits on her knees. On the pericarp of the lotus is Krodharāja. He should be drawn in a wrathful form with the four implements in his four hands: [F.85.b] a noose, sword, trident, and lotus. He sits in the ardhaparyaṅka posture on a lotus seat, his body bowing slightly.

2.586“Above Noble Avalokiteśvara’s head, to the right and left, are the sages praising him. Below him, to the right and left, is Mahā­vajra­śikhara with a vajra and noose in his hands, as well as Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Vāsava, and a host of gods. To the right, in the middle of a lotus lake, are Śakra and Brahmā. To the left are the Four Great Kings [A.45.b] wearing armor.

2.587“Below them is a dūtī named Padma­kula­sundarī, whose hands are raised, as well as Śrī, Sarasvatī, Bhīmā, the deities of the night, the deities of the earth, and the deities of crops. Bhṛkuṭī is next to Īśvara, and Pāṇḍaravāsinī is next to Maheśvara. The rākṣasī Ekajaṭā should be drawn surrounded by dūtīs . Adjacent to the four corners is a mountain studded with the seven types of jewels and covered in various trees and vines. It is adorned with flowers and lotus lakes, bestrewn with various flowers, and teeming with lion cubs, tiger cubs, and young kumbhāṇḍas and nāgas.

2.588“The five great guhyakas should be drawn on the left side of the canvas, and the five great nāga kings at the bottom. They should be drawn all around the base of the mountain, holding various flowers and jewels in their hands and looking up at the Lord . The vidyā holder should be kneeling at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara, [Tiii.63] holding flowers and an incense burner and looking upward at the face of the Lord . The great sage s should be drawn at the top of the canvas: the victor Amitābha, the Lord of the Śākyas, and the Tathāgata Lokendrarāja.

2.589“Through merely seeing this cloth painting, the karma to be reborn in the Avīci hell, accumulated over one hundred thousand births, as well as the karma of the five acts of immediate retribution, will be entirely eradicated. All beings with this karma will be completely released, so what need is there to speak of beings who are pure, [F.86.a] have faith and conviction, and are eager to worship the Three Jewels. In this life they will attain the supreme result and will have great fortune. The vidyā holder will generate the same roots of virtue as he would in the presence of tathāgatas equal in number to the hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. Such roots of virtue will be transferred to him.

2.590“After merely a sincere glance at this cloth painting, which embodies the essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa, Noble Avalokiteśvara will keep the vidyā holder in his heart and appear to him in person. The moment the vidyā holder cries out pitifully, Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa will turn his attention to him and grant him every boon so that the vidyā holder will accomplish the heart dhāraṇī of Amogharāja. Any seriously ill person, anyone severely affected by disease, and even someone afflicted by hundreds of thousands of ailments will be freed from every disease, pain, and ailment merely by looking at the painting. They will be free of all obscuration and disease, and even those reborn as animals will be freed from their condition by merely by looking at the painting.

2.591“If the vidyā holder carries this cloth painting adorned with parasols, banners, and flags into a capital city, a royal household, a monastery, a settled community, a house, or a village while accompanied by a large retinue that honors it with many offerings and plays music with tūryas and tāḍāvas, then all the quarrels, disputes, contests, disagreements, famines, disasters, pestilences, and all danger from foreign and domestic armies will be completely pacified as soon as the cloth painting is brought in. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, pūtanas, kaṭapūtanas, skandas, apasmāras, [F.86.b] and chāyās will be completely pacified. The entire population will experience great comfort, abundance of food, pleasures, [Tiii.64] and happiness. They will be very pleased and content and will pursue the six perfections.

2.592“Anyone who merely beholds this cloth painting will, upon departing this world, be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī; [A.46.a] they will be on course to be reborn in Sukhāvatī. They will be able to remember their previous lives, going back seventy thousand eons, and will attain the samādhi never before attained by great bodhisattva beings called the king of purity with the splendor of an immaculate lotus. The vidyā holder who beholds this painting will become the vidyādhara -emperor with the name Standing on a Lotus.

“This concludes the section on the painting procedure. [Tiv.14]

2.593“I will now teach the rite of the great maṇḍala from The Heart of Amoghapāśa.

“The vidyā holder should go to a riverbank, a lotus lake, or a flower garden with a lotus pond, fruit orchards, and fine pavilions, find an empty place there, and thoroughly clean an area on the ground. The place should be free from clumps of grass and from hair, chaff, ashes, coals, clumps of dirt, gravel, grit, sand, pebbles, bone pieces, skull bones, skeletons, dead bodies, and carcasses. There should be a pond or a stream there, its water flowing from the north. The site should be idyllic and near to water. It should be a bright, pleasant place full of color.

2.594“Once he has found such a place, the vidyā holder should incant water and mustard seeds and cast them around‍—this is the supreme site purification. By incanting mustard seeds twenty-one times with the Krodharāja mantra and casting them in the four directions, the vidyā holder will bind the directions, bind the sacred area, and create a protective boundary with the radius of one hundred leagues. At that very instant, all the prying intruders, miscreants, vighnas, and vināyakas will disappear, dispersing into the ten directions. [F.87.a] Any wicked being, such as those with wicked intent or any wicked wild animal, will be pacified, and all deities will protect the area.

2.595“At this site, the wise vidyā holder should lay out a square maṇḍala measuring thirty-two cubits square. Its four corners should be regular and symmetrical, and it should have four doors and four gateways. He should draw this maṇḍala using five-colored powders and demarcate its sides using five-colored threads and pegs of white sandalwood. He should demarcate and draw this supreme maṇḍala on the auspicious day of the lunar fortnight, the eighth or the fifteenth, during an auspicious asterism. He should draw the white line first, the red line second, the yellow line third, the sky-blue line fourth, and the kohl-black line fifth.

2.596“In the center, the skilled vidyā holder should draw the inner maṇḍala that is well proportioned and symmetrical. He should use a new brush and a new [Tiv.15] container. Within this inner maṇḍala he should draw a lotus flower with one thousand petals and a surrounding rim. Around this he should draw a garland of lotuses, using paints with bright and vivid colors.

2.597“In the center of the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should place the blessed Buddha, the great sage of the royal Śākya line, as well as Amitābha and the Tathāgata Lokendrarāja. To the right is the lord and protector, the Lokeśvara in the garb of Amoghapāśa that conforms with the mantra tradition. To the left is Vajrapāṇi holding a yak-tail whisk and a vajra. His eyebrows are knitted and he stands within a halo of flames. Next to Noble Avalokiteśvara are the goddesses Tārā and Vimalamati. Beneath Noble Avalokiteśvara are Mahāgaurī, Pāṇḍaravāsinī, and Mahāśvetā, each holding a staff and a water pitcher in their hands. Beneath them, the vidyā holder should draw the rākṣasī Ekajaṭā with a face contorted in anger, with protruding fangs, and wearing garland of human skulls and a snake for a sacred thread. She has four arms: [F.87.b] the upper right holds a vajra, the upper left an axe, and she threatens the asuras and vināyakas with her left forefinger.

2.598“To the left of the Tathāgata Śākyamuni is Noble Avalokiteśvara, dressed in the garb of Brahmā [A.46.b] and adorned with a diadem atop his topknot. To his left and right are, respectively, Īśvara and Maheśvara. Below Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should draw the goddesses Śrī and Sarasvatī, the deities of the night, the deities of crops, and the deities of fruits and flowers. Beneath them, in a circle, he should draw Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and so forth. He should also add the ṛṣis adorned with diadems in their topknots. In the four corners he should draw the Four Great Kings wearing their cuirasses and coats of mail. In the spaces in between, on the inside, there should be a goad, an axe, a vajra, a staff, a noose, and a chain.

2.599“Outside the maṇḍala are Brahmā, Rudra, and the goddess Umā. Brahmā is flanked by Sarasvatī, who is knitting her eyebrows, and there is a staff and a water pitcher between them. In one corner, the vidyā holder should draw a volume of this Dharma treatise, the maṇḍala of liberation that constitutes the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. In another corner he should draw Śiva’s mount. In the eastern door is the wrathful Hayagrīva with terrifying eyes. In the southern door is a great vajravināyaka named Kelikila who holds a vajra, axe, and noose. In the western door is a dūtī named Padma­kula­sundarī [Tiv.16] with her hands extended. In the northern door is a gaṇa named Mahā­vajra­śikhara holding a vajra and a noose.

2.600“Then, the vidyā holder should place at the entrance door a jar filled with perfumed water and tied with silk. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should place a jar of his liking with a golden cover and [F.88.a] filled with water that has been suffused with sandalwood, saffron, musk, and camphor. He should adorn this jar with all the ornaments, cover it with a fine ‘Chinese cloth,’ adorn it with garlands of flowers, and place on top of it a golden ring. Around it he should place four incense burners and burn incense of agarwood.

2.601“He should then prepare a thread of five-colored silk the same length as a sacred thread and attach it to a golden trident and ring. To its other end, he should tie a ‘lotus pot’ inlaid with jewels and pearls. He should then place the coiled thread on top of the jar and make offerings and acts of reverence to it. Incanting mustard seeds one thousand and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, he should scatter them on the thread. He should perfume the site with sandalwood, camphor, musk, or scented powders.

2.602“He should then place vessels filled with perfumed water and the three ‘white’ foods at the four doors. These should include thirty-two vessels filled with argha water, and also golden or silver vessels, eight of which should be filled with perfumed water, eight with white scented water, eight with foods of various flavors and aromas, eight with scented curds and milk, and eight with sixty-four bali articles free of any meat, blood, onions, garlic, food that has spoiled, or wilted flowers. The offerings should be prepared by a pure vidyā holder using pure ingredients. The maṇḍala should be carpeted with various flowers and adorned with a variety of parasols, banners, draperies, and flags. Thirty-two incense burners should be placed around it, and a variety of fine incenses should be burned. The vidyā holder should light one hundred and eight lamps with scented oil and draw a lotus garland around the maṇḍala.

2.603“The vidyā holder should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, [Tiv.17] bathe three times a day, and wear a three-piece garment. While performing the rite of entering the maṇḍala, he should surround himself with assistants who are ritually pure. As soon as he has consecrated himself by means of the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, he will be accepted by all the buddhas and blessed by the Lord of the World. [F.88.b] He will accomplish the heart of Amoghapāśa, the great maṇḍala of the lotus-holding lord from the lotus family, [A.47.a] will be able to accomplish whatever task he thinks of, and will amogha-enter all samayas. This maṇḍala of liberation is the totality of phenomena; it establishes the samaya with the true nature of phenomena.

2.604“He will be free from all karmic obscurations, will be destined to obtain every happiness, and will experience both divine and human splendor. The hosts of devas, asuras, yakṣas, and rākṣasas will become his followers and send him provisions such as clothing and food. He will never be beaten, abused, impaled, burned, threatened, thrown, killed, or subdued. Those who try to do any of these things will have their heads and bodies dashed into one hundred thousand pieces, and no one other than the vidyā holder can save them, neither Pratyaṅgirā nor any other śakti goddess.

2.605“The vidyā holder should position the painting to face the maṇḍala and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times. He should also recite the Krodharāja mantra twenty-one times, after which the images of the deities in the maṇḍala will emit light of various colors, the jar will blaze with light, and the cloth painting, too, will blaze with rich colors. The painting will then shake violently, at which time the vidyā holder should grab hold of it. The following words will then resound from the painting: ‘Good! Good, vidyā holder! You have accomplished the essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa, and you have accomplished his noose. This is the supreme accomplishment of the noose that is like a wish-fulfilling jewel. You can now perform all activities. You have won the supreme accomplishment of the extended maṇḍala-procedure.’ [F.89.a]

2.606“The vidyā holder can take the jar full of scented water, incant it one hundred and eight times, and bathe in it on an auspicious day of the bright fortnight during the asterism of Puṣya. The moment he does, he will be free of all physical impurities and become completely pure, [Tiv.18] purifying his fivefold bodily existence. His five sense faculties, including the five types of hearing, the five types of seeing, the five types of smelling, the five types of tasting, and the five types of consciousness, will be completely purified. Noble Avalokiteśvara will always grant him boons and will always be willing to appear to him. He will be able to clearly perceive all the tathāgatas, and he will always receive the bodhisattvas’ attention.

2.607“All deities will stand by to guard, protect, and defend the vidyā holder, and gods such as Śakra and Brahmā will always attend upon him. The Four Great Kings with their armies and retinues will assemble wherever he is, in order to guard, protect, and defend him at all times. Nārāyaṇa, Maheśvara, and Maṇibhadra, together with many hundreds of thousands of guhyakas, will guard, defend, and protect him and will ensure his peace and well-being. The vidyā holder will also obtain amogha knowledge and amogha insight, as well as amogha learning, discipline, and courage. He will develop amogha generosity and accumulate amogha merit. That is to say, he will fully realize the six perfections.

2.608“The vidyā holder will also develop infinite powers and skills, including magical powers and knowledge. He will possess amogha strength, heroism, and enterprise, and he will obtain the wonderful array of qualities of the buddha fields. [F.89.b] He will accumulate and bring to perfect fruition the roots of virtue equal to those of the tathāgatas as numerous as the hundreds of thousands of millions grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. He will be honored and celebrated by all beings, and they will all fall under his thrall. He will be revered to the same degree as sacred relics. [A.47.b]

“This was the maṇḍala procedure.” [B9]

2.609Then the bodhisattva great being Noble Avalokiteśvara got up from his seat, draped his robe over his left shoulder, knelt on his right knee, approached the Blessed One, and circled him clockwise three times. He then bowed his head to the feet of the Blessed One [Tiv.19] and said, “Lord, in this great manual of mine that belongs to the lotus family and constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation, there is a great king of vidyās that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. I will now, lord, make it known to this assembly, in front of you.” Looking up at the Blessed One and smiling, Noble Avalokiteśvara pronounced the following heart mantra of Amoghapāśa:

2.610“Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times! Homage to all the pratyekabuddhas and all the congregations of noble śrāvakas of the past, present, and future! Homage to those who follow the right conduct and to those who have entered the right path! Homage to the great being, Śāradvatīsuta! Homage to the supreme congregations of great bodhisattvas headed by Noble Maitreya! Homage to the noble Tathāgata Amitābha, the worthy, fully realized Buddha. Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the bodhisattva great being Noble Avalokiteśvara, who has great compassion! Having saluted you, the supreme and noble congregations of great sages, I will now pass on to you, in the midst of this great assembly, this heart mantra, referred to as Amogharāja , that emerges from the mouth of Noble Avalokiteśvara and is spoken in front of the tathāgatas. [F.90.a] May Śrī, the goddess of the three worlds, grant me success in all my endeavors! May I and all beings be protected from all dangers! The mantra to recite is:

2.611[167] “ Oṁ, cara cara, ciri ciri, curu curu, O greatly compassionate! Viri viri, piri piri, ciri ciri, O supremely compassionate! Siri siri, piri piri, ciri ciri, O great one with the lotus in your hand! Kala kala, kili kili, kulu kulu, O great pure being! Come, come! Awaken, awaken! Cleanse, cleanse! Kaṇa kaṇa, kiṇi kiṇi, kuṇu kuṇu, O supremely pure being! Kara kara, kiri kiri, kuru kuru, you of great tenacity! Cala cala, sañcala sañcala, vicala vicala, eṭaṭa eṭaṭa, bhara bhara, bhiri bhiri, bhuru bhuru, come, come, O greatly compassionate! You wear the garb of the great Paśupati, wear, wear, sara sara, cara cara, hara hara! Hā hā hā hā! Hī hī hī hī! Hū hū hū hū! You wear the garb of Oṁkāra Brahmā, [Tiv.20] wear, wear, dhiri dhiri, dhuru dhuru, tara tara, sara sara, para para, cara cara, vara vara! Your body is adorned with hundreds of thousands of beautiful rays of light! Blaze, blaze, heat up, heat up! O lord whose feet are worshiped by Soma, Āditya, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Brahmā, Indra, and the hosts of ṛṣis and gods, suru suru, curu curu, puru puru, muru muru! You are the leader of sages and gods such as Sanatkumāra, Rudra, Vāsava, Viṣṇu, and Dhanada! You wear many garbs, wear, wear, dhiri dhiri, dhuru dhuru, thara thara, ghara ghara, yara yara, lara lara, hara hara, mara mara, vara vara! You, the great boon-granting lokeśvara lord with panoptic vision, muhu muhu, muru muru, muya muya, liberate, liberate! Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara, [A.48.a] protect me, protect me and all beings from all dangers, misfortunes, and disasters, and from all the grahas and diseases! You deliver from all killings, imprisonment, abuses by the kings, thieves, bandits, fires, floods, poisons, and weapons! Kaṇa kaṇa, kiṇi kiṇi, kuṇu kuṇu, cara cara! You teach about the sense faculties, the strengths, the limbs of awakening, and the four truths of the noble ones! Tama tama, dama dama, sama sama, masa masa! You are the great being who dispels darkness and grants the fulfillment of the six perfections! [F.90.b] Mili mili, taṭa taṭa, ṭhaṭha ṭhaṭha, ṭiṭi ṭiṭi, ṭuṭu ṭuṭu, ṭhiṭhi ṭhiṭhi, ṭhuṭhu ṭhuṭhu! You who wear a sash made from the skin of black antelope, come, come! You who crush Īśvara, Maheśvara, and the hordes of the great bhūtas, act, act, para para, kaṭa kaṭa, maṭa maṭa! You, greatly compassionate, abide in the pure sphere! You wear a white sacred thread, a jewel diadem, and a rosary! Your head is crowned with the omniscient one, and the extraordinary palms of your hands are like lotuses! Being unshakeable, you produce meditative absorption, one-pointed concentration, and liberation! You bring the mindstreams of many beings to maturity. Being very compassionate, you purify all the karmic obscurations! You save from all diseases, you fulfill all hopes, and you bring comfort to all beings! Homage be to you! Svāhā!”

2.612The moment the great bodhisattva being Noble Avalokiteśvara had spoken thus, [Tiv.21] and while he was in the middle of reciting the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa in the great assembly, the earth, together with its mountains, forests, and groves, quaked in six different ways, and a great light spread throughout the world. A great rain of divine flowers fell‍—including blue, pink, and white lotuses, water lilies, and mandārava flowers‍—until they lay on the ground knee deep. Tūrya and tāḍava instruments resounded. Celestial deities rained down adornments and ornaments from the vault of the sky upon the Blessed One. All members of the assembly that were gathered there, including devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, kinnaras, mahoragas, and guhyakas, applauded Noble Avalokiteśvara, saying, “Good! It is good, O pure great being! We shall rain a great rain of jewels upon those who recite this heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, this great wish-fulfilling jewel that is extremely difficult to find. We will rain it upon those who recite this great sovereign ritual that grants the supreme accomplishment. The vidyā holder who recites it will therefore accomplish all his activities.”

2.613“The vidyā holder should recite the above mantra at the three times of the day. He should wear clean clothes, bathe three times a day, and subsist on the three ‘white’ foods. He should place an image of the goddess Śrī in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara and make offerings to her. [F.91.a] He should recite the mantra one hundred and eight times, each time incanting a single mustard seed and casting it at the great goddess. From the fourteenth through the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, the divine Śrī will come, purify the results of the five acts of immediate retribution, and grant a vision of Noble Avalokiteśvara. All the vidyā holder’s negativity will be purified.

2.614“To create the protective boundary required for a rite of pacifying, the vidyā holder should burn incense of agalloch and sandalwood and drive a stake made of cutch wood into the ground along with ashes and mustard seeds. In the event of any type of fever, he should procure a thread woven by a virgin girl, incant it twenty-one times with the above mantra, and tie it on. All fevers will then be cured. In the event of any disease, he should incant ghee and sesame oil and place them in a copper dish along with the stamens, kernels, and flowers of a lotus. When these have been prepared, they should be drunk, eaten, or rubbed into the affected limbs. If they are incanted twenty-one times, the patient will be cured of all diseases. [A.48.b]

2.615“In order to destroy kākhordas, the vidyā holder should incant a mixture of ghee and honey twenty-one times, smear a protective layer on the body of the affected person, and rub it in well. Then, removing it along with the bodily impurities it absorbed, [Tiv.22] he should make it into an effigy of the kākhorda and cut it with a blade incanted seven times. All the mantras of the kākhordas will be broken, the patient will be freed from all diseases, and the kākhordas will perish in great numbers.

2.616“If the vidyā holder incants a protective cord twenty-one times and ties a knot in it, he will ensure great protection. Those who are frightened, fearful, or terrified will no longer be afraid. Those suffering from stomachache should be given warm salty water that has been incanted seven times, and the stomachache will disappear. To neutralize poison, the vidyā holder should incant water seven times and give it to the affected person. All poison will be neutralized, and that person will be free from poison. In the event of eye disease, a white cord should be tied to the person’s ear, and all their eye diseases will be cured. If someone is given a powerful poison, the vidyā holder should incant clay and apply it as a plaster. That person will then be free from poison. [F.91.b] If someone is suffering from a toothache, the vidyā holder should incant a tooth stick made of oleander, sumana, or gulgula and let the affected person chew it. The toothache will then go away.

2.617“To create any kind of protective boundary, the vidyā holder should prepare a five-colored thread, incant it twenty-one times, and stretch it between four pegs of cutch wood. If the pegs are planted in the four cardinal directions, a great protective boundary is created. In the event of seizures, the vidyā holder should incant the five-colored thread twenty-one times, and all seizures will be cured. In the event of intestinal worms, abscesses, or asthma attacks, the vidyā holder should prepare and apply a mixture of honey and pepper. He can also rub the same paste into wounds. In the case of asthma, the paste should be applied with hot water; all the sufferers will be cured of asthma and seizures.

2.618“In the event of eye disease, the patient should be bathed in scented water. The vidyā holder should incant water containing the flowers of flame-of-the-forest and the sticks of licorice seven times and bathe the patient in it. All eye diseases will then be cured. In the event of earache, the vidyā holder should cook some dill in oil in a copper pot and fill the ear with it. The earache will then cease. In the event of any quarrels, disputes, contests, disagreements, or slander, the vidyā holder should incant water seven times and rinse his mouth with it. He will then win every time.

2.619“In the event that foreign armies invade the realm, or when there are hostile states, adversaries, or opponents, or any battles, the vidyā holder should draw a maṇḍala with cow dung and place four full jars around it. Ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, he should burn incense of agarwood, make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara, [Tiv.23] and worship this sūtra, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. Reciting it aloud will bring great peace. Everyone’s hearts and minds will be suffused with loving kindness, he will bring victory to all, and peace will reign.

2.620“The vidyā holder should sprinkle his entire body with that water and mark his chest with a bindi of sandalwood that has been incanted twenty-one times. Keeping the mantra continually in his mind will exhaust the consequences of all acts of immediate retribution and ensure the complete protection of his house. If he offers a homa with the flowers of lotus, [F.92.a] snake root, and giant milkweed smeared with ghee, this will ensure great protection for the house, securing it against all bhūtas, grahas, and rākṣasas.

2.621“Additionally, if the vidyā holder wants to fashion an amulet that accomplishes all activities, he should procure all the ingredients and separate them into equal portions. Ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, he should recite the heart mantra one hundred and eight times while performing all the necessary preparations. He should grind each of the following into a fine powder: jayā, vijayā, snake root, gandhanākulī, cāriṇī, abhayapāṇi, indrapāṇi, mahaleb cherry, [A.49.a] crepe jasmine, cyperus, mahācakrā, ironweed, and snakewood. Adding rainwater, he should blend everything with sandalwood and cool saffron water, cleanse it, and recite the mantra one hundred and eight times.

2.622“The vidyā holder should then fashion the amulet in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara and once again incant it twenty-one times while burning agarwood incense. He should then place it at the feet of the Blessed One and let it dry in his shadow, covered with a silken cloth. Picking it up again, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times and the mantra of Krodharāja three times. Then, with the amulet on his head, he should make generous offerings to the king and his harem. They will all fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall, as will all four castes, who will regard him as their sole teacher.

2.623“All deities will transfer their vital energy to him, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will always look after him. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara will always stand by him and continuously grant him boons. His adversaries and opponents will become his steady followers and will fall under his thrall. He will not meet with any wicked beings or kākhordas, and he will not be exposed to venom, poisonous powders, or kiraṇas. Instead they will all be destroyed. [Tiv.24] He will always possess the glow of vitality, enjoy prosperity and merit, and possess a store of virtue. [F.92.b]

2.624“All the tathāgatas will watch over him, and they will always appear to him whenever he wishes. He will succeed in everything, all the time, and his good fortune will increase without hindrance. The strength of his arm will equal that of a large elephant, and in battle or war he will be truly victorious, endowed with great strength, courage, and valor. He will master the great and detailed rites of the vidyādhara s, and he will be unassailable by yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, grahas, and apasmāras. He will no longer have nightmares, and bad omens will never appear to him.

2.625“When the amulet is placed around the necks of children, they will never be afflicted by seizures, fevers, or diseases, nor will they be abducted by child-stealing demons. Mahākāla and his retinue of mātṛs will join forces to follow the wearer of the amulet and to guard, protect, and defend him, thus ensuring that he lives a long life. If women bathe with it then put on clean clothes and make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara, they will gain prosperity and pacify misfortune. Marital relations will always be harmonious, they will give birth to male children, and their children will be numerous. Everyone will find these women attractive, they will never again be affected by the faults particular to their gender, and they will not be born as a woman again, unless they wish otherwise. After they die, they will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī.

2.626“Wearing this amulet, one will be universally protected and will not become a victim of poison, weapons, or fire. Poison will fail to act. For the one wearing this amulet, poisons will be neutralized, and the effects will rapidly cease. They will experience no pain, [F.93.a] and any effects will comfortably ease. To stop strong winds and thunderstorms, the vidyā holder should throw water incanted seven times into the sky. All winds and thunderstorms will then stop. To reverse their course, he can use a sprig from a pomegranate or oleander tree, and they will turn back.

2.627“To improve his memory, [A.49.b] [Tiv.25] the vidyā holder should, without speaking, mentally recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times in the presence of Avalokiteśvara, and then throw the amulet along with hot water. He will thereby become an ocean-like receptacle of great learning, able to comprehend and recite thousands of verses . If the vidyā holder wants to bring the king, harem, and retinue of any kingdom or state under his thrall, he should anoint himself with the water. They will fall under his thrall when he enters. If he anoints his knees, he can cross any large river, the water only reaching his knees as he passes to the other shore.

2.628“If the amulet is mounted on the tip of a banner, the bearer can safely enter any battle or fight, or any group of people. If he holds the amulet up and enters high mountains, impenetrable thickets, valleys, gorges, or forests, he will be able to cross them safely and in comfort and will not face any danger from thieves, rogues, bandits, or wild animals. He will pass unseen.

2.629“If the vidyā holder is bound or imprisoned in any way, he should anoint his restraints with the water, and all the fetters, shackles, and chains will break. If he anoints his body, he will become invisible to weapons. If he anoints his eyes at bedtime, he will have great dreams, and anything that he thinks of and requests will appear to him. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him and offer him instruction. He will not suffer from any eye diseases. If the vidyā holder holds the amulet in his mouth, anyone he talks to will fall under his thrall. If he anoints the forehead of someone suffering from seizures, the graha will leave the sufferer at that instant and tell him everything.

2.630“If the vidyā holder anoints his palm and touches an elephant, it will fall under his thrall and go wherever he directs it. [F.93.b] If the vidyā holder makes a bindi mark between his eyebrows, he will be greatly honored by everyone in the world. If he anoints his throat to resemble Nīlakaṇṭha, all the brahmins will fall under his thrall and serve him as his attendants. If he anoints his eyes with milk and incants them, he will be able to see at night as if it were daytime, all the residences of yakṣas and rākṣasas will appear open to him, and all treasure troves will be exposed.

2.631“If the vidyā holder throws the amulet into a pond inhabited by nāgas, the great nāgas will release torrents of rain. If it rains too much, the vidyā holder should throw the amulet mixed with water toward the sky, and it will stop. If he releases a stream of water in the direction of the cloud, hail will no longer fall. If he ties the amulet to his hand, anything he touches will becomes inexhaustible. If he ties the amulet to his calf, he will be able to walk into the midst of a fire without being burned, and he will feel as cool as sandalwood. [Tiv.26] If he anoints his sword and enters battle, his whole body will be engulfed by flame, and the entire enemy army will flee. He will be completely victorious.

2.632“If the vidyā holder gives the powdered preparation to someone whose strength has been sapped by a serious illness, their weakness will fade away. Those who suffer from dysentery or seizures should be given hot water, and they will be instantly cured. If it is spread on someone who suffers from pain in the side of their body, the pain will cease. For any disease, the vidyā holder should combine the preparation with melted ghee and oil. It can then be rubbed in, eaten, taken as a beverage, taken through the nose, or smeared on, and any disease will be cured and never recur.

2.633“If the vidyā holder smears the preparation around a secret entrance, recites the heart mantra seven times while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa, and then recites the Krodharāja mantra once, he will be able to enter as if it were his own house. All the locks will break apart, all hostile beings will be restrained, and all the vighnas and vināyakas will disappear. If the vidyā holder holds the amulet in his mouth and mentally recites this heart sūtra of Amoghapāśa once, it will be the same as if he were to recite it one hundred thousand times, [A.50.a] [F.94.a] and he will possess roots of virtue equal to those of all tathāgatas.

2.634“If the vidyā holder anoints the axel of a chariot, he will find victory in any battle. If he sprinkles the preparation on merchandise, he will sell it for a large sum of money. If he sprinkles it onto a girl’s face, he will be able to carry her off. If he marks his chest with a bindi, he will be invisible everywhere he goes. This great amulet completely fulfills all wishes, accomplishes whatever task it is employed for, and protects both oneself and others. When combined with recitation, it will render the vidyā holder unassailable by vighnas and vināyakas. If the vidyā holder incants sesame water seven times, all the vighnas and vināyakas will be pacified.

2.635“To pacify ill luck, the vidyā holder should draw Noble Avalokiteśvara on a round piece of cloth and mentally recite the mantra in front of it one thousand and eight times while making extensive offerings. Ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, he should burn agarwood incense and light lamps with scented oil. As soon as he finishes the recitation, all his ill luck [Tiv.27] will be dispelled. To bring an end to poverty, to ward off failure, and to dispel evil, bad dreams, bad omens, and obscurations, the vidyā holder should fill a golden or silver jar with scented water, incant it one hundred and eight times, and sprinkle the water everywhere. All the above will be removed, and the vidyā holder will experience tremendous worldly affluence.

2.636“To exorcise all the grahas, the vidyā holder should offer a homa of sesame and rice. To cure all diseases and ailments, he should incant water and give it to the patient. To prevent untimely death, he should recite the heart mantra one hundred times in full at the three times of the day. This will ward off untimely death. To break any fetters, shackles, or chains, he should recite the heart mantra one hundred and eight times every day. To enthrall a king, he should recite the heart mantra one hundred and eight times on the royal road, and the king and his retinue will become enthralled.

2.637“To paralyze thieves and bandits, the vidyā holder should offer a homa of rājakośātakī seeds. [F.94.b] To extinguish a fire, he should incant cutch tree sticks and throw them into the fire. The fire will then be arrested. To stop a flood, the vidyā holder should throw śalyakī into the water. The flood will then be arrested. Poison can be neutralized with an incanted peacock feather. To immobilize weapons, the vidyā holder should sprinkle them with the ashes from a tree burned by lightning. Any weapon will then be immobilized.

2.638“To accomplish any type of samādhi, the vidyā holder should display the samādhi mudrā and recite the heart mantra. He will then attain one thousand samādhis. To fully accomplish the six perfections, a vidyā holder who is a monk, a nun, a male lay practitioner, or a female lay practitioner should use cow dung to make a symmetrical maṇḍala with four corners. He should worship it with the scents of sandalwood, saffron, musk, and camphor and strew it with various flowers. Noble Avalokiteśvara should be placed facing the vidyā holder and surrounded by four jars full of fragrant water, four dishes with the argha water, and four incense holders. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should place a jar with scented water, and on top of this jar, a copy of the blessed Prajñāpāramitā adorned with all ornaments.

2.639“The vidyā holder should then light four scented lamps, lay out abundant offerings, and adorn the maṇḍala with banners. He should sit with legs crossed in front of the maṇḍala and recite the heart mantra one thousand and ten times, the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. This will bring the full accomplishment of the six perfections. Noble Prajñāpāramitā will appear, [Tiv.28] enabling the vidyā holder to accumulate the roots of every virtue. [A.50.b] The vidyā holder will be able to guide many hundreds of thousands of beings by reciting the mantra one thousand and eight times on top of a mountain.

2.640“If the vidyā holder wants to destroy all māras and hostile beings, he should incant a vajra or a trident one thousand and eight times. He will cause them to tremble by displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa and bind them using the threatening mudrā of Krodharāja. Angrily incanting the vajra or trident twenty-one times, he should throw it into the sky. [F.95.a] Propelled in such a way, it will crush all wicked beings, the māras and so forth.

2.641“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish all activities and all mantras, and if he wishes to attain the complete fulfillment of all he desires, he should display the mudrā of Amogharāja and recite the mantra one thousand and twenty times. This will result in great accomplishment. If he wants to be consecrated by all the tathāgatas, he should recite the mantra one thousand and thirty-two times. If he then sprinkles himself with the scented water from the vase, he will be consecrated by all the tathāgatas.

2.642“If the vidyā holder recites the mantra ten thousand times while gazing at a statue of the Tathāgata that contains relics, he will himself become a tathāgata. If he plants the vajra or trident at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara and recites the mantra ten thousand times, he will become like Noble Avalokiteśvara. If he wants to summon Vajrapāṇi, he should plant it at the feet of an image of Vajrapāṇi and recite the mantra one thousand times while burning bdellium incense. Noble Vajrapāṇi will then appear before the vidyā holder in person.

2.643“The mantra of Krodharāja can be mentally recited and the mudrā of Amoghapāśa displayed in any context, and even that which had not previously been accomplished or previously recited will be accomplished. Using them, the practitioner can accomplish innumerable rites. His accomplishment will be indicated by his qualities of compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity, a sense of shame, pity, loving kindness, and insight. He will attain complete success in armor and other rites, and he will shine with his accumulated great merit.

2.644“By first reciting the Krodharāja mantra, the vidyā holder will always create a protection circle and bind the directions, the region, and the maṇḍala. This is an exceedingly rare rite of protection, one through which he will be consecrated by all tathāgatas and their heirs and gain the protective armor. Consecrated thus to always succeed in every rite, and knowing the samaya, he will easily obtain the complete accomplishment of Amogharāja and gain comfort and encouragement. The lokeśa Padmapāṇi [Tiv.29] will grant him boons. He should therefore always recite the Krodharāja mantra. If he desires consecration, all the tathāgata victors who know the truth will consecrate him. [F.95.b]

2.645“Now I will teach the mantra of Krodharāja, supreme among the sovereign rites of Amoghapāśa. The vidyā holder should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, and possess insight and realization. The following accomplishment and means has been prophesied by all tathāgatas.

2.646“Homage to all the tathāgatas, and to Noble Avalokiteśvara and Vajradhara!

2.647[168] “ Oṁ, cara cara, curu curu, O most compassionate! Ciri ciri, biri biri, O great one with a lotus in your hand! Kala kala, kulu kulu, you of great tenacity! Cara cara, cara cara, O Lord of the creatures of the night! Come, come! Grant accomplishment, grant! Awaken, awaken! Cleanse, cleanse! Kiṇi kiṇi, O supremely pure being! Kara kara, kiri kiri, kuru kuru, O wearer of the garb of the great Paśupati! Hā hā, hī hī, hū hū, O wearer of the garb of Oṁkāra Brahmā! Sara sara, vara vara, you with the body adorned with hundreds of thousands of beautiful rays of light! Blaze, blaze, heat up, heat up, O Lord whose feet are worshiped by Soma, Āditya, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Brahmā, Indra, and the hosts of ṛṣis and gods! Suru suru, muru muru, O leader of sages and gods such as Sanatkumāra, Rudra, Viṣṇu, Vāsava, and Dhanada! You wear many garbs! Wear, wear! You, the great boon-granting lokeśvara lord with panoptic vision! Muya muya, save, save, [A.51.a] O savior from killings, imprisonment, beatings, abuses by kings, bandits, fires, floods, poison, and weapons! Kaṇa kaṇa, O teacher of the strengths, the limbs of awakening, and the four truths of the noble ones! Tame, tame! Pacify, pacify, O great pacifier and remover of the darkness of ignorance! Mili mili, O wearer of a sash made from the skin of black antelope! Come, come! Maṭa maṭa, O compassionate one who abides in the pure realm! You wear a white sacred thread, a jewel diadem, and a rosary! Your head is crowned with the omniscient one, and your hands are cupped! You, the unshakeable one, produce meditative absorption, one-pointed concentration, and liberation! You help accomplish the six perfections and bring the mindstreams of many beings to maturity! You crush all the wicked ones, including all māras! You grant every accomplishment and fulfill every hope! Please consecrate me, O Blessed Amogharāja! Grant me the empowerment of all the tathāgatas! Hūṁ phaṭ! Homage be to you! Svāhā!

2.648“This mantra, employed the same way as the previous one, is suitable for all activities. [Tiv.30] It is called Wrathful Amoghapāśa and is supremely effective in all activities.

2.649“The mantra of summoning:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the noble Tathāgata Amitābha! [F.96.a] Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion, the one who grants the boons of Amogha , the pure being with the noose in his hand!

2.650[169] “Come, come, O Lord ! You, with the lotus in your hand, whose fingers form the boon-granting gesture! You, with the lotus-like arm, who wear the garb of the great Paśupati! Please be kind and arrive soon! You move with great speed, adorned with light rays! Laugh, laugh, O pure amogha being! Move, move! Proceed, proceed! Come, come, O Blessed Avalokiteśvara! Accept these fragrant flowers I have gathered! Svāhā to you, Unfailing Accomplishment through the truth of the Three Jewels!

2.651“This mantra effects summoning. The vidyā holder should recite it twenty-one times while burning incense of agarwood. This mantra is for the summoning of Noble Avalokiteśvara, who inhabits every maṇḍala.

2.652“The mantra of offering fragrances:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion, perfumed with all fragrances, who grants boons with his amogha arms!

2.653[170] “You are delightfully adorned with fragrant garlands and beautified by the crescent moon on your head. Please accept these fragrances, flowers, and scented unguents from me! Vara vara, O boon granter! Svāhā!

“The fragrances offered should be incanted with this mantra seven times.

2.654“The mantra of offering flowers:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.655[171] “ Hili hili, mili mili, O great luminous and immaculate one who wears the garb of Brahmā and grants the boon of kind disposition! Turu turu, O one adorned with colorful garlands! Hara hara, mara mara, turu turu! Take delight in the essence of Amogha ! Accept from me these fine flowers! Svāhā!

“The vidyā holder should offer flowers incanted with this mantra seven times.

2.656“The vidyā for calling to mind Noble Avalokiteśvara:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.657[172] “You grant the boons of the great bodhisattva. Remember, remember the samaya of the Blessed One! You obtain comfort from all tathāgatas. Look at the Blessed One! You watch over all beings. You are endowed with the amogha quality. You with the noose in your hand, you are accomplished, you are! You have accomplished your vow. By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, bhuru bhuru! Svāhā to the protector of the true samaya! [Tiv.31]

2.658“The vidyā for the bali offering:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! [F.96.b] Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.659[173] “ Dhure dhure, vajra­dhara [A.51.b] padma­jaye vigatavā­varade! Vega vega, dhuṭa dhuṭa, sarvabījapriye! By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, mili mili! Svāhā!

“The vidyā holder should offer bali incanted with this mantra seven times.

2.660“The vidyā of lamps:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.661[174] “O Lord with the indestructible wisdom-body of a tathāgata! Āhara āhara! You on a lotus seat, with lotus-like arms, a white body, and white arms, adorned with white garlands! Dhuma dhuma! Burn! By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha! Svāhā!

“The vidyā of lamps should be recited seven times.

2.662“The vidyā of ablution:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.663[175] “ Oṁ, Hero! Hero Padmapāṇi! Come, come! You have accomplished the amogha nature. You are impelled by the rays of light in the sky of all the tathāgatas. You purify all the vidyā holders. You have accomplished the blazing amogha light. Svāhā!

“The vidyā holder should incant a jar of scented water with this mantra seven times and then wash himself with it.

2.664“The vidyā of clothing:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.665[176] “ Dhume dhume! O dhudhuma lotus! You are pure like a lotus, pure and immaculate with a golden hue. You are the purity of pure essences, the purity within the pure sphere! O lotus-limbed one! You clothe beings in clothes. Svāhā!

“The vidyā of clothing should be recited seven times.

2.666“The vidyā of beds and seats:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.667[177] “O bringer of peace, please pacify! Bring me peace, O venerable goddess of the three worlds! Give me protection and well-being! You bring me joy. Please purify all my wrongdoings! You are peaceful, pure, auspicious, and immaculate! You win through peace; yours is the perfect victory! O Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara, move, move! Svāhā!

“If the vidyā holder sleeps on a bed or couch incanted with this vidyā, he will not have any bad dreams or see bad omens. [Tiv.32]

2.668“The vidyā of the water:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.669[178] “O divine water, distinguished by the presence of the nāgas! O carrier of water! You purge the water of serpent-demons and remove the danger of rough waters. You are the water in the lotus pond, [F.97.a] pure as lotuses! You are the water for the hands. Please purify the body! Vara vara, O water! Svāhā!

“The vidyā of water, used for bathing, drawing, and sprinkling, should always be recited seven times.

2.670“The vidyā of sacrificial food:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion, who benefits all beings, who grants them amogha boons, who gives food and drink to all beings, and who gives food of various flavors to devas, nāgas, and so forth!

2.671[179] “O goddess of the entire world! You purify the world and satiate it, O pure, most eminent one! Svāhā!

2.672“The vidyā for casting off used garlands:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.673[180] “You are worshiped by all gods and asuras! You fill up the space! You are perfumed with every fragrance! You possess the purity of the sky! You are the light of liberation! O victorious goddess of victory, the provider of discarded garlands! You purify the scent of flowers in the discarded garlands; purify it! You are the purity of all the tathāgatas, the lotus-like purifier! [A.52.a] Svāhā!

2.674“The vidyā for arresting the semen:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.675[181] “You possess the ability to contain and the ability to arrest. Arrest it, arrest, O semen purifier! Marked with a white garland, you are the purifier of semen. O purity of the semen! Svāhā!

“If the vidyā holder ties twenty-one knots in a wisp of kuśa grass, a woven thread, or a thread spun by a virgin girl, incanted with this vidyā twenty-one times, the semen will be arrested.

2.676“The vidyā of warding off vighnas and vināyakas:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.677[182] “O blazing blaze! O immaculate blaze! You are like the sun, powerful and pure! Be victorious, O wearer of lotus garlands! Svāhā!

“If the vidyā holder incants the ashes left after the fire sacrifice seven times with this vidyā and strews them all around, the vighnas and vināyakas will never come again. [Tiv.33]

2.678“The vidyā of the ritual sprinkling:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.679[183] “Water, water! Rich in water! Source of water! The swimming place of nāgas! O divine water! Mili mili! Svāhā! [F.97.b]

2.680“The vidyā of the seat:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.681[184] “O captivating one of yellow color! Yellow like piṅgala! Hiri hiri! Stir, O Lord, stir and remain! Protect me, protect! By the truth of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, svāhā!

“The vidyā holder should incant the seat of kuśa grass with this vidyā of the seat seven times.

2.682“The vidyā of Padmasundarī:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to all the deities of the maṇḍala! Homage to the vidyā deities who accomplish every rite! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.683[185] “Come, Blessed Padmasundarī! Great vidyā goddess! Move, move, O swift Padmasundarī! Huru huru! Svāhā!

“The vidyā holder should worship Padmasundarī, the rākṣasī Ekajaṭā, and Kṛtyā every day with offerings of flowers, incense, bali, fragrances, and so forth incanted seven times with this vidyā. No vighnas will ever come again.

2.684“The vidyā that is suitable for every rite:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Krodharāja! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion! Homage to the one who belongs to all the vidyā families!

2.685[186] “You possess the majestic power of the amogha essence! You pacify all vighnas! Bring them over! Bring them together! You sit on a lotus seat, your lotus arms adorned with jewels and gold! Carry across, carry across! Deliver from evil! You are the victorious amogha essence! O three-eyed one with hands that grant boons! Remember, remember the samaya of all the blessed tathāgatas! Wear, wear, bhuru bhuru, O wearer of the garb of Brahmā whose body is adorned! You are the great remover of fear! Look at and watch over them, you who watch over all beings! Vara vara, O boon giver! Svāhā!

“This vidyā is suitable for all activities. In particular, it affords protection during sādhana practice by employing the many attendant vidyās dwelling within the maṇḍala.

2.686“The vidyā of binding the maṇḍala:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! [Tiv.34] Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.687[187] “ Para para, mara mara, bind, bind everywhere, you with the unfailing noose in your hand! [A.52.b] Remain, remain! By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, svāhā! [F.98.a]

“The vidyā holder should bind the maṇḍala by scattering the ashes incanted with this vidyā twenty-one times while displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa.

2.688“The vidyā of binding the directions:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.689[188] “You bind the directions, O unfailing and perfect one! Muru muru, suru suru, turu turu! O destroyer of all vighnas, adorned with lotus ponds! By the truth of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, please bind, O unconquerable giver of boons! Svāhā!

“The vidyā holder should bind the directions after summoning the deities.

2.690“The vidyā of dismissing the deities:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.691[189] “ Hili hili, mili mili, siri siri, piri piri, move, move, move fast, O driver of the best of chariots! Dara dara, go, go to the abode of Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara! Hurry, hurry, O bearer of the amogha lotus! Svāhā!

2.692“The vidyā holder should offer whatever flowers are available, held in his folded hands, after incanting them with this vidyā twenty-one times. He should then dismiss the deities.

“This was the ritual instruction on the vidyās.

2.693“Now I will teach a ritual procedure that employs a painting and is easy to practice. I will teach a heart mantra of Amogharāja, the great Krodharāja, that is supremely effective. The Krodharāja mantra accomplished in this rite constitutes the supreme accomplishment. I will now teach this vidyā that brings supreme amogha accomplishment. By merely repeating it, the vidyā holder can accomplish any rite. Able to see perfectly realized beings, he will behold hundreds of thousands of millions of buddhas. He will plant the roots of virtue and accumulate an amount of merit equal to that of hundreds of thousands of millions of buddhas, equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. All his nonvirtue will be pacified, and his strength and courage will increase. He will succeed without fail in all rites and attain true accomplishment.”

2.694As soon as Noble Avalokiteśvara called the mantra to mind, the earth quaked, [F.98.b] as did the heaven of Thirty-Three, the realms of the asuras, the oceans, and the mountains. The nāgas trembled, [Tiv.35] and the yakṣas and rākṣasas fled. The supreme vidyārājas , engaged in the war between the gods and asuras, and Vajrapāṇi and the yakṣas with their mounts and chariots, all trembled and shook, with halos of flames appearing around their bodies. The Four Great Kings and their finest palaces shook too. All of them gathered together and approached the Lokeśvara for refuge, saying, “Protect us, O Blessed Lord whose very nature is compassion!”

2.695The great bodhisattva being Noble Avalokiteśvara then approached the Blessed One and said, “O Lord, I have a king of vidyās that is the essence of Amoghasiddhi. By merely reciting it, one can swiftly accomplish the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. Merely calling it to mind will grant the vision of Noble Avalokiteśvara in his divine nature and will bring every supreme accomplishment. Therefore, O Lord, I will now reveal it in this assembly here before you.

2.696“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the blessed Tathāgata Amitābha. Homage to the great bodhisattva being, Noble Avalokiteśvara of great compassion!

2.697[190] “ Oṁ, lotus, lotus! Your arms are adorned with the lotuses you hold. O wearer of the garb of Brahmā, wear, wear! You have a bright diadem on your head, and your body is adorned with jewelry, gold, diamonds, and beryl stones. Please ferry us, ferry, O Blessed Lord and Lady! Help us cross to the other shore! Dhūru dhūru, you with the noose of Amogha in your hand! Vara vara, O boon giver with panoptic vision! [A.53.a] O great bodhisattva who grants boons, white as lotus and sitting on a lotus seat! Blaze, blaze! You are consecrated by all the tathāgatas. O most compassionate one! O strength, strength, great strength! O swift one! With your face contorted in anger and fangs protruding, you possess great fiery energy. [F.99.a] Yours is a vast knowledge, O boon giver! Yours is great compassion, O wearer of the garb of the great Paśupati! Move, move! You are the best means of accumulating merit. Endowed with the meditative concentration and samādhi of a sugata, you can see everywhere! You are Īśvara and Maheśvara, the tamer of wicked beings! You are the fierce tamer of the deities of dissolution, the great wearer of the garb of the lord of wrath! Sama sama! You possess great tenacity, and your splendor exceeds that of the moon and the sun. [Tiv.36] Mala mala, you purify all impurities. You are the wearer of the great garb of Maheśvara surrounded by multitudes of gaṇas and ṛṣis. Your topknots are adorned with the victorious Amitābha, your right head with the moon. Crush them, crush, O destroyer of the hordes of all yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas. Ferry across, ferry across, you who are adorned with a multitude of stars and garlanded with constellations! O you whose thoughts are filled with supreme love, who has great compassion, and who is the bringer of ruin upon all the vighnas. Para para, you who comprise the full maṇḍala! Happy and at ease, you fully accomplish the six perfections. Mili mili! O wearer of the tunic made from the skin of a black antelope and an upper garment made of a tiger skin, wear, wear! Your gaze, O three-eyed one, is that of all the tathāgatas. You carry a trident, a blazing vajra, and an unfailing noose in your hand. You assume the forms of Yama, Varuṇa, and Kubera, and also of the nāga kings. Your body is immaculately pure, and you pacify all nonvirtue, purify all obscurations, and remove all evil. You enthrall the three worlds and purify all beings. Blessed by all tathāgatas, you grant the bodhisattva boon of awakening. Oṁ, O pure one adorned with lotuses! Dhiri dhiri! Watch over me! Sama sama, accomplish all my activities! You are the perfect essence of Amoghapāśa. You live in a secret dwelling, O boon giver, hūṁ phaṭ! Homage to you, svāhā!”

2.698As soon as these kings of vidyās of Amoghasiddhi were spoken, the hordes of bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, vighnas, and vināyakas fell face down, consumed in one conflagration as their houses burst into flames. Vajrapāṇi, on the other hand, the great yakṣa general, was thrilled and got goose bumps. The hosts of gods, including Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and the Four Great Kings, were all terrified, as were the lesser gods and asuras. The ṛṣis cowered, and so did all the nāga kings who live in the great oceans. [F.99.b] All the nāgas who send rain were shaken. The gods and nāgas who live in water became agitated, as did the gods who live in the great oceans or on the island of Laṅkā.

2.699The vidyādhara emperors, the gods of the Pure Abode, and the deities who live in space, all gathered in the sky and rained upon Potala Mountain divine flowers, including various white, pink, and blue lotuses, as well as water lilies and the celestial mandārava and great mandārava flowers in vivid colors. They also sent showers of divine ornaments and adornments upon [Tiv.37] Potala Mountain. They knelt down to honor the Blessed One and played their celestial instruments in order to worship the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. They uttered loud cries of joy and lavished gifts upon him.

2.700This great vidyā was taught by Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara in order to benefit all beings.

2.701Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, then approached the great being, the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, [A.53.b] circumambulated him clockwise three times, and honored him by covering him in hundreds of thousands of tiny strings of pearls while saying, “This great vidyā that you taught, Lord , is supreme for all rites. This great vidyā, O great sage and lord of the world, is in essence Amogharāja. Please teach, Lord , the entire rite that brings the supreme amogha accomplishment! Please explain the auspicious accomplishment of all activities!”

2.702Noble Lord Avalokiteśvara replied, “I will now teach the rites of Amoghasiddhi, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, that constitute the practice procedures for the king of vidyās. First is the excellent procedure for painting.

2.703“The vidyā holder should procure a rectangular piece of cloth, symmetrical in shape. It should have an untrimmed fringe and be free of hairs. The painter should be ritually pure and bathed clean, [F.100.a] wear clean clothes, and observe a ritual fast. He should use uncontaminated paints in new containers. In the center of the painting, he should draw the noble lord Avalokiteśvara adorned with the victorious Amitābha as a crest jewel atop his topknots. His right head should also be adorned with the crescent of the new moon. Avalokiteśvara should be drawn wearing a black antelope skin and attired like Paśupati with all his ornaments. He has three heads, three eyes, and four arms. He sits on a lotus seat on top of a mountain.

2.704“His middle face is peaceful and smiling. The face on the right is angry and frowning and is adorned with Amitābha as its crest jewel and with the crescent of the new moon. The face on the left is angry and grimacing with protruding fangs; it has Amitābha above it. In his first hand, Noble Avalokiteśvara holds a lotus, with the second a trident, and with the third the unfailing noose. The Lord ’s frowning face looks at the hand holding the unfailing noose, which is raised up to the middle of the body. The fourth hand displays the gesture of giving comfort. He is enveloped by a blaze of light, with the halo extending half of a fathom in all directions. [Tiv.38]

2.705“To the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara is the goddess Tārā. She is modest in her demeanor, her body is slightly bent, and she is looking at the hand displaying the boon-granting mudrā. To the left of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should draw Padmasundarī . She is modest in her demeanor, with an accommodating attitude of respect. She is looking at the hand that holds the unfailing noose.

2.706“The rākṣasī Ekajaṭā should be drawn next to the goddess Tārā, and Vimalagati next to Padmasundarī . Bhṛkuṭī should be drawn above Tārā, with Śvetā on the other side holding a lotus in her hand. Kṛtyā should be drawn, in accordance with the mantra tradition, below Padmasundarī . Bhīmī should be drawn below Ekajaṭā. Above Noble Avalokiteśvara, the vidyā holder should draw the gods of the Pure Abode, including Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, all holding various flowers and worshiping the Lord . Below them, he should draw the Four Great Kings. Below Noble Avalokiteśvara, [F.100.b] he should chant the mantra of Amogha­rāja­krodha and draw Noble Vajrapāṇi in his wrathful form that laughs wildly.

2.707“It should be known that by merely looking at this painting, one will behold the true and real Noble Avalokiteśvara, his fine palace, and Potala Mountain with one’s very eyes. [B10] By merely seeing the painting, one will be saved from the eight great hells and the eight great fears. One will also be freed from the results of the five acts of immediate retribution. By merely seeing the painting, someone who had rejected the true Dharma and all the buddhas and bodhisattvas will be completely purified and saved from the imminent rebirth in the Avīci hell that would otherwise occur immediately after their death.

2.708“Those who behold the painting will accumulate an enormous amount of merit and plant hundreds of thousands of roots of virtue. They will obtain all worldly and divine pleasures. At the time of dying, they will see Noble Avalokiteśvara face-to-face and will be comforted by him. After death, [A.54.a] they will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī. Purified of all obscurations, they will recall five hundred thousand former births. Their birth in Sukhāvatī will be their last, and it will continue until they attain final realization. If those who merely see this painting can accumulate so much merit, what need is there to mention those who worship it with great reverence? They will be known to be irreversibly established on the path to supreme awakening.

2.709“If [Tiv.39] any son or daughter of noble family, a monk or a nun, a male or a female lay practitioner, a king, a royal minister, a member of the royal harem, or the first queen mindfully repeats the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa in front of the painting that has been executed according to procedure, honoring thus the noble lord Avalokiteśvara, they should know [F.101.a] that this act will be multiplied one hundred thousand times. It will be the same as if they performed the recitation procedure the same number of times. And if anyone mindfully repeats the mantra of Amogha­pāśa­krodha three times in front of the Blessed One without saying anything else, and then consecrates themselves, they should know that they receive consecration from all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. They will then retain the dhāraṇī of the great ritual of Amoghasiddhi until the time of final realization.

2.710“Whoever mindfully repeats the dhāraṇī of the great ritual of Amoghasiddhi in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara seven times with folded hands, circumambulates him clockwise seven times, offers him argha water for the feet, food, incense, and flowers, and bows to him should know that doing this is equivalent to mindfully repeating each and every dhāraṇī, one by one, one hundred thousand times, and repeating this Dharma discourse, this great maṇḍala of liberation that is the essence of Amoghapāśa, one hundred thousand times.

2.711“If the vidyā holder displays the mudrā of Amoghapāśa in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara while looking him in the face, if he touches him with his right and left hands and then places his hands on his own heart, this is equivalent to displaying each and every mudrā one hundred thousand times. If, O Lord , a vidyā holder who is a son or daughter of noble family, a monk or a nun, a male or a female lay practitioner, a king or a queen, a member of the royal harem, or a distinguished lady of the royal court wants to perform worship equivalent to reciting this heart dhāraṇī of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa one hundred thousand million times, receiving consecration from hundreds of thousands of millions tathāgatas, fully performing the entire ritual of Amoghapāśa, this maṇḍala of liberation, one hundred thousand million times, and displaying the mudrā of Amoghapāśa the same number of times, they should do the following. [F.101.b]

2.712“They should consecrate the painting and place it so as to face the viewer, in a place that is clean and free from distractions, such as a house, a walking path, a forest hermitage, a cave, a mountaintop, a monastery, or an ordinary house. He should clean and tidy the place, smear the floor with dung that has been correctly obtained from a tawny cow, [Tiv.40] sprinkle it with the five products of the cow, and anoint it with various fragrant unguents. Using white sandalwood, he should draw a small maṇḍala in front of the painting that is two cubits in diameter, color it with saffron, and offer musk and camphor there.

2.713“Having filled a jar with scented water and added various fragrant substances, the vidyā holder should place it in the very center of the maṇḍala and cover it with cloth. He should place fragrant flowers, incense, a bali offering, and twenty-one flower garlands around it. He should place eight earthenware vessels filled with fragrant water in the four cardinal directions. He should add another eight filled with milk, and in the spaces in between them another eight filled with milk-based sweetmeats such as sesame halva and so forth, as well as rice pudding, curd dishes, [A.54.b] molasses, candies, and ghee. Furthermore, he should add vessels with incense of black agarwood, white sandalwood, camphor, olibanum, pine resin, and flowers. He should then offer a homa of agarwood sticks, decorate the place with various flowers, and light thirty lamps.

2.714“Thoroughly bathed and wearing clean clothes, he should perform the rite on the fourteenth through the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, making offerings in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara. He should recite the Krodharāja mantra seven times and sprinkle himself with the scented water from the jar. He should display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times, and then, sitting cross-legged, he should silently repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa while displaying the mudrā of recitation. He should repeat this mantra one hundred and eight times. After that, he should recite the sovereign vidyā of Amoghasiddhi one thousand and eight times. [F.102.a]

2.715“Seventy rays of light will subsequently issue forth from the painting, illuminating the space around it. They will circumambulate the painting clockwise three times and enter the forehead of Noble Avalokiteśvara through his eyes. As soon as they enter, a great earthquake will be felt. The vidyā holder will experience goose bumps of joyous rapture, and his complexion will become very bright. Divine water will issue forth from the fingers of the hand of Noble Avalokiteśvara that displays the boon-granting mudrā, and milk will flow from his feet. The unfailing noose in his hand will blaze with light, [Tiv.41] the lotus petals on the lotus in his hand will quiver, the trident will blaze with light, and the following words of approval will be heard: ‘Good! Good, O son of noble family! You have accomplished the heart essence of Amoghapāśa! You can perform all activities. You have won the supreme accomplishment of the great sovereign ritual of Amoghasiddhi.’

2.716“Noble Avalokiteśvara will subsequently appear to the vidyā holder in person and grant him every desirable boon. This supreme accomplishment is incomparable. The vidyā holder, even if he is not fully realized himself, will accomplish all activities.

2.717“If the vidyā holder wants to perform an act of enthrallment, he should incant a lotus one hundred and eight times and place it in the hand of Noble Avalokiteśvara. The person whose name the vidyā holder pronounces will become enthralled. He can also offer a jasmine flower incanted one hundred and eight times to Noble Avalokiteśvara. Then, having further incanted the same flower mentally seven times, he should retrieve it. The person to whom he gives this flower will become enthralled. If he gives the flower to someone suffering from seizures, the afflicted person will be cured. Likewise, if he gives it to a diseased person, that person will be cured of all disease.

2.718“If the vidyā holder casts the flower at the gate of the royal place, the king, his harem, and his retinue will fall under his thrall. If he casts it upon a funeral pyre, the person being cremated will be saved from hell. If he casts it for the sake of a being who is in the Avīci hell, [F.102.b] that being will be instantly freed. If he places it at the head of the bed, he will have portentous dreams, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him and say pleasant things. Whomever he casts the flower upon, whether a woman or a man, will fall under his thrall and follow him like a shadow. If he casts the flower upon a king, the king will become his servant. If he places the flower near an image of a deity, the deity will be summoned and will perform all the vidyā holder’s tasks.

2.719“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the rite of eye ointment, he should incant realgar one thousand and eight times in front of the painting. He will observe the following three signs: the mixture will emit light, foam, and then smoke. If he subsequently anoints his eyes with the mixture, he will become invisible. He will see all treasure troves and the dwellings of all yakṣas. If he makes a bindi mark on his forehead, [A.55.a] he will be able to enter all palaces. All doors and [Tiv.42] locks will split. If he anoints his body and limbs, he will rise up into the air. If he marks his head with a bindi, he will always receive boons from Noble Avalokiteśvara. If he anoints his neck, he will always be followed by Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and other gods, who will grant him success in every activity. If he anoints his eyes at night, he will be able to see as he does in daylight, and all treasures will rise up.

2.720“If he positions the target face down, causes him to vomit, and anoints his own body with the vomit, it will function as armor for as long as he lives. He will be invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, and so forth. They will become his assistants, and he will be able to accomplish all activities. His lifespan will increase to one thousand eons. Alternatively, if he extracts the heart and eats it, he will obtain the form of Mahākāla and will be able to assume the form of any deity, appearing in the form of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, the great Viśvarūpa, [F.103.a] or even as Candra or Sūrya.

2.721“The vidyā holder can also procure realgar, bovine bezoar, jujube, saffron, and the flowers of arjun and incant them with the Amoghasiddhi mantra ten thousand times, the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times, and the Krodharāja mantra one hundred and eight times. All these mantras should be recited silently. He should grind these ingredients in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara. On the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, after fasting for one day and one night, he should put on clean clothes, face the painting, and grind the ingredients again into a fine powder while incanting them one hundred and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, the Krodharāja mantra, and the king of vidyās Amoghasiddhi.

2.722“He should then place the powder in the hand of Noble Avalokiteśvara and worship the painting by making many offerings. Having fasted for one day and one night, he should sit cross-legged in front of the painting, display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times, and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa the same number of times. Then, displaying the mudrā of recitation, he should recite the Krodharāja mantra seven times. After that, he should incant the powder with the dhāraṇī of Amoghasiddhi.

2.723“As soon as he applies the powder to his eyes, he will behold Noble Avalokiteśvara in his palace atop Potala Mountain, together with the multitude of bodhisattvas dwelling on Potala Mountain in their own palaces. He will see the realm of Sukhāvatī and the Tathāgata Amitābha teaching the Dharma there, [Tiv.43] and he will hear their Dharma discourses. He will likewise see all the tathāgatas in the ten directions, the hosts of the bodhisattvas, the congregations of the śrāvakas, and their respective buddha fields and palaces. He will hear the words of their Dharma instructions.

2.724“Even if the vidyā holder were to be reborn in a family of untouchables, or destined for the Avīci hell after committing the five acts of immediate retribution, [F.103.b] Noble Avalokiteśvara will help him because of his great compassion and the blessing of all the tathāgatas. He will also appear to the vidyā holder in a dream and will purify all his wrongdoings and obscurations. He will grant him every boon, including the accomplishment of the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. The vidyā holder will live a full one thousand celestial years and experience celestial pleasures.

2.725“In the event of any disease, the vidyā holder can pacify all diseases by applying the powder. All fevers will cease, and all poisons will be neutralized as soon as the powder is applied. If he anoints himself while facing any danger, he will become invisible. He will be invisible to all adversaries and opponents, and to all rogues, thieves, and bandits. Even if weapons are raised against him, [A.55.b] he will not be in any danger. If he applies the powder, he will be completely victorious in all disputes, contests, and disagreements; he will gain the upper hand. If he applies the powder when going into battle, he will be victorious in combat. He will survive onslaughts, even by a more powerful force.

2.726“If he applies the powder and enters the royal household, the king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under his thrall. They will all be enthralled. If he silently enters a town, all the inhabitants‍—women, men, boys, and girls‍—will fall under his thrall. If he anoints his right eye, the people of all four castes that he sees with this eye will all fall under his thrall. If he anoints his left eye, all promiscuous women will fall under his thrall.

2.727“If the vidyā holder grasps Noble Avalokiteśvara by the right arm, recites the Amoghasiddhi, the king of vidyās, one thousand and eight times and makes offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara, it will be as if he recites all the heart dhāraṇīs of Amoghapāśa, the dhāraṇīs of Krodharāja, and other sovereign dhāraṇīs individually [Tiv.44] one hundred thousand times. The vidyā holder will plant the roots of virtue equal to those of the twelve thousand million tathāgatas, the worthy ones, as if he were by the side of the Buddha, the fully realized one. [F.104.a] All these tathāgatas will know the vidyā holder by name. He will arouse the affection of thousands of tathāgatas and will be able to see sixty-eight thousand of them face-to-face.

2.728“The vidyā holder will be able to accomplish all his worldly tasks. All his obscurations from the past that would otherwise lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell will be completely purified. He will never stray onto an evil path again, and he will be able to retain his memories from one birth to another. All the deities will grant him boons and will always be there to guard, protect, and defend him. If the vidyā holder places his hand on the left arm and recites the mantra one thousand and eight times, all the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and so forth will be summoned as soon as the recitation is complete, and they will all fall under his thrall.

2.729“If there is any task to perform, the vidyā holder should mindfully repeat the king of vidyās Amoghasiddhi seven times. All devas, nāgas, and so forth will then perform his every task and will always be bonded to him. If he presses the navel area and recites the mantra, all nāgas and so forth will send torrents of rain and thus satisfy all of Jambudvīpa. If the vidyā holder recites the mantra into the ear one hundred and eight times, goes to whatever location is on his mind, and asks any woman, man, king, queen, monk, brahmin, or lay practitioner to perform whatever task is on his mind, he will cause them to accomplish any task.

2.730“If he recites the mantra while holding the head, all beings as far as the Brahmaloka will fall under his thrall. They will all obey his commands and remain under his control. The mantra should be recited one thousand and eight times to start with. If the vidyā holder presses on the feet and recites the mantra ten thousand times, all beings as far as the subterranean worlds worlds will fall under his thrall, perform his tasks, and act as his messengers.

2.731“If he incants a lotus one thousand and eight times and throws it into a lotus pond, [F.104.b] there will appear an imperishable lotus that will endure for all time. If he incants a blue lotus one thousand and eight times and throws it into a pond with blue lotuses, there will appear an imperishable blue lotus [Tiv.45] that will bloom at all times and never fade. If the vidyā holder does the same with the flowers of sumanas, fragrant vārṣika, yūthikā, and navamallikā, [A.56.a] they will bloom at all times and never perish. If the vidyā holder incants fruits and flowers one hundred and eight times and casts them into a garden or a forest, these fruits and flowers will become imperishable and will last for all time.

2.732“If the vidyā holder wants to summon the great Śrī, he should make an effigy of this great goddess from beeswax. She should be adorned with all ornaments, be seated in a cross-legged posture with her body slightly bent, and hold a lotus in her hand. She should be fashioned with full breasts and be strewn with fruits and flowers. The vidyā holder should place the effigy in front of the cloth painting and worship it with camphor, musk, and white sandalwood. He should prepare a maṇḍala with white sandalwood according to the procedure as before and offer incense of agarwood to Noble Avalokiteśvara in the painting. The great goddess Śrī should be offered incense of white sandalwood, and both of them should be honored with offerings. The vidyā holder should offer a bali consisting of ‘white’ foods and scented water, and eight bowls with argha water.

2.733“He should maintain ritual purity, bathe three times a day, and wear clean clothes. Sitting in front of the painting in a cross-legged posture, he should display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa seven times and place any available flowers that were discarded after an offering around the head of the great goddess Śrī, having incanted them with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times. He should honor her with an argha offering with flowers, cense her with white sandalwood incanted one hundred and eight times, and then recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times, each time incanting a single mustard seed [F.105.a] and throwing it at the great goddess.

2.734“When the vidyā holder has reached the number one thousand and eight, the great goddess Śrī will blaze with light. Rays of light will likewise radiate from the forehead of Noble Avalokiteśvara, making everything around the maṇḍala glow with golden light. This indicates that the great divine Śrī has been summoned and will not depart for as long as the vidyā holder lives. If he wishes to enjoy divine splendor and prosperity, he should make generous offerings three times a day, placing them in the hands of Noble Avalokiteśvara and the goddess Śrī. [Tiv.46] He should also offer bowls with argha water and make offerings to the Three Jewels. The articles should be offered and then utilized. The vidyā holder should perform meritorious deeds and worship the great goddess Śrī with offerings three times a day.

2.735“If the vidyā holder wants the great goddess Śrī to arrive in person, he should complete the full round of one thousand and eight recitations of the heart mantra of Amogha­krodha­rāja, each time casting mustard seeds smeared with honey at the effigy of Śrī. When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, the great goddess Śrī will appear in person, adorned with all ornaments and decked in divine adornments of jewels, gold, and pearls. Her face will be bright like a blooming lotus, her eyes as blue as an utpala lotus, and she will hold an open lotus in her hand. Glowing like a lotus and sitting on a lotus seat amid a rain of many jewels, gems, and golden lotuses, her two shining breasts will resemble one hundred thousand jars. She will be surrounded by many hundreds of thousands of celestial and yakṣa girls, all adorned with many divine ornaments, who will stand in front of the vidyā holder with beautiful bodies shining bright. The vidyā holder should not be afraid but remain cheerful while mentally reciting the following:

2.736“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great, compassionate bodhisattva being who grants great amogha boons!

2.737[191] “ Oṁ, O lotus-eyed lotus lady [A.56.b] sitting on a lotus seat and holding a lotus! O Padmāvatī, fond of lotuses, lotus white with a lotus glow, seated upon a lotus seat! Fond of Avalokiteśvara, you grant boons and facilitate boons. Please be kind and inspire with kindness! [F.105.b] Act, act, O bestower of the boons of Noble Avalokiteśvara! Huru huru, O fine bodied one! Move, move, O lotus lover adorned with flowers! Owner of fine chariots, carry, carry! Bring together! Remember your samaya! You are the same as Noble Avalokiteśvara, O goddess established in the truth who grants amogha boons! Hūṁ! Homage be to you, svāhā!

2.738“After this mantra has been repeated seven times, the great goddess Śrī will extend her hand and place it on the vidyā holder’s head, saying, [Tiv.47] ‘Come, O son of noble family, the first-born heart-son! You have accomplished the Krodharāja, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. Employing the dhāraṇī immaculate amogha Śrī , please visit my dwelling as if it were your home. You will be able to accomplish all activities.’ The vidyā holder, at this moment, should mindfully repeat the following dhāraṇī mantra of the vidyā type three times:

2.739“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great compassionate bodhisattva being!

2.740[192] “ Oṁ, blessed mother-eyed one! Vara vara, O giver of boons of Avalokiteśvara! Ooze, O milk giver! Mother, mother, you bring wide renown! You have exquisite curves and hold the unfailing noose in your hand, svāhā!

2.741“The two breasts of the great goddess Śrī will subsequently release streams of milk, which the vidyā holder should catch in his mouth and drink. As soon as he drinks the milk he will obtain a divine body, one that is delicate like divine lotuses and water lilies. His hair will become curly and wavy, and his eyes will turn blue like an utpala lotus. He will also obtain the gift of eloquence and a voice sounding like that of a kinnara, identical in timbre and sound. He will manifest as a lotus king by the name Amogha-Ocean-Like Immaculate Splendor with the Gaze of the Great Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus. He will accomplish the rites with great success and will live ten thousand years. He will behold the victorious Amitābha chanting the Dharma instructions in chorus with the hosts of bodhisattvas in their fine palaces.

2.742“He will be able to travel magically through the sky and will become a great emperor who carries the unfailing noose and goes by the name One with the Great Gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus. [F.106.a] He will be the emperor and lord of all the vidyādhara s. He will become a son of Noble Avalokiteśvara and the celestial son of all the tathāgatas. All devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will regard him as their one and only eldest son. The Four Great Kings, too, will treat him as their only son. He will be invincible, strong, powerful, and valiant in every way. All the profound instructions of the tathāgatas on mudrās, maṇḍalas, kings of vidyās, secret mantras, and secret dhāraṇī mantras, as well as all the sovereign rituals, will be clearly revealed to him.

2.743“All the dwellings of devas, nāgas, and kinnaras, [Tiv.48] as well as all palaces accessible via secret passages, will remain open to the vidyā holder. Likewise, all the residences of yakṣas and rākṣasas will be open for him. All these beings will fall under his thrall and will remain his eager servants. Just like the Lord of the World, the vidyā holder will become a universal teacher and instructor for all the people who honor him with offerings. He will become an accomplished master of all worldly and supramundane mantras and maṇḍalas.

2.744“The great goddess Śrī, together with her retinue, will attend upon him out of motherly love, rendering help and assistance. [A.57.a] She will fulfill all his desires and do all tasks according to his wishes. She will bring him money, grain, wrought gold, gold bullion, jewels, pearls, beryl stones, conch-like stones, coral, silver, and even celestial jewels and gems. She will also provide clothes made of divine silk from Vārāṇasī and divine foods and beverages that taste like ambrosia. Bound to him by her motherly love, she will always follow the vidyā holder wherever he goes. [F.106.b]

2.745“The house of the vidyā holder will become a fine palace, like those in the city of Aḍakavatī. His wealth will increase just as wealth does in the abode of Vaiśravaṇa. He will always be attended by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. The great, vajra-wielding general of the yakṣas will remain standing by with all his vidyādhara followers, each of them joined by a great retinue of yakṣas and guhyakas, in order to guard, protect and defend the vidyā holder. So too will the great goddess Śrī stand by day and night with her retinue, surrounded by tens of millions of Vaiśravaṇa’s yakṣas, in order to guard, protect, and defend him.

2.746“Now I will teach the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa called immaculately pure great Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus who is like an amogha ocean. This mantra will produce accomplishments when recited as part of the sovereign ritual of Amoghapāśa. The vidyā holder will plant roots of virtue equal to the virtue of hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, as numerous as all the atoms or grains of sand in sixty-four Gaṅgā rivers; it will be as if he were in the presence of these tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas. He will thus accumulate a great store of merit.

2.747“Whether the vidyā holder is a son or daughter of noble family, a monk or nun, or a male or female lay practitioner, [Tiv.49] their merit will be the same as if they offered divine jewels and gems, the seven types of great jewels and gems, great gold flowers of beautiful golden color, silver flowers, divine cloth, and divine adornments, as well as divinely fragrant flowers, garlands, and unguents piled as high as the top of Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, and kept offering all these objects every day of the year to each and every tathāgata among the hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, the worthy, fully realized buddhas, as numerous as the atoms or grains of sand in sixty-four Gaṅgā rivers. [F.107.a]

2.748“The vidyā holder’s merit will be the same as if he made these offerings and then lit, in front of each and every tathāgata, a lamp filled with fragrant oil as vast as the great ocean. He will thus be equipped with the roots of great virtue. He will obtain this merit if he displays the mudrā of Amoghapāśa seven times and recites the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa called immaculately pure great Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus who is like an amogha ocean. This mantra should be recited one hundred and eight times, and as a result the vidyā holder will obtain many roots of virtue. He will be blessed by all the tathāgatas, who will appear to him and will all prophesy his future awakening.

2.749“The great goddess Śrī, for her part, will grant the vidyā holder every boon. Prosperity will always dwell in his house. Wherever the great goddess Śrī resides, there, [A.57.b] in that very place, hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas‍—equal in number to the atoms or grains of sand in sixty-four Gaṅgā rivers‍—will also reside. This is because Śrī is the mother of all tathāgatas. The great goddess Śrī is said to be paramount for the mantra rites, mudrās, and maṇḍalas of all the gods and nāgas and of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. She is also said to be supreme in pacifying, nourishing, assaulting, and various other activities.

2.750“The great goddess Śrī is the universal mother and progenitress. She is the mother of all bodhisattvas, [Tiv.50] and her amogha accomplishment is unfailing. She grants amogha boons and generously distributes his gifts, and she brings the vidyā holder great amogha renown. She possesses the finest amogha palaces in the sky and grants the boon of fame that comes from possessing amogha qualities. The great goddess Śrī is the source of the amogha splendor of the moon and the sun. She is the most eminent being in the thirty-two abodes.

2.751“The vidyā holder [F.107.b] should be ritually pure, thoroughly bathed, sprinkled with scented water, and anointed with the five products of the cow. He should wear clean clothes and subsist on pure food, while avoiding alcohol, meat, onions, garlic, red onions, mixed foods, leftover food, food or drink that has gone off, smelly food, or contaminated food. He should avoid associating with wicked beings, people who are bad, deceitful, murderous, malicious, or ungrateful, people who lack compassion and loving kindness, and people who are inconsiderate. He should avoid bad places and dwellings, indigestible food, foul-tasting food, food spoiled by chāyās, shared food, and food left uneaten by others.

2.752“The vidyā holder should silently recite the mantra while burning fragrant incense and cultivating thoughts of loving kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy. He should maintain a happy, joyful, and content frame of mind overflowing with auspicious felicity. That is how he should recite the mantra. He should offer incense of agarwood to Noble Avalokiteśvara, incense of olibanum to all the tathāgatas, and incense of sandalwood to the great goddess Śrī. He should also offer bowls with argha water and seasonal flowers. He should offer all this while reciting this mantra twenty-one times:

2.753“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the most compassionate Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being! The mantra proper is:

[193] “ Oṁ, fragrant lake where lotuses are seen, reservoir of amogha water, gathering of lotuses! Save us, save, O joyful one! Hūṁ, svāhā!

2.754“The vidyā holder should recite this mantra twenty-one times and offer the bowls with argha water, flowers, incense, and fragrances. At the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara he should recite this mantra one thousand and eight times, the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa seven times, and the mantra of Krodharāja three times. [F.108.a] He should burn incense of agarwood, offer flowers as available, and light lamps with scented oil. He should sit in a cross-legged posture at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara and, looking at him, [Tiv.51] recite the heart dhāraṇī one hundred and eight times while displaying the mudrā of recitation.

2.755“As soon as the vidyā holder has done this one thousand times, the image will move, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will emit light from his entire body, causing the vidyā holder to get goose bumps. At dawn, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to the vidyā holder in person, read every thought in his mind, allow him to choose any boons, and grant whatever boons he desires. He will give him comfort and encouragement and fulfill his every wish. In this world, the vidyā holder will become free from all disease, plants roots of virtue, and complete his accumulation of merit. [A.58.a] All his obscurations and wrongdoings will diminish and be completely exhausted. He will be free from all afflictions. All his adversaries and opponents will go away, never to return.

2.756“When he enters the thick of battle, he should incant some mustard seeds with the following king of vidyās twenty-one times and cast them into the fray. All opponents will become paralyzed. The mantras for this are as follows.

2.757“The heart mantra:

“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the most compassionate Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being!

[194] “ Oṁ, O boon-granting lotus lady, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, blaze, blaze! You, with your lotus arms extended forth! Svāhā!

2.758“The auxiliary heart mantra:

[195] “ Oṁ, O lady with a lotus gaze and a perfect body! Turu turu! Hūṁ, svāhā!

2.759“If this dhāraṇī, immaculately pure Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus who is like the ocean of amogha , the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, is recited continually, it will purify the five acts of immediate retribution. The great goddess Śrī will always grant boons to the reciter [F.108.b] and allow him to see Noble Avalokiteśvara whenever he wants to. No poison will ever harm his body, he will be completely free from the eight great fears, and he will never suffer from fever or disease.

2.760“In the event of epileptic seizures, the vidyā holder should incant a five-colored thread twenty-one times, tie twenty-one knots in it, cense it with bdellium, and tie it around the patient’s neck; all seizures will then cease. Even if Mahākāla [Tiv.52] himself is present, or the mātṛs are ‘sealed’ in his body, the patient will be cured of all seizures. If the vidyā holder uses a black thread instead, he will cure quartan fever. If he desires a girl, he should use a white thread, and he will be able to bring her from anywhere.

2.761“In the event of any quarrel, dispute, contest, or disagreement, the vidyā holder should incant bovine bezoar twenty-one times and mark his forehead with a bindi; he will never be defeated by anyone anywhere. If he marks his chest with the bindi, he will become invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, and so forth. If he marks the palm of his hand with the bindi, the men, boys, and girls he touches will fall under his thrall.

2.762“If the vidyā holder marks a bindi between his eyebrows, the king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under his thrall. If he marks his neck with the bindi, all vaiśyas will fall under his thrall. If he marks his arms with it, all kṣatriyas will fall under his thrall. If he marks the top of his head with it, all brahmins will fall under his thrall. If he makes the bindi mark in the area of his navel, all śūdras will fall under his thrall. If he marks his feet and calves with it, he will be able to walk one hundred leagues without getting tired, and even walk back again. If he marks the soles of his feet, he will be able to ford broad rivers and even cross over an ocean.

2.763“If the vidyā holder marks his arms with the bindi, he will be invincible at wrestling. If he marks his knees and walks into a fire pit or between the blazing walls of fire, [F.109.a] it will seem as cool as sandalwood or a field of uśīra grass. If he anoints his eyes with the bezoar and adds the milk of a brown cow and human milk, he will be able to see at night as if it were day. All treasure troves will blaze with light and will rise to the surface, even if they had been deposited hundreds of thousands of eons ago. Likewise, if he anoints his belly with the bezoar, he will not crave food or drink for as long as his belly is not washed with water.

2.764“If the vidyā holder anoints his penis, he will be able to retain his semen. If he drinks the bezoar together with the five products of the cow, his body will become immaculately pure. With his body pure, his conduct will also become pure. [A.58.b] All spirits that cause indigestion or cause food to have a foul taste or to spoil, as well as all the effects of evil eye, will not affect him. The vidyā holder will be freed from all fears and from all his wrongdoings and obscurations. All bad dreams, bad omens, and bad feelings will cease. [Tiv.53] All poisons, venoms, and kākhordas will be neutralized. All malicious mantra applications and kiraṇas will disappear. The vidyā holder will be victorious in all quarrels, disputes, contests, and disagreements. He will emerge victorious in every respect, and the dangers from opponents, adversaries, or foreign armies will not arise for him.

2.765“If, before dawn, the vidyā holder blends the bezoar with ghee and honey without speaking and eats it, he will be able to memorize one thousand verses after reciting them. If he repeats this procedure over the period of seven nights, he will be able to accomplish all the mantras for all maṇḍala deities, as well as all the mudrās. If he does the same over the period of one month, he will become an ocean-like receptacle of great learning. If he does the same over the period of one year, his lifespan will increase to one thousand years. He will become a preeminent teacher of all people, beloved to all, and pleasing to hear.

2.766“If the vidyā holder boils the bezoar with oil and smears it on his head, his hair will become wavy and curly. [F.109.b] The circle of his face will resemble a full autumn moon with the hue of lotuses and water lilies. If he smears the same decoction over his entire body, it will become as soft and smooth as freshly churned butter. His hands and feet will look divinely young and fresh. If he anoints his ears with the decoction, they will increase to his preferred size. If he applies the decoction to his nostrils, all diseases of the head will be cured. There will be no excessive phlegm, mucus, or saliva. He will subsequently smell only pleasant odors and no longer be exposed to unpleasant ones. His wrinkles and grey hair will disappear, his broken teeth will become new again, his tongue will become as smooth as a lotus petal, and he will be cured of any throat problems or asthma attacks. If he fills his ear with the same decoction that has been made comfortably warm, he will develop divine hearing and will only hear words that are pleasant and auspicious.

“This concludes the practice of the great bovine bezoar procedures.

2.767“I will now teach the supreme, auspicious, and invincible tejasvatī that brings accomplishment. Tejasvatī brings auspiciousness. The vidyā holder should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times and the mantra of Krodharāja seven times. He should then incant the tejasvatī one thousand and eight times with the dhāraṇī immaculately pure Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus who is like the ocean of amogha , the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. He should be ritually pure, [Tiv.54] wear clean clothes, be bathed clean, and subsist on the ‘white’ foods. He should move around with the tejasvatī.

2.768“If the vidyā holder holds the tejasvatī in his mouth, he will understand any instructions and be able, according to his wish, to understand, recite, and retain them in his memory. His lotus tongue will become as smooth as a lotus or water lily. The sound, the tone, and the timbre of his voice will be like that of a kinnara. He will utter divine sounds that are universally understood. Whomever he speaks to will become his male and female servants, eager to perform tasks.

2.769“Anyone who smells the tejasvatī’s odor will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall. Even the animals that come near him will be enthralled. On the other hand, any bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, rākṣasīs, pretas, piśācas, and the like, any apasmāras, or any mischievous or wicked nonhuman beings will flee when they smell it. [A.59.a] [F.110.a] They will flee in the four directions as far as one hundred leagues and keep that distance. All his opponents and adversaries, the wicked and the extremely wicked, will go away when they smell this odor. They will, however, fall under his thrall if treated with thoughts of loving kindness.

2.770“If the vidyā holder ties the tejasvatī to his right arm he will be able to knock down an elephant. He will attain great strength, energy, and valor and become an invincible wrestler who displays the same strength as Vajradhara. If he ties the tejasvatī to his neck and enters the thick of battle, he will be able to defeat an army with its four divisions, all by himself, and return unharmed. If he places the tejasvatī on his head and enters a royal household, the king together with his harem, retinue, ministers, brahmin advisers, and priests will fall under his thrall, and they will place him above their heads. No one will be able to stand in his path.

2.771“If the vidyā holder ties the tejasvatī to his hand he will be able to enthrall anyone with his touch. Any money, grain stores, gold bullion, jewels, pearls, or wrought gold will become inexhaustible merely by his touch, as will the seeds and the crops that he sows and reaps. He will become the same as Ratnapāṇi. His store of grain will increase. If he ingests some of the tejasvatī every day, his powers of recollection and his intelligence will greatly increase. He will be cleansed of all his wrongdoings and cured of all disease. All fevers will cease, and all boils, ulcers, abscesses, lesions, skin eruptions, [Tiv.55] scabs, leprosy, rashes, and eczemas will disappear and never recur.

2.772“If the vidyā holder repeats this procedure over the period of one month, he will master all the rites and the multitudes of mantras, mudrās, and maṇḍalas. His body will be protected at all times; no weapons will be raised against him, nor will thieves or bandits approach him. No one will be able to stand in his path. If he makes a decoction of tejasvatī in oil he will be able to cure headaches, earaches, [F.110.b] toothaches, eye ailments, and partial paralysis. As soon as he applies the decoction, cooled to a comfortable temperature, all pain will cease. None of these ailments will recur. If he fumigates any place using ghee mixed with mustard seeds, all the sixty-eight thousand grahas will flee crying. They will disperse in the cardinal and intermediate directions and will never come to the place again. He will also be able to perform other activities, any that he may desire.

2.773“Now I will teach about the incense that can be used to invoke any deity, summon a bodhisattva, arouse any tathāgata, or attain the accomplishment of any vidyādhara . This method completely obliterates all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, grahas, apasmāras, yakṣiṇīs, pretas, piśācas, and skandas, and it destroys all evil māras. It prevents all disease and neutralizes all dangerous toxins, whether they originate from animal bites or other animate or inanimate sources. It produces every inviolable accomplishment and cures all fevers, in particular quartan fever. It causes a bright countenance, is the supreme incense for fumigating clothes, neutralizes all inimical mantras, and brings all kākhordas under control.

2.774“Even when someone has incurred a king’s anger, and the weapons of the executioners are raised, the entire situation can be pacified by burning this incense. All extremely terrifying poisonous creatures such as those who inject the poison through a bite or a sting, the wicked gonāsa snakes, and various other poisonous creatures [A.59.b] such as takṣakas are all rendered harmless by merely being fumigated. The incense perfectly removes all disease and purifies all wrongdoings. [Tiv.56] The fumigated person acquires a lot of merit and comes to be worshiped by all deities.

2.775“This incense was burned when Śakra and the gods of the realm of Thirty-Three engaged in war with the asuras, and the asuras were defeated. When Rudra incinerated the three worlds, this king of incense defeated him. When Viṣṇu, in his avatar of Vāmana, bound and defeated Bali [F.111.a] while striding across the world, and when the sun, moon, and celestial bodies were confused by the lord of asuras, Vāmana conquered them all using this special king of incense. He then continually worked miracles and performed hundreds of thousands of magical feats as described in the Mahābhārata. There is no doubt that it was because of the king of incense that Viṣṇu defeated the Pāṇḍavas.

2.776“The Guide conquered hundreds of thousands of māras and vast numbers of their servants. He conquered them all by the power of his loving kindness and brought ruin upon the evil among them through the efficacy of the king of incense. When the ocean was stirred, all its inhabitants were rendered naked, cleansed within the three parts of a single vessel. The great, all-accomplishing lord who had lost his wish-fulfilling jewel, and who had defeated the asuras using the incense, then returned home. Keeping the banner of victory constantly aloft, he censed it with the incense, causing a rain of seven types of jewels to fall for seven days and nights. This incense is thus very powerful and can accomplish any activity.

2.777“Enveloped by the smoke of the king of incense, the nāgas Sāgara, Nanda, and Upananda were defeated in the great battle and used for the churning of the great ocean, while Nīlakaṇṭha drank the poison that trickled down Mount Sumeru. The power of the incense neutralized the poison and turned it into ambrosia. There is thus no doubt that the king of incense kills all poison. By the power of the king of incense, Māndhātṛ conquered the four continents, brought Keśa and the ṛṣis to ruin, and shared the throne with Śakra himself. Those who tell lies perish by the power of the king of incense. Because of this, one should speak the truth. As it is an instrument of truth, this incense is famed as the king of truth.

2.778“In short, the king of incense is true speech and true Dharma. It is the totality of loving kindness. It comprises the love, compassion, and sympathetic joy that is ever present throughout the entire world. By burning this incense all weapons are destroyed. [F.111.b] This incense, blessed with truth, was taught by all the tathāgatas. It certainly is a lokeśvara, a protector and sole teacher of the entire world. Taught for the benefit of all beings, and in particular for vidyā holders, it prevents rebirth in the sixteen terrible hells and allays the great fears. [Tiv.57] Pain and suffering inspire great fear. The suffering of the pretas, who are always afflicted with hunger and thirst, is very frightening. They cry ‘Alas! Alas!’ as there is no one to save them, except for those who always regard all beings with compassion and teach the supreme king of incense to save the entire world.

2.779“The person for whose sake this incense is burned while their name is pronounced, whether they are wicked or kind, will succeed in everything that has been wished for them. As an auspicious instruction of Avalokiteśvara, all these wishes will certainly come true once that person’s name is pronounced and the incense burned at the time of the lunar or solar eclipse, when the nakṣatras are inauspicious and the moon and sun have been swallowed by Rāhu.

2.780“People who suffer the pain of mundane existence‍—kings, queens, ministers, scholarly advisers, brahmin priests, kṣatriyas, brahmins, śūdras, or vaiśyas‍—or any other group of people affected by calamity or involved in a quarrel or suffering terrible pain, will experience the following the very instant they burn the king of incense: Beings will obtain tasty food and drink, [A.60.a] divine clothes, adornments, fragrant garlands, unguents, garments, vehicles, beds, cushions, and ornaments. This will all manifest instantly if this king of incense is employed correctly. [F.112.a] They will obtain whatever they desire. Whatever wishes they have will all come true because of this instruction of the Lokeśvara. Pretas will obtain food and divine clothes, adornments will manifest by themselves, and the vidyā holder’s own wrongdoings will be purified. All hell beings will be saved from the terrible hells and the sufferings there and will obtain a happy existence full of joy and fun. They will obtain all kinds of happiness and pleasure.

2.781“The vidyā holder who burns this incense will smell an exquisite fragrance. All those who are impure or steeped in darkness will be awakened from such states when they smell the incense. The darkness will be dispelled as it is by the rising of the sun. This king of incense will bring an end to all suffering. It will liberate all denizens of hell, free them from all wickedness and fear, and establish them on the tenth bodhisattva level of the divine path as explained by the Sugata. One should therefore employ the king of incense with every effort and care.” [Tiv.58]

2.782The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, continued to teach the great rites of the great king of incense as follows.

2.783“Any place on earth where this incense is burned in front of the Lord of the World becomes like a reliquary. It becomes an abode of the tathāgatas, continually blessed by all victors. It has been prophesied that a thousand million billion buddhas, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, will reside at places where this incense is burned. Vajradhara, along with hundreds of thousands of millions of vidyādhara s, will reside there, as will the Four Great Kings with their armies and chariots. Maṇibhadra and Pāñcika from the lofty peaks of the snowy Himālayas, Pūrṇabhadra, Kelikila, the great yakṣa [F.112.b] known as Naravāhana, the powerful Buddhabala, Mahābala, Gavākṣapātin, Navakūpara, Prabhañjana, Aṭavaka, and Baladeva, together with their armies and chariots, will also remain there at all times, day and night, guarding and protecting the vidyā holder.

2.784“Śrī, the goddess of the three worlds, should always be offered this incense in worship. The place on earth where this incense is burned is a divine place where Vajradhara, the skilled upholder of the Dharma, attended by guhyakas, always offers his protection. Indra with the gods Brahmā and Rudra and all the thirty-two groups of gods will give constant protection there, as will Candra, Sūrya, Rāhu, the nakṣatras, the stellar constellations, and the deities of the night. The goddesses Bhīmā, Śrī, Śaṅkhinī, and Sarasvatī, the earth deities, the water deities, the chief deities of forests and trees, the mountain deities, the river deities, the deities of water reservoirs, the gods headed by Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra, the noble ṛṣis, the male and female deities of the lakes, and the asuras will all give protection there and remain standing by day and night. These deities are always connected to the places where this incense is burned.

2.785“The places on earth where this incense is burned become abodes of gods and are ever blessed by them. The lokeśvara boon-granting protector of the world, the teacher, the guide, and the savior of people, is also continually [Tiv.59] present [A.60.b] where this best of incense is burned. By merely smelling its fragrance, the vidyā holder will swiftly attain buddhahood. [F.113.a]

2.786“For the benefit and well-being of all beings and in order to eradicate all suffering, I will now name its ingredients, so please listen, gods and humans! They are agarwood, crepe jasmine, a handful of sandalwood, fenugreek, bovine bezoar, mahiṣākṣa, olibanum, rasa, white dammar, saffron, nalada, pine resin, yellow myrobalan, sāmaka, spikenard, olibanum, beautyberry, kayasthā, vayasthā, nameru, nut grass, costus, black agarwood, camphor, musk, laṅga, purging cotton, the sap of giant milkweed, the sap of kana, the sap of common milk hedge, kapāla, viṣṇukrānta, purple fleabane, snakeroot, jayā, vijayā, ichneumon plant, gandhanākulī, brahmaputrā, water lily, lotus stalk, honey, white sugar, and molasses syrup. The supreme incense will be produced by combining these ingredients.

2.787“The ingredients should only be combined on either the fifteenth‍—the day of the full moon‍—or on the fourteenth, the thirteenth, or the eighth day of the lunar fortnight. The skilled vidyā holder should maintain ritual purity day and night, wear clean clothes, and bathe thoroughly. After combining the ingredients one at a time, he should skillfully employ the mantras, mudrās, and the maṇḍala while making appropriate use of flowers, incense, and fragrances. The skilled vidyā holder should perform the bali ritual as part of the worship procedure. Bowls filled with argha water should be placed in the front, lamps should be lit, and everything should be well arranged for the rite. The rite should be performed in a place that is well hidden and clean, with an attendant who is the vidyā holder’s best disciple.

2.788“The vidyā holder, his body immaculately clean and controlled and his mind singularly focused on thoughts of loving kindness and compassion for all beings, should sit opposite an image of Amoghapāśa, contemplate the buddhas, and recite the mantra with all his heart. [F.113.b] Focusing on all the tathāgatas while facing the Lokeśvara, [Tiv.60] he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa the full one thousand and eight times, the mantra of Krodharāja the full one thousand and eight times, and the mantra of Amoghasiddhi one hundred and eight times. Then, clearly pronouncing the letters and syllables, the vidyā holder should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa called immaculately pure Śrī with the gaze of the Holder of the Jewel and the Lotus who is like the ocean of amogha the full ten thousand times. When finished, he should recite the following mantra one hundred thousand times:

2.789[196] “ Oṁ, you are the gaze of all the tathāgatas, the amogha essence! Move, move, O most compassionate one! Hūṁ! Consecrate me! The holder of the unfailing noose, svāhā!

2.790“He should recite this mantra while deeply focused and perform all the parts of the ritual skillfully. As soon as he has finished reciting it, this best of incense will possess the blessing of all the tathāgatas. The king of incense, once it is blessed, will be called great cloud of the widespread light of Amoghapāśa that is as pure as a jewel. This king of incense will also be called noble emperor who grants the boons of Avalokiteśvara and possesses the gaze of each of the tathāgatas . The vidyā holder should first offer the incense to all the tathāgatas while reciting this mantra seven times:

2.791[197] “ Oṁ, O great torrent of the gaze of all the tathāgatas! Conquer, conquer! Svāhā!

2.792“The vidyā holder should then fumigate himself to obtain a blessing from all the tathāgatas. As soon as he fumigates himself, the great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him and grant him boons. He will appear in the form of a brahmin monk and speak courteously. [A.61.a] Everything he says will come true in reality. Later, at night, he will appear in his real form and grant the vidyā holder every boon. The vidyā holder will obtain amogha knowledge and will be freed from the eight great fears. All his previously accumulated obscurations [F.114.a] and nonvirtue that would otherwise lead to rebirth in hell will diminish and disappear completely.

2.793“All those who see the body of a person who has been fumigated will fall and remain under their thrall as soon as they see it. The kings and their kingdoms that include cities, towns, and villages, as well as their harems, retinues, ministers, brahmin advisers, and priests, will all fall and remain under that person’s thrall. They will all become their servants, eager to follow their orders. [Tiv.61] The people of the four castes will also remain under their thrall.

2.794“On the fourteenth, the fifteenth, or the eighth day of the lunar fortnight, the vidyā holder‍—thoroughly bathed, wearing clean clothes, and anointed with the five products of the cow‍—should prepare a maṇḍala in a prominent place, arranging flowers, bowls with argha water, and a bali consisting of ‘white’ foods. He should then bow in the four cardinal directions and burn the king of incense while thinking of all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas. By merely burning the incense, all the hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas‍—as numerous of the grains of sand in ten Gaṅgā rivers, dwelling in each and every buddha field in the infinity of space in the ten directions where the atoms in each buddha field are in turn filled with tathāgata abodes that are impossible to count‍—will be worshiped with this incomparably great incense, together with their bodhisattva retinues, and perfumed by its vapor clouds spreading through the sky and filling its expanse with the scent of uragasāra sandalwood, gośīrṣa sandalwood, and tamāla leaves.

2.795“All the gods who dwell in the abodes of Thirty-Three, the gods Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, and the gods as far as the realm of Akaniṣṭha will be exhilarated by the scent of the incense, as will the nakṣatras, the multitudes of stars, Sūrya, Candra, and the months. One should not have any doubt about this or give rise to any qualms, but one should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa with a loud voice. [F.114.b] The tathāgatas who dwell in the buddha fields everywhere will say ‘Good!’ and will bestow upon the vidyā holder the blessing of the tathāgatas. They will always keep him in their hearts and will appear to him again and again.

2.796“All the bodhisattvas who dwell in Sukhāvatī, the buddha field of the Tathāgata Amitāyus‍—among whom the most prominent are the noble bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahā­sthāma­prāpta‍—will be overjoyed and will grant the vidyā holder the supreme amogha accomplishment. They will appear to him whenever he wants to see them. All nāgas will be enthralled as soon as the incense reaches them. They will stop excessive rain and send rain in the event of a drought. They will dispel any storm clouds that bring strong winds and hail.

2.797“All grahas will disappear as soon as the incense reaches them, and all vighnas and vināyakas [Tiv.62] will flee one thousand leagues into the ten directions. When a place haunted by mātṛs is fumigated, the hosts of mātṛs headed by Mahākāla will be summoned and fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall. They will all become his servants, eager to carry out orders. If the vidyā holder burns the incense and enters the thick of a battle, [A.61.b] he will defeat the army with its four divisions. By merely burning the incense, he will obtain complete victory. Whatever purpose it is employed for, this incense will bring great success.

“This concludes the incense procedures. [B11]

2.798“Now will I teach, for the benefit of all vidyā holders, the procedures for applying a bindi, a face wash, and a bodily unguent that offer the protection of a coat of mail or cuirass. Please listen, Lord, about this great amogha jewel, the jewel of his vajra noose, which, as soon as it is used, brings the supreme accomplishment. A wise vidyā holder who marks the space between his eyebrows with the bindi while in a group or a crowd of people, in a midst of a gathering, in a congregation of monks, or among scholars versed in the four Vedas will shine like the new autumn moon among the multitude of stars. [F.115.a] The gods will all be filled with wonder at his radiance, which will match the diadem of Rudra or even the diadem of the lord of the world in his form of Dakṣiṇamūrti, whose diadem is the crescent moon.

2.799“The supreme procedure of washing of the face will make it as radiant as the moon. The vidyā holder’s brow, ears, and forehead will become as white and smooth as a lotus, and his eyes will resemble blue water lilies. All beings will enjoy looking at him, and his speech will be pleasant to hear. All those who see him will inevitably fall under his thrall.

2.800“The person anointed with the unguent will always recite the vidyā in a high-minded way. A skilled vidyā holder who always fastens this coat of mail around his body will become unassailable by bhūtas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and guhyakas. In all cases he will be invincible in battle because of his great strength and valor. He will always have the strength of Nārāyaṇa or of one thousand elephants. The gods will tremble, and the nāgas in the ocean will be terrified. If the vidyā holder touches Mount Sumeru while reciting the vidyā, it will instantly quake. [Tiv.63] There can be no doubt about this.

2.801“Strong as Nārāyaṇa, the vidyā holder will always possess a similar strength, beauty, and valor. By merely holding this supreme king of jewels in his hand, he will be saved from the consequences of all his wrongdoings, and his negativity will be destroyed. Whoever takes this jewel in their hand will always obtain good fortune and splendor, will be freed from all their obscurations, will be loved by everybody, and will be regarded by all the tathāgatas as their own firstborn. Noble Avalokiteśvara will always stand by to give them comfort and encouragement and to protect the reciter of vidyā. The great lokeśvara sage will always be present in the vidyā holder’s home and grant him boons. [F.115.b]

2.802“The vidyā holder who wears this jewel will accumulate a great amount of merit. He will plant the roots of virtue as if he were in the presence of hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty-four thousand million Gaṅgā rivers. All these tathāgatas will appear to him, give him comfort and encouragement, and stand by him. He will obtain every good fortune and all pleasures. His body, speech, and mind will remain completely pure at all times, he will be uniquely worshiped by all beings, and he will be unassailable by all enemies. Vajradhara will always stand by in order to guard, protect, and defend him, and Padmapāṇi will always grant him every boon.

2.803“This vidyā was taught by all the tathāgatas. All tathāgatas conquered and ultimately defeated all the wicked māras, vighnas, vināyakas, and so forth while wearing this great jewel and then set the Dharma wheel in motion. If a drum is anointed with it, its sound will become the sound of the great Dharma drum that purifies the five acts of immediate retribution and the wrongdoings of all beings the moment it is heard. Even animals, birds, and all other animal-born beings will be liberated. [A.62.a]

2.804“All those who slander the noble ones, oppose the true Dharma, and are destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell will also be liberated. They will be saved from the sixteen great hells and the eight great fears. The wearer of the jewel will face no danger from poison, fire, or weapons, nor will they suffer untimely death or any fever. If a conch smeared with this jewel is played, it will be the same as if the great Dharma conch were played; [Tiv.64] all those who hear its sound will be established irreversibly on the path to awakening. [F.116.a]

2.805“Whether they are women, men, boys, or girls, they will be free from birth, disease, death, grief, and lamentation. Their current birth will be their last, and when they die they will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, with all the blessings that it entails. They will be spontaneously born there from a lotus flower and obtain the full complement of the major and minor marks of a great person. They will be born sitting on a lotus seat in a cross-legged position and be adorned with all ornaments. They will receive Dharma teachings directly from Amitābha until they attain the complete and final awakening.

2.806“This great jewel can be wrapped in white cloth during the bright fortnight and mounted on the tip of a banner. When the banner is raised, the mere sight of the jewel mounted on it will induce the state of a fully realized tathāgata, the turning of the wheel of Dharma, and the crushing of Māra . Seeing it should be regarded as the same as seeing the raising of the vajra. As soon as the banner is raised, all quarrels, disputes, and disagreements will cease, as will all misfortunes, plagues, famines, and calamities. All thieves, rogues, robbers, adversaries, and opponents will disappear. All armies, whether of the enemy or one’s own, and all wicked beings will be pacified. All wicked āśīviṣa snakes, wild animals, birds, gnats, mosquitos, locusts, and creeping animals will disappear, as will all boils, lesions, scabs, festering abscesses, fistulas, incontinence, and asthma attacks.

2.807“There will be no more hail, cold spells, or hurricanes caused by the wicked nāgas. All diseases will likewise cease, and there will be peace, happiness, and affluence for all humanity, whatever the size of the population. There will be a universal desire for Dharma, and people will delight in visiting Dharma groves. There will be abundant harvests of flowers, fruits, and grains and an abundance of tasty and scrumptious food and drink. [F.116.b] All food and drink will taste delicious.

2.808“All wicked yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, ḍākinīs, pretas, apasmāras, pūtas, kaṭapūtanas, skandas, and chāyās, as well as spirits that cause food to taste foul and spoil, cause indigestion, and cause the evil eye, will be pacified and no longer appear. All beings will be filled with mutual love and will remain in a state of supreme contentment. [Tiv.65] Blessed by the great king of jewels, they will possess great qualities and enjoy the benefits thereof.”

2.809The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, now turned to the Blessed One and smiled without blinking. He said to the Lord, “I will now describe, O Blessed One, the power substances for preparing this supreme jewel‍—substances blessed and taught by all the tathāgatas. This great wish-fulfilling jewel is my own heart essence‍—a great jewel that brings benefit and happiness to all beings. The vidyā holder should procure gold, spikenard, bovine bezoar, yellow orpiment, realgar, pink and blue lotuses, saffron, nāgapuṣpa, cinnamon, [A.62.b] crepe jasmine, the two types of sandalwood, fenugreek, vālaka, costus, dill, beautyberry, hareṇuka, cardamon, lodhra, jātapatṛ, great flowering jasmine, sāmaka, rasa, resin of the copal tree, and the sap of giant milkweed. These ingredients should be combined using an equal amount of each, except for gold, the quantity of which is double.

2.810“The vidyā holder should perform the rite during an auspicious nakṣatra, on a lunar day that is particularly suitable and auspicious. Thoroughly bathed, wearing clean clothes, and cultivating thoughts of loving kindness day and night, he should grind the ingredients into a fine powder. He should recite the heart dhāraṇī of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times and consecrate himself by reciting the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. [F.117.a]

2.811“He should blend the powder with perfumed rain and that which is called virata and then fumigate it with camphor and musk. He should then form the mixture into jewel pills the size of a lotus seed, pierce them, tie them with a thread of woven silk, and again recite the heart dhāraṇī of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times and the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. This should be performed in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara without speaking. The vidyā holder should leave them to dry in the shade at Avalokiteśvara’s feet and cover one half or a quarter of them with gold.

2.812“The pills that are covered with gold are like the wish-fulfilling jewel of Amoghapāśa; they have the power to accomplish great activities, both worldly and supramundane, related to the awakening of a buddha.

2.813“The pills that are not covered with gold have the power to accomplish all worldly activities. They can cure all diseases‍—all [Tiv.66] seizures, lesions, boils, erysipelas, scabs, festering abscesses, fistulas, leprosy, vitiligo, eye diseases, headache, hemiplegia, asthma attacks, diseases of mouth and nose, earache, toothache, pain in the palate, pain in the tongue, pain in the lips, pain in the chest, pain in the flanks, pain in the abdomen, diseases of the spleen, back pain, polyuria, dysentery, constipation, all types of hemorrhoids, all types of fever including the quartan, and the imbalance of wind, bile, or phlegm or a combination of these. For all internal diseases, the pill should be administered with warm water. All external diseases can be cured by merely applying salves with the jewel. Applied to any body part in whatever way, they will successfully cure anything; there is no doubt about this.

2.814“If a gold-coated jewel pill is tied to the arm, [F.117.b] the wearer will become invulnerable in every respect. He will obtain the strength, energy, and valor similar to that of Padmapāṇi or Vajradhara.

2.815“The threefold application of the jewel‍—as a bindi, a face wash, or an unguent‍— will bring, it is said, the supreme accomplishment of all tasks. The vidyā holder will succeed in whatever tasks he needs to accomplish; there is no doubt. He can certainly enthrall a king together with his harem, retinue, and ministers. They will become and remain his servants, always eager to carry orders.

2.816“If the vidyā holder wears the jewel inside his topknot and recites the vidyā, he will be able to accomplish everything without obstacle. If he holds it in his right hand and recites the vidyā, it will be the same as if he recited the vidyā one hundred thousand times. A single recitation is multiplied one hundred thousand times.

2.817“If he is unwashed and ties it around his neck, he will become washed. If he was impure, he will become pure. If he did not observe sexual continence, he will observe it. If he did not keep his vow of silence, he will keep it. If he did not fast, he will fast. If his speech was unpleasant, it will become pleasant and agreeable. [A.63.a] If he was not accomplished, he will become accomplished. If he did not know the samaya, he will come to know it fully. His train of thoughts will become suffused with loving kindness. Whatever he gives in charity, even if it is small, will multiply hundreds of thousands of times, becoming great act of charity. [Tiv.67] He will complete the six perfections.

2.818“If he ties the amulet to the palm of his right hand, whatever he touches will become inexhaustible. So that everything will increase and thrive, he should never disclose this to anyone. If he ties the jewel to his hips, he can step into a deep river and touch the bottom.

2.819“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the following jewel procedure, he should use silver to fashion a thirty-two-petaled lotus that is in full bloom with kernels in its pericarp and filaments around them. It should be sixteen fingers wide. In the center, he should place the ‘gold jewel.’ He should also draw a square maṇḍala, wetting it with cow urine and dyeing it in various colors. [F.118.a] The outer part of the maṇḍala should have the shape of a lotus. In the center where the lotus filaments are, he should place the silver lotus. He should arrange four full jars and four jars for bali around the maṇḍala, strew it with flowers, and paint it in various colors. He should burn incense of agarwood, sandalwood, and olibanum and offer a bali consisting of the ‘white’ foods. He should adorn the maṇḍala with banners in various colors, light thirty-two butter lamps, and arrange various garlands. All these things should be placed opposite an image of Noble Avalokiteśvara.

2.820“The vidyā holder should be ritually pure and wear clean clothes. After fasting for one day and one night, he should perform worship three times a day from the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, through the fourteen and fifteen days of the following fortnight. He should make offerings to the five baskets and to Noble Avalokiteśvara. Seated facing eastward toward the maṇḍala, he should recite the mantra one thousand and eight times, and the mantra of Krodharāja one thousand and eight times. He should sprinkle the maṇḍala with mustard seeds and water and display the mudrā of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times. He should also display the mudrā of Krodharāja. All these acts should be performed without speaking.

2.821“Then, on the fifteenth day, before the dawn breaks, the king of jewels and the lotus will blaze with light, and words will issue forth from the mouth of Noble Avalokiteśvara. The vidyā holder will be thrilled as the word ‘good!’ is heard coming from the canopy of the sky. He will perceive a large form of the Tathāgata, [Tiv.68] at which point he should grasp the blazing lotus with his right hand. As soon as he does, he will ascend into the sky and become an emperor of all vidyādhara s‍—a wheel-turning monarch of golden color by the name of Mahāsudarśana. All wicked beings, his opponents, and his adversaries will flee if he stands before them. [F.118.b] His retinue of vidyādhara kings will number twelve thousand million, and he will live one thousand eons.

2.822“He will attain the samādhi called great jewel of the amogha gaze mounted on the tip of a banner. He will obtain the unfailing noose called beholding the pure burning amogha flame. [A.63.b] Throughout the buddha fields in the ten directions he will see marvelous displays of all the tathāgatas. All these tathāgatas will give him comfort and encouragement. He will obtain a purity of body called splendorous luster of the vajra gaze of the completely pure great jewel. All devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall and become his willing servants.

2.823“If the vidyā holder ties the great jewel to his head, he will miraculously move in the western direction and distinctly perceive the entire realm of Sukhāvatī with its palaces and environs beautifully adorned with gardens. He will see hosts of bodhisattvas sitting opposite the tathāgatas, listening to their great Dharma discourses that introduce and elucidate the Dharma. He will see the form of Noble Avalokiteśvara with all his ornaments and his palace.

2.824“If he ties the great jewel to his neck, he will be able to enter all the terrestrial passages and the dwellings they lead to. In all these places, he will become the emperor Jayaprabhurāja, and the gates to sixty-four thousand palaces entered via terrestrial passages will be open for him.

2.825“If he ties the jewel to his right arm he will become invisible. Able to disappear at will, he will be the foremost among and the powerful king of hundreds of thousands of millions of those who can likewise disappear at will, equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. If he ties the jewel to his left arm he will become invisible to all yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and so forth. The doors of all their dwellings will remain open to him.

2.826“If he ties the jewel to his hips, all buried treasure troves will rise to the surface. [F.119.a] If he places the jewel on his knee and ties it to his right thigh, all palatial residences accessible via forest passages [Tiv.69] will open their doors to him. All medicinal substances and herbs will approach him in their respective forms and fall under his thrall.

2.827“If he ties the jewel to his lower calf, he will be able to move with the speed and great power of the wind. With a small step he will be able to travel the distance of ten thousand leagues and come back again. Using the great power, speed, and boldness of the wind, he will be able to travel around the entire thousandfold great trichiliocosm with all its world spheres in a single day and night and will never meet with any harm. He will fully accomplish everything that needs to be accomplished, always achieving a complete success.

2.828“If he ties the jewel to the sole of his foot, he will obtain the magical ability to enter the great subterranean paradise. The doors to the terrestrial passages to all subterranean paradises will remain open to him. He will be able to enter and exit any place that he wants.

2.829“If the vidyā holder keeps the jewel in his mouth every day as he recites one thousand verses , he will gain an ocean-like accumulation of knowledge merely by reading the verses aloud. If he keeps the jewel at the tip of his tongue, his tongue will become as smooth as a lotus or a water lily, and he will also be able to retain in memory anything he hears. If he rubs his hand with the jewel, anyone he touches will become his servant, eager to follow orders. All people‍—women, men, boys, girls, monks, or brahmins‍—will fall under his thrall and remain in his service.

“This concludes the practice procedures of the jewel.”

2.830The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, then said to the Blessed One, “I know, O lord, the great practice procedure called supreme pitcher of Amoghasiddhi . This procedure of the great pitcher has the same power, O lord, as is observed in the heart dhāraṇī of Amoghapāśa that is like a great wish-fulfilling jewel. [F.119.b] This procedure will bring success in the practices directed toward inconceivable magical transformations. This procedure is taught for the benefit and happiness of all the vidyā holders and so that they may realize the truth.

2.831“The vidyā holder should fashion a pitcher out of gold, silver, copper, or clay. It should have correct measurements, [A.64.a] namely the right circumference, and a top and neck of the right size. Its sides should be fine and smooth, and it should have a pleasant form, be clean, and have decorative motifs consisting of a total of one hundred and eight lotus petals painted all over it with vermillion. Motifs of [Tiv.70] lotus pericarps with stamens surrounded by petals should decorate its neck. The vidyā holder should also paint Noble Avalokiteśvara in his Amoghapāśa forms: on the eastern side of the pitcher he should depict the main form; on the southern side, the form that displays the gesture of protecting from the eight fears; on the northern side, the form that holds the wish-fulfilling jewel; and on the western side, the form that displays the gesture of granting comfort. All four should be adorned with all ornaments and sitting in a cross-legged posture among lotus petals.

2.832“The gods Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, the hosts of ṛṣis, and the gods Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Vāsava, Śakra, and Vajradhara should be depicted along with other gods, such as Agni, Vāyu, Sūrya, and Soma and the goddesses Tārā, Bhṛkuṭī, Śvetā, and Dūtī, as well as the gods Gaṇapati and Kumāra, the Four Great Kings, Rudra, and Viṣṇu. They should be drawn on lotus petals all around the pitcher. The pitcher should be painted in various colors and adorned with golden ornaments of all kinds, and each part should be colorful and beautiful in all respects.

2.833“The vidyā holder should then fashion a lotus seat of the correct diameter from deodar wood and place the pitcher on it. He should fill the pitcher with white mustard seeds and adorn it with every ornament. He should tie it with fine white cotton cloth and place mustard seeds, musk, camphor, bovine bezoar, and realgar on top of it. He should then cover the opening of the pitcher with a red cloth and place small fragments of the seven types of jewels on it.

2.834“The vidyā holder, ritually pure and wearing clean clothes, should build a maṇḍala four cubits in diameter with its surface raised half a cubit. It should be skillfully made of clay and cow dung with an impeccable finish. [F.120.a] It should have a symmetrical shape with four equal sides and should be clean. The vidyā holder should smear its surface with every fragrance. In the center of the maṇḍala, he should use white sandalwood to demarcate a smaller maṇḍala with four corners that is one cubit in diameter. He should offer lotus flowers, together with saffron, and draw a thirty-two-petaled lotus with filaments in the middle. He should place the pitcher on this lotus.

2.835“He should adorn it with various statues and banners and place vessels around the inner circle that are filled with various perfumes and unguents. He should arrange bowls with argha water and jars full of offerings, add incense holders filled with incense of many kinds, flowers of various types, and garlands. [Tiv.71]. Outside the maṇḍala, he should skillfully draw four symmetrically arranged doors with lokeśvara marks and a garland of lotuses. Around this he should place arrows and banners, and he should wrap the entire maṇḍala with five-colored thread.

2.836“He should arrange various types of the three ‘white’ foods with various tastes as are available, as well as a variety of fruits and other edibles. He should scatter various flowers and arrange garlands, incense holders, and similar items around the maṇḍala. He should also distribute around the maṇḍala four full jars with four spoons and add four perfume flasks, four water containers, and eight earthenware dishes filled with bali offerings made of ‘white’ foodstuffs of many kinds and various tastes. He should light sixty-one butter-filled lamps and strew the maṇḍala with parched rice and mustard seeds.

2.837“He should avoid alcohol, meat, onions, food containing garlic, [A.64.b] food and drink that have gone bad, and food that is difficult to digest. He should be ritually pure and wear clean clothes. To succeed, he should perform the rite on the day of the full moon. He should begin with the protection rite, including self-protection, tie his hair in a topknot, bind the directions and the maṇḍala elements, and perform the protection for his assistants and everyone else. [F.120.b] He should burn bdellium, mustard seeds, and ghee. Incense consisting of sandalwood, agarwood, frankincense, and olibanum has also been taught. This practice of the pitcher is supreme.

2.838“For the greatest efficacy of the mantra, the vidyā holder should fast for five days and nights. He should make offerings to the pitcher and the Buddha at the three junctions of the day without speaking. Sitting cross-legged in front of the maṇḍala, he should place his right hand on top of the pitcher and recite the Krodharāja mantra one thousand and eight times while sprinkling the pitcher with water and mustard seeds. He should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa ten thousand times while generating, with full focus, loving kindness for all beings and giving himself completely over to the feeling of compassion. He should recite the mantra while calling to mind and contemplating the Buddha.

2.839“Then, during the last watch of the fifteenth night, the night of the full moon, at the junction of night and day just before dawn, the golden pitcher will shake violently. The word ‘bravo!’ will be heard loudly, and the great pitcher will blaze, [Tiv.72] radiating light of various colors. The vidyā holder will be thrilled with joy and become immaculately pure without any stains, his complexion will become very clear and white, and his skin will be as smooth as a lotus or water lily. The pitcher will replicate, and each one will radiate light. Now that the vidyā holder has accomplished the practice of the pitcher, he should perform an elaborate pūjā, making bounteous offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara.

2.840“He should then sprinkle the pitcher with mustard seeds and water incanted twenty-one times with the Krodharāja mantra, causing the pitcher to immediately emit the following words: ‘Good! Good, O great vidyā holder! You have accomplished the practice of the auspicious pitcher. Just like the auspicious pot, this auspicious pitcher, the essence of Amoghapāśa, is a great wish-fulfilling jewel. You can, in consequence, enjoy its benefits to your heart’s content. You can accomplish anything you can think of and make any request.’ [F.121.a]

2.841“This auspicious pitcher should be worshiped as if it were a great palace; its rites should be upheld and its worship encouraged. It will produce whatever accomplishment is desired. It will bring mastery of poetry and drama, whether it is belles-lettres or the writings of ancient sages, and proficiency in math, arithmetic, grammar, and the doctrines of ritual and mantra. It will also enhance the ability to discover terrestrial passages and create an elixir of longevity and magical ointment for the eyes. In addition, the vidyā holder will obtain the knowledge of alchemy, mantras, sūtras, songs, Dharma, and the formal rules of discipline.

2.842“All things‍—food, drink, clothes, adornments, ornaments, minted coins, silver, gold bullion and wrought gold, pearls, conches, khaṇḍika, sapphires, emeralds, karketana stones, quartz crystals, coral, beryl, lapis lazuli, sapphires, fruits, flowers, conveyances, clothes, beds, seats, cushions, palaces, pleasures, amusements, and large palaces fit for a king‍—will physically manifest as soon as he thinks of them. Magically emanated palaces in all possible forms‍—those created by buddhas, by bodhisattvas, or by Vajradhara, the palaces of nāgas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, gandharvas, and mahoragas, and the palaces of the lords of yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas‍—will all manifest as he thinks of them.

2.843“The auspicious pitcher can manifest excessive rains, droughts, unseasonal rains, cold spells, hurricanes, [A.65.a] [Tiv.73] hailstorms, or floods. It can manifest anything, including soldiers, armed conflicts, specific places, residences, and royal splendor. The pitcher can manifest all this and other things: whatever the vidyā holder thinks of or requests can be manifested. Money, grain, fruits, flowers, and palaces will manifest for him. He will be successful in anything he can think of. [F.121.b]

2.844“The vidyā holder should take musk, mix it with bovine bezoar and camphor, add the sap of giant milkweed, make it into a pill, and then knead the pill with the milk of a tawny cow. If he then applies it to his forehead as a bindi, he will be able to travel through space with tens of thousands of millions of vidyādhara s in his retinue. If he applies the bindi to his chest, he will become invisible. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas, on the other hand, will be visible to him. If he touches the pill to the tip of his tongue, he will be able to read three thousand verses every single day and retain them in memory. If he swallows it, his lifespan will increase to ten thousand years. If he eats the pill with porridge with milk, he will become an ocean-like vessel of great learning. If he eats it with the sap of giant milkweed, he will become an emperor of all vidyādhara s, and all rites, mantras, maṇḍalas, and mudrās will be revealed to him.

2.845“If he applies the pill as bindi to his navel, he will be able to descend into a broad river and reach the other shore by walking on the bottom. He will even be able to reach the other shore of an ocean. If he applies the bindi to his head, he will be able to enter the thick of the battle and defeat an entire army with its four divisions. If he eats the pill with ghee, he will obtain the strength of one thousand large elephants. He will be able to fling an elephant with one hand, tossing it into the sky and catching it again. If he rubs his hand with the pill, he will obtain the power of one thousand warriors.

2.846“If he buries the pill at a shrine, all the deities will fall under his thrall, send timely rains, and put an end to all hurricanes, cold spells, storm clouds, and hail. If he buries the pill at the gate of the royal palace, the king, together with his harem, his retinue, and all ministers, advisers, and brahmin priests, will fall under his thrall. If he buries the pill at the gate of a monastery, all the monks will experience comfort and ease [F.122.a] and will always be filled with thoughts of loving kindness. If he buries the pill at a place of honor in the midst of the noble saṅgha, all the monks will obtain delicious food and drink. If a monk places the pill in his alms bowl and does his alms rounds in a city, he will receive lavish gifts of food of great variety and superb tastes, [Tiv.74] without much effort on his part.

2.847“If he buries the pill near a caitya that contains relics and if he makes offerings to the caitya, then for as long as the pill remains near that caitya it will be the same as making large offerings to eight great caityas every single day. If he buries the pill at Noble Avalokiteśvara’s feet within a shrine, makes large offerings to him, and mindfully repeats the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times, it will be the same as making large offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara every single day for as long as the pill remains buried there. If he buries the pill on a highway, all thieves, robbers, and bandits, both human and nonhuman, as well as all wild animals, will be kept at bay and flee in all directions.

2.848“If he buries the pill on a mountaintop, all the medicinal substances and herbs there will blaze with light. All the women, men, boys, girls, cows, grazing animals, buffalo, horses, and so forth that can be seen from the mountain will be completely freed from all fear, [A.65.b] be saved from the sixteen great hells and eight great fears, and be free from all disease. There will be great peace within one hundred leagues, and all diseases will disappear.

2.849“If he wears the pill around his neck, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him whenever wished for and will always keep him in his heart. If he buries the pill near a granary, the store of grain will greatly increase. [F.122.b] If he buries the pill at the entrance to a tavern, the store of wine will greatly increase. If he buries the pill in the middle of a hill, corn will grow there in abundance. If he buries the pill at the entrance to a passage into a mountain, all such passages will be opened for him. If he rubs the pill on an opening to a passage into the ground, all such passages will be opened for him. If he rubs the area around the passages, all the medicinal essences will ooze out.

2.850“If he buries the pill near a passage into a forest, all the forest deities will appear before him in their natural forms and will carry out any task that he wants to accomplish. If he buries the pill in the middle of a lotus pond, a great lotus will appear and will bloom continuously while exuding a divine fragrance. [Tiv.75] If he places the pill at the top of a building, all the women, men, boys, and girls within the range of sight will receive great protection, and a protective boundary against all dangers will be created with the radius of one hundred leagues and spanning the ten directions. Every disease within it will be eradicated, and all injustices, enemies, grahas, and misfortunes will be pacified. All foreign armies will be pacified and will perish from some sort of calamity. If the vidyā holder throws the pill mixed with mustard seeds into the middle of a battle, a great mutual love will arise amid the great battle.

2.851“In the event of severe illness that withers the limbs and shortens life, or if any great obstacles arise, the vidyā holder should put the pill mixture into a jar with scented water, incant it one hundred and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, bathe in the water, and make lavish offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara. As soon as he has finished bathing, he will be free from every illness and disease. He will also be freed from all his wrongdoings and previously accumulated obscurations. Even if he had reached the end of his life, he will regain his original lifespan. His body will take on a divine form, and the defilements of his envy and jealousy will completely disappear.

2.852“He will also be able to accomplish hundreds of thousands of other activities. [F.123.a] Employing his intelligence, whatever actions he performs will succeed without fail. He will become a mighty king in all the palaces behind the terrestrial passages. His lifespan will increase to twelve thousand eons, and after he dies he will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower, adorned with all ornaments. His body will be adorned with jewels, gold, silver, diamonds, beryls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and pearls. His hair will become curly and take on the dark-blue color of a bumble bee. His eyes will be as blue as a blue lotus, and his complexion will take on a golden hue. His speech will be soft, pleasant, and sweet.

2.853“Amitābha, the victorious one, will extend his hand and place it on the vidyā holder’s head. Padmapāṇi, with his hand that bestows boons, will comfort the vidyā holder and grant him the best boons. Amitābha will prophesy that the vidyā holder will become a buddha with amogha gaze, sitting on a lotus. The mustard seeds will appear as the bodily relics of the blessed buddhas, the hundreds of thousands of millions tathāgatas, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. Such relics are of various types, colors, [Tiv.76] and forms and may resemble the seven types of great jewels and gems. [A.66.a] Some relics may be as bright as the sun, radiating light everywhere in the ten directions.

2.854“Each individual relic can manifest magical powers and display miracles. By merely seeing these bodily relics, the beholder will become irreversibly established on the path to unsurpassable perfect awakening. You should not focus your thoughts on other things. If you do not succeed in it, all the tathāgatas will be distressed. The vidyā holder should also make aspiration prayers in front of the relics in his sleep, his thoughts suffused with loving kindness. Having thus formulated his wishes, he should offer worship. As soon as he formulates something in his mind, he will accomplish all of it instantly. [F.123.b] This auspicious pitcher is just like physical relics, and it should be regarded as such. The pitcher and the relics should be seen as equal in terms of their magical and miraculous properties. This should not be doubted or denied.

“Thus concludes the amogha practice procedure of the pitcher.” [Tv.134]

2.855The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni extended his golden arm, stroked Noble Avalokiteśvara’s head, and said, “Good! Good, O great being! This is indeed marvelous! You have passed down this perfect rite for the benefit and happiness of vidyā holders and of the people of the four castes in Jambudvīpa. You have shown how to accomplish this supreme practice of the amogha pitcher. This excellent practice procedure is the supreme act of self-consecration; by its blessing one attains the great miraculous amogha powers and the awakening of a buddha because, in essence, this practice aims at supreme accomplishment.

2.856“This practice leads to the attainment of the great seat of awakening and to the turning of the wheel of Dharma. It confers the great blessing of the tathāgatas. You should establish it for the well-being and happiness of all beings, thus providing relief and comfort to the entire world. I entrust you, Avalokiteśvara, with the mission to fulfill the wishes of all beings. This unexcelled practice that leads to the supreme accomplishment can be accomplished through reading. It always stays with the vidyā holder and always grants him boons and protects him.”

2.857Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, his heart filled with supreme joy, smiled and bowed with folded hands to the Blessed One, touching his feet with his head. He said, “I care, O Blessed One, for all beings in the ten directions, however many there are in the world systems of the great thousand-thousandfold trichiliocosm. I care for all beings endowed with life, including animals and birds. [F.124.a] I embrace them all with the mind of great compassion and exert myself in order to deliver them from all suffering and establish them on the great path to awakening. Because of this, O Blessed One, I want first and foremost to completely liberate them. I am the essence of accomplishment for all the vidyā holders. Lord, I always watch over, think of, and protect the beings who remember me. However, I continually guard over and nourish, as if they were my own children, those beings who are motivated by their exceptional goals to apply themselves to studying, practicing, touching, and worshiping this manual of rites that are the essence of Amoghapāśa. [B12]

2.858“In this way, O Blessed One, I embrace all beings with great compassion, strive to completely liberate them, [Tv.135] grant them boons, [A.66.b] fulfill all their wishes, and keep them in my thoughts. I do not, O Blessed One, become complacent or lapse into feeling satisfaction with what I have achieved. I do this is in order to completely liberate all beings, grant them boons, and protect them, and especially to establish all of them on the supreme path to awakening. O Blessed One, I am always present whenever anyone studiously reads and practices this sovereign ritual with its maṇḍalas and mudrās; whenever anyone upholds, propagates, worships, studies and deeply reflects on it; [F.124.b] whenever anyone listens to it and then whispers it into the cavity of someone’s ear. At that time I will grant all supreme accomplishments and establish such a vidyā holder in various wonderful practices, both worldly and supramundane, including great divine rites that irreversibly establish him on the path to awakening.

2.859“If I can establish animals such as deer or birds irreversibly on the path to awakening by merely whispering the words of this manual into their ear, what need is there to mention, O Blessed One, those beings who, because of their pure minds, always abide in the state of love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity; those who repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and study this great sovereign ritual with its maṇḍalas and mudrās, who uphold it, propagate it, and recollect it at the three junctions of the day and all day long on special days and nights. Such people, O Blessed One, do not have ordinary human bodies but are known to have pure human bodies, to have divine bodies. I nourish such beings, O Blessed One, continually at all times. I remain, O Blessed One, above their heads.

2.860“Since the bodies of holy beings are divine, I am known, O Blessed One, to possess a body that is not human. Because, O Blessed One, I remain in the inner hearts and minds of human beings as the essence of Amoghapāśa, I transform their human bodies into pure, divine bodies through the power derived from the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. Such transformed bodies should be known as divine. They should be known as lokeśvara bodies, [Tv.136] bodies that have become a wish-fulfilling jewel, [F.125.a] tathāgata bodies that are like the great expanse of the ocean, bodies that are the amogha essence, bodies cleansed of the impurities and free of envy and jealousy, and immaculate bodies whose wrongdoings and obscurations have been purified.

2.861“Such bodies are known to be worthy of worship, veneration, and praise by all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and other nonhuman and human beings. Their bodies are known to be guarded by the gods of the realm of Thirty-Three. They are known to be endowed with the roots of virtue equal to those planted by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of tathāgatas, equal in number to the grains of sand in seventy-two Gaṅgā rivers. They are known to have a limitless lifespan, to be revitalized by all the bodhisattvas, and to be blessed with the vajra of Vajrapāṇi.

2.862“Such bodies should be known to be capable of appearing as a great ocean with its deep waters and curved shorelines, or suddenly becoming as big as the great Mount Sumeru. They can appear as the great expanse of the sky, completely pure, or take on an appearance of a great jewel. They should be known as divine bodies, equal to receptacles of divine relics. [A.67.a] A vidyā holder with such a body will thus possess great power and might. He will be blessed by all the tathāgatas and will receive a prophecy from them about his future awakening. His body will be great indeed.

2.863“However, O Blessed One, beings are difficult to control; it is difficult for them to awaken or to open up. They lack faith, are prone to envy, and are enveloped by evil and vice. Pure and impure at once, they are full of anger and wickedness. For that reason, O Blessed One, sentient beings perpetuate their own nonvirtue, and I am not at fault. [F.125.b] But I will, O Blessed One, think of them and appear to them as soon as they remember, keep in their hearts, read, study, and recite this manual. I keep encouraging them again and again, but these beings, O Blessed One, do not see me. They do not think of me or contemplate me. They do not keep me in mind for even the shortest moment. Their hearts and minds are corrupt, and their inner nature is dominated by their own faults. But as soon as they think of me, remember me, or turn to me, [Tv.137] I will, O Blessed One, stand right in front of them. I will stay with them so that they can see me, speak to me, and make friends with me.

2.864“But neither these beings nor the vidyā holders will recognize me, not even by way of premonition, nor will they pay homage to me when I appear in the garb of a renunciant with a shaven head and saffron robe, or the garb of a brahmin or a kṣatriya, or the garb of a well-to-do merchant, caravan leader, or child, or the garb of the Blessed One. I may also appear to them in the form of a king, a minister, an ally, a friend, a relative, a teacher, a master, a preceptor who gives common vows, or a son, daughter, mother, father, or sister.

2.865“Those, however, who have the disposition of a learned man will recognize the signs conveyed by my appearance, form, and the combination of other factors. They will understand the combinations of letters and words in my speech and recognize the things that I say. It will, bit by bit, become clear to them, and they will understand. They will then observe, ‘this is a noble being,’ and they will recognize me. I will approach those who want to see me and, in doing so, [F.126.a] allow them to have a clear view. I will fulfill all their hopes and wishes. When in the midst of merchants, I will do the buying and selling, do the talking, and negotiate bargains. When in the midst of an assembly, I will pursue the topics of the sciences, poetics, the Vedas, the application of mantras, grammar, the sūtras, drama, and song and music.

2.866“Regarding books on the subject of awakening, I will explain the doctrine, the rules of discipline, and the philosophy of Mahāyāna. To brahmins, I will explain the Purāṇas, the Vedas, fire oblation rituals, the Mahābhārata, and the Rāmāyaṇa. To the followers of the mantra path, I will teach mantra recitation, the rituals involving maṇḍalas and mudrās, the recitation of dhāraṇīs, the homa offering, and the rites of pacifying, nourishing, assaulting, and so forth.

2.867“So how does one recognize me when I stand before them in plain sight? I can be recognized in three different ways: (1) I am always distinguished as an excellent speaker, as my sweet speech has the sound that is soft and pleasant, its phonemes are pronounced clearly and distinctly, and with its sentences are complete; (2) the breath coming out of my mouth has the rich fragrance of a blue lotus flower, and my body has the strong scent of musk; and (3) anything that has a loathsome form will blaze in my presence with great splendor. By these signs, the vidyā holder and any person from the four castes can clearly recognize me as Noble Avalokiteśvara. This should not be doubted or denied.

2.868“In dreams, when various forms and colors appear at the four junctions of the night, [Tv.138] I will appear to the vidyā holder and fulfill all his wishes and hopes. [F.126.b] Without any effort on his part, [A.67.b] I will provide everything he needs, creating the right circumstances. I will never act otherwise or abandon him. I will never be negligent, O Blessed One, when granting him boons. If I do not see the vidyā holder gaining accomplishment, or if the gods fail to protect or guard him, then, O Blessed One, providing that he does not object, I will make protecting such an unhappy vidyā holder my priority, and I will become his refuge and support. I will not lack compassion, and I will certainly deliver him from saṃsāra. In the same way, O Blessed One, I will embrace all beings with a mind filled with compassion and deliver them from saṃsāra. I will support them and will certainly sow in them the seed of awakening.”

2.869The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni and all the tathāgatas in the ten directions applauded Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, saying, “Good! It is good, O great being with supreme compassion, that you, a pure being, embrace all beings with great compassion in order to save them from the great prison of saṃsāra, where they are immersed in and surrounded by killing and humiliation, are afflicted by hunger and thirst, and experience much fear, dread, anxiety, exhaustion, and pain. Because of your compassion for them, the name of this great sovereign ritual with its collection of maṇḍalas and mudrās that are the essence of Amogharāja will fall upon their ears, and its sound will be heard and apprehended. Because of this, they will be saved from their tremendous suffering and freed from all their evil and obscurations. [F.127.a] They will have peace.

2.870“Having heard the name of the sovereign ritual, they will be saved from all dangers and released from the terrors of the great hells. All their karmic obscurations, whether worldly or supramundane, including those that would lead to experiencing all the misfortunes and suffering of hell, will be completely and definitively terminated. They will be blessed and looked after by all the tathāgatas, who will prophesy their future awakening. [Tv.139] They will be liberated if they hear the name of the sovereign ritual merely seven times. They will acquire great, ocean-like accumulations and will receive comfort from the tathāgatas. If the seed of awakening can fully ripen in beings like this, what need is there to mention, O Avalokiteśvara, those beings who hear, study, uphold, propagate, worship, write down, commission copies of, honor, and venerate this heart of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa, complete with its collection of mantras, mudrās, and all its rites. These beings are known to be established irreversibly on the path to awakening. This should not be doubted or denied.

2.871“Furthermore, what will happen if someone were to hold an amogha pill, ointment, or incense in their hand? Such a great being would be purified and would be taken care of by every tathāgata in all ten directions, who will be very pleased with them. It should be known that any son or daughter of good family, a monk or a nun, or a male or a female lay practitioner who performs their worship while displaying the heart mudrā of Krodharāja‍—the heart essence of Amoghapāśa‍—while following the fasting ritual that is repeated seven times, and who recites the mantra and performs the consecration, will, O Padmapāṇi, obtain the body of a tathāgata in this earthly life. They will clearly manifest the nature of a tathāgata [F.127.b] and will receive the treasure trove of a tathāgata in their own hand. This should not be doubted. Such a person will be completely free of all animosity and arrogance. They should recite the mantra while visualizing all beings to be near them and embrace them with great compassion. [A.68.a]

2.872“Those who enter the great amogha maṇḍala and see either it or the great cloth painting will enter the buddha fields in all ten directions where all the tathāgatas dwell in numbers equal to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. They will enter the very essence of the great secret samaya of all the tathāgatas and be able to see the body of every tathāgata. By receiving the consecration of Krodharāja, one is consecrated by all the tathāgatas. In this way, one acquires great qualities and benefits and a great store of merit, and one plants the roots of great virtue.

2.873“The procedures contained in this great sovereign ritual thus bring great benefits, great power, and great qualities. [Tv.140] By merely hearing the name or seeing this great sovereign ritual of the great bodhisattva being Avalokiteśvara, one will see in this very existence great miraculous displays and receive blessings from the tathāgatas. Similarly, one who writes in the form of a book this sovereign ritual, with its maṇḍalas, heart mantras, mudrās, and dhāraṇīs, will witness the miracles of Amogharāja. Such a vidyā holder will be able to see hundreds of thousands of millions of tathāgatas, worthy, fully realized buddhas equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. [F.128.a] All these tathāgatas will stand by in order to protect him and give him comfort, and they will appear to him. The mere sight of the book thus copied will ensure that the five acts of immediate retribution are completely purified and that all the previously accumulated obscurations will come to a complete and final end.

2.874“The vidyā holder will thus obtain, in this very life, great splendor, good fortune, and glory. After he dies, he will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. The birth in which he sees the book will be his last. Even though his original lifespan was spent, his life will be extended. All his diseases will disappear, as will his obscurations and anger. He will attain a great, supreme accomplishment, become the master of great siddhas and yogins, and be endowed with every good fortune and quality. This book should therefore be known to be equal in status to a tathāgata who abides in the dharmadhātu.”

2.875Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, bowed with folded hands to the Blessed One and, with a smiling face and beating heart, spoke while facing the Blessed One, whose body was shining bright with hundreds of thousands of millions of light rays:

2.876“There is, O lord, in my great lotus maṇḍala, a teaching on the panoptic amogha cloth-painting that constitutes the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. When this amogha painting is being executed, many thousands of deity images of various forms and colors and that bear various insignia, [F.128.b] are surrounded by magical displays, and are generated by the illusion-like samādhi will enter the painting together as a single form and single body. They include the forms of Īśvara, Maheśvara, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, the great Paśupati, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, the hosts of ṛṣis, Kumāra, the merchant Sārthavāha, the vidyādhara s, [Tv.141] Candra, Sūrya, the nakṣatras, and the multitude of stars. By merely beholding this painting, [A.68.b] one can accomplish the great maṇḍalas, samayas, and mudrās and all the great sādhana-rites of Amoghapāśa. One can enter the samayas that lead to accomplishment.

2.877“I will now pronounce the great samaya-dhāraṇī, an amogha heart mantra, so that all beings may attain happiness. I will pronounce it, in front of you, the Blessed One, so that the vidyā holders may attain supreme accomplishment by reciting it, and so that everyone’s wishes will be fulfilled.

2.878“Homage to the tathāgatas of the three times!

[198] “ Oṁ, O wrathful one with the amogha lotus noose! Pull them in and make them enter! You wear the garb of the great Paśupati and of Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Brahmā. You are the amogha essence! Hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ, phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā to you, the samaya of the lotus family!”

2.879As soon as this heart dhāraṇī-mudrā was pronounced in the great assembly, the earth with its mountains, forests, and groves quaked in six different ways, a great rain of flowers fell, and the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, and gandharvas uttered cries of joy. As soon as this essence of the sovereign rite of Amoghapāśa was spoken, all the wicked yakṣas, rākṣasas, and vināyakas fell face down and were terrified as they were consumed by burning flames. The vighnas and vināyakas made sorrowful expressions as they fled in the ten directions, wailing as they scattered and cowered in confusion. [F.129.a]

2.880Because of this samaya dhāraṇī, the great bodhisattva beings will worship Noble Avalokiteśvara with offerings of various divine adornments and fine fabrics. They will pass on the gift of Dharma. They will worship him with offerings of various flowers and divine fragrances. Devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will approach Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being who sits opposite the Tathāgata, [Tv.142] and make generous offerings with the various flowers, fragrances, garlands, unguents, scented powders, garments, banners, flags, divine fabrics, adornments, ornaments, and decorations they brought. They will make offerings to the blessed lord Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, a great pure being who is extremely difficult to find.

2.881The Blessed Śākyamuni then said to Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Pure being, now teach the full procedure!”

2.882Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, then gave a detailed explanation of his dhāraṇī, a miraculous amogha manifestation:

2.883“This dhāraṇī, a miraculous amogha manifestation, should be recited by the vidyā holder one thousand and eight times every single day while he is absorbed through the illusion-like samādhi into the heart essence of Amogharāja. [F.129.b] The vidyā holder will subsequently experience visions of various illusory forms that are magical products of his samādhi. He will be able to enter anywhere, always in alignment with the course of his samaya. He will fully understand mudrās, maṇḍalas, mantras, and rites. He will be able to maintain, at all times, the state known as the top of the banner, a magical product of his samādhi. He will be able to trace and fully fathom every mystery of the tathāgatas, thus becoming established in amogha vidyā, the perfection of complete knowledge.

2.884“He will obtain magical amogha powers [A.69.a] and a complete array of amogha forms, complexions, and marks. He will obtain amogha qualities, amogha praise, amogha roots of virtue, and an amogha prophecy from the tathāgatas about his future awakening. The amogha heap of great merit and amogha roots of virtue that he plants will be as great as those of the tathāgatas. He will obtain a direct amogha vision of, and an amogha blessing from, the tathāgatas. He will be amogha-inducted into the tathāgata family, amogha-inducted into the vajra family, amogha-established in the samaya of the lotus family, [Tv.143] amogha-accepted into the samaya of the jewel family, and amogha-accepted into the samaya of the royal family. He will be amogha-established in the magical maṇḍala of all the tathāgatas and will be amogha-established and reside in in the cakravartin family.

2.885“Through amogha consecration, he will be initiated into amogha knowledge. He will receive the amogha consecration [F.130.a] of all the tathāgatas and be amogha-established in the practice of the great mudrā and mantra collections. He will be amogha-established on the path to the final awakening of the tathāgatas and will amogha-turn the wheel of the Dharma of all the tathāgatas. He will become the amogha drummer who beats the drum of Dharma and the amogha conch-blower who blows the conch of Dharma. He will amogha-master the six perfections. His nature will be the amogha nature of the dharmadhātu of all the tathāgatas, and he will obtain the profound dharmadhātu nature through the amogha transmission. He will amogha-enter the noble eightfold path of all the tathāgatas that leads beyond this world. He will amogha-accomplish the worldly practice of the great common Dharma rites and will amogha-enjoy the divine-worldly splendor. He will become the supreme amogha master of all beings and occupy the position of honor above their heads.

2.886“He will accumulate many great qualities and experience the corresponding great benefits, provided that he completes all the practice procedures of this essential Amogharāja ritual with its sets of mudrās and maṇḍalas; that he listens to, upholds, propagates, and makes this manual available; and that he reflects on it deeply, recites the mantras according to procedure, and recollects the Buddha. If he does this, he will purify and exhaust his karma, all his wrongdoings, and all his obscurations in this very life and will be completely free from disease, birth, old age, and death. He will reach the other shore of the ocean of saṃsāra. [F.130.b] If this is so, O Blessed One, what need is there to mention someone who is primarily dedicated to serving sentient beings? It is said that such a being should be known, O Blessed One, as one who never turns back, the same as one who is established on the tenth bodhisattva level.

2.887“If, O Blessed One, a son or a daughter of good family, a monk or a nun, or a male or female lay practitioner draws, on a fine, thoroughly cleaned cotton cloth, the following emblematic maṇḍala from the great sovereign rite that constitutes the heart essence of Amogharāja; [Tv.144] if they draw it with due attention, faith, and respect while wholly intent on supplicating all the tathāgatas; if they draw it or commission a painter who has faith, respect, and a pure mind filled with loving kindness, a painter who uses flawless materials in respectful worship; if they draw this maṇḍala for the sake of all beings, the strong and the weak, such a person should be known as one who is established irreversibly on the path to awakening. [A.69.b] This should not be doubted or denied. All the tathāgatas will regard them like their own firstborn son. Being a product of the Dharma, fashioned by the Dharma, they will be blessed by all the tathāgatas and prophesied to become a supreme being and to fully realize perfect awakening. Because of its great miraculous power, this sovereign rite should therefore be known to be equal to a tathāgata. As such, it is famed to bring great benefits and great qualities.

2.888“I will now describe the practice procedure that leads to the supreme amogha accomplishment.

2.889“The vidyā holder should prepare a square, symmetrical, well-woven canvas that is two cubits wide. It should be new and well pressed. The painter should purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and execute the painting using strong, vividly colored paints that are free of contaminants and kept in new vessels. He should abstain from consuming alcohol, meat, onion, garlic, red onion, or foods containing these ingredients. He should also avoid eating leftovers or food that has gone off. [F.131.a] The form to be painted is that of Noble Avalokiteśvara as Amoghapāśa, who has a gentle expression on his main face, three eyes, hair tied in a topknot and adorned with a diadem, eleven faces, and thirty-two arms. He is adorned with all ornaments and holds in his hands various implements, including the noose. His body color is lotus white, and he wears various garments.

2.890“The face to the right of the main face is that of Maheśvara, and the one to the left, Nārāyaṇa. Above Maheśvara is the face of Yama, and that above Nārāyaṇa is Varuṇa. The face above Yama is Kubera, who frowns, while above Varuṇa is the frowning face of Kumāra. The face of the wrathful Maheśvara with protruding fangs sits above Kubera, and above Kumāra is the face of Īśvara in his wrathful form with protruding fangs. [Tv.145] Above Īśvara is the face of Āditya, and above the wrathful Maheśvara is the face of Soma. Above Avalokiteśvara’s knotted hair is Noble Amitābha with a halo of light extending for one fathom. Amitābha’s right hand is extended in the gesture of giving comfort.

2.891“Vāyu should be drawn inside Amitābha’s hair with his body inclined. The god Agni should be drawn to Amitābha’s right, with half his body showing. His emblems and implements should be drawn as previously mentioned. Noble Krodharāja should be drawn to the right of Avalokiteśvara, with a wrathful form adorned with all the ornaments. To the left is Vidyārāja, adorned with all the ornaments. Krodharāja holds a lotus and a noose, while Vidyārāja holds a wish-fulfilling jewel in hands cupped like the calyx of a flower. Noble Avalokiteśvara’s main face is turned upward, and his body, seated on a lotus, is adorned with lotus garlands. [F.131.b]

2.892“The goddess of the maṇḍala should be drawn below the lotus on which Noble Avalokiteśvara sits. She is in her wrathful form, is laughing loudly, has four arms, and is adorned with every ornament. In her four hands she holds a lotus, a noose, an axe, and a sword. She is sitting on a lotus in the ardhaparyaṅka posture. Behind Krodharāja is Noble Tārā; she holds a white cloth in her hands, her head is slightly inclined, and she is adorned with every ornament. Behind Vidyārāja is Mahāśvetā, who is adorned with every ornament, has her hands in the añjali gesture, and slightly inclines her head.

2.893“The vidyā holder should be drawn on the right side among the maṇḍala deities, kneeling on one knee and looking at the face of Noble Avalokiteśvara while holding a vase with flowers. The blessed buddhas, sitting in cross-legged posture, should be drawn on the four sides of Noble Avalokiteśvara. There are thirty-eight figures in the maṇḍala. In the space above are ṛṣis and devas. The Four Great Kings, wearing cuirasses and coats of mail, are in the four corners. [A.70.a] The three goddesses Sarasvatī, Bhīmā, and Rātri should be drawn below the feet of the goddess Śrī.

2.894“When the canvas has been filled in and the painting finely executed and finished, the vidyā holder should set it in a hidden place. He should then use cow dung to demarcate a symmetrical four-cornered maṇḍala in a clean spot. [Tv.146] He should smear the surface with various fragrant oils, strew it with flowers, and arrange full jars and incense holders around it. Burning incense of sandalwood, olibanum, agarwood, frankincense, and bdellium, he should add bowls with argha water for the feet. He should place the painting there in such a way that it faces the maṇḍala.

2.895“He should then purify himself ritually, put on clean clothes, and be thoroughly bathed. [F.132.a] He should then make offerings to the painting and light sixteen lamps. Facing the painting, he should sit in the cross-legged posture and display the mudrā while reciting the great samaya dhāraṇī, an amogha heart mantra, ten thousand times. He should also recite, at the three junctions of the day, the Krodharāja mantra, the heart essence of Amogharāja, twenty-one times. When he has recited the samaya dhāraṇī ten thousand times, the vidyā holder’s topknot will blaze with light, and the cloth painting will likewise radiate light of various colors.

2.896“When day breaks with a golden glow in the early morning, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in his divine person, just as he was depicted in the cloth painting. He will give comfort to the vidyā holder and say, ‘Tell me, vidyā holder, what boon would you like? Whatever is on your mind, I will grant it in full.’ The vidyā holder can request either of two boons: (1) a worldly accomplishment and (2) the supreme accomplishment of transcendent buddhahood. If he requests the worldly boon, Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant it in full. The vidyā holder will then obtain the ultimate success in the practices as taught in this great sovereign ritual, the maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa. He will attain the ultimate success, a great and vast accomplishment just as he requested in the presence of Noble Avalokiteśvara, and he will obtain supreme success in all worldly activities.

2.897“Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant any worldly boons that the vidyā holder requests, such as the accomplishment of the mantra, the power to work magic, the power of prabhājāla, and the power to assume the form of a deva. He will grant the power to become invisible, travel through space, or to enter terrestrial passages, forests, the palaces of nāgas and kinnarīs, [F.132.b] and the realms of water and space and to move underground. He will confer the knowledge of alchemy, geology, archery, and how to survive a battle. He will grant the power to summon beings, bring rain, stop excessive rain, enthrall beings, drive away yakṣas, [Tv.147] remain unshakable, and cross broad rivers. He will confer knowledge of the stars and of mantras, as well as the ability to extract medicinal substances, to produce the elixir of longevity, to transfer valuable objects and make them appear elsewhere, to obtain grain and clothes, and to enthrall a king. He will be able to successfully accomplish all these worldly practices.

2.898“If, however, the vidyā holder is concerned with the afterlife, Noble Avalokiteśvara will place his right hand on his head. As soon as he does this, the vidyā holder will become free from the danger of untimely death. He will become immaculately pure, his body completely purified. At the time of death he will cast off his body as a snake does its skin, and he will instantaneously proceed to the realm of Sukhāvatī, as is his destiny. He will be able to recollect hundreds of thousands of millions of his former births, one after another. [A.70.b] He will obtain a prophecy from the Tathāgata Amitāyus about his future buddhahood, and he will never turn back until he attains unsurpassable perfect awakening. His current birth will be his last. He will attain the samādhi called magical amogha display following the removal of all obscurations and hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of other samādhis. All the tathāgatas throughout the ten directions will think of him and applaud him, and all the bodhisattvas will also think of him. All the deities will protect him.

2.899“Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant the vidyā holder these two boons in this very life, with the corresponding success in worldly and supramundane matters. [F.133.a]

2.900“The vidyā holder will also accomplish many other things, such as freedom from epilepsy and spirit possession, expert knowledge of the sūtras, medical knowledge, and assuagement of diseases. All ailments such as boils, blisters, festering abscesses, fistulas, scabs, spotted leprosy, lice, cutaneous eruptions, erysipelas, stomachache, pain in the eyes, headache, hemiplegia, indigestion, insufficiency of digestive juices, toothache, throat ache, pain of the tongue, pain of the palate, diseases of the mouth and nose, earache, pain in the chest, and abdominal pain; pains in the flanks, hands, feet, calves, or around the fingernails; and fevers including those that return every day or every two, three, or four days, and every other type of fever, whether it is a daytime or nighttime fever or a combination of fevers, will cease as soon as the mantra is mindfully recited. All wrongdoings will likewise be purified, [Tv.148] and all wicked beings, opponents, and adversaries will disappear. This heart dhāraṇī is therefore very powerful; it will bring supreme worldly accomplishments.

2.901“If the vidyā holder wants to perform the dhāraṇī rite, he should be ritually pure, wear clean clothes, and be thoroughly bathed. By completing the recitation of the great dhāraṇī, an amogha heart mantra, he will attain the following: after eighteen thousand recitations, all his negativity will be pacified, the worldly accomplishments produced by this great vidyā will be obtained, and he will succeed in all his endeavors.

2.902“If, on the other hand, the vidyā holder wants to perform the recitation procedure in order to accomplish supramundane goals, he should, every day, maintain ritual purity, bathe thoroughly, and wear clean clothes. [F.133.b] Starting on the full moon day, he should recite the mantra one thousand and ten times every day. On the eleventh day, and then over the next three days, he should practice day and night, reciting the mantra one thousand five hundred times every day and making offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara. On the fifteenth day, the day of the full moon, he should offer a bali consisting of the three ‘white’ foods and argha water for the feet. Subsisting on the three ‘white’ foods, he should recite the mantra one thousand and eight times on the night of the full moon.

2.903“Noble Avalokiteśvara will arrive during the last watch of that night and say to the vidyā holder, ‘Good! You have fully accomplished the entire rite, the heart essence of Amogharāja that constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation.’ He will then extend his right hand and give the vidyā holder a lotus. As soon as the vidyā holder grasps it, he will magically ascend into the sky and go to whatever buddha field he wants, where he will be comforted by all the tathāgatas.

2.904“If the vidyā holder wants to perform a homa procedure, he should dig a perfectly circular lotus pond. Into it he should offer one thousand and eight lotus seat homas, which consist of lotus stalks and petals smeared with ghee. [A.71.a] To do this, he should build a fire using fragrant wood. When he has repeated the homa one thousand and eight times, the great goddess Śrī will arrive, appearing before the vidyā holder’s very eyes. She should be given a welcome offering of perfumed argha water for the feet.

2.905“The goddess will say, ‘What can I do for you, vidyā holder?’ to which he should reply, ‘Grant me inexhaustible wealth, O goddess! Grant me a treasure trove!’ [Tv.149] She will reply, ‘So it shall be!’ Having thus reassured him, she will disappear. Then, wherever the vidyā holder goes, he will discover great treasure, treasure that will never come close to being exhausted. He should give some of it away, use some for himself, and offer some to the Three Jewels. [F.134.a] He should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and to the great goddess Śrī, offering part of the treasure every single day to either of them.

2.906“The vidyā holder should light a fire using sticks of giant milkweed and offer, in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, blue lotuses sprinkled with sandalwood powder and smeared with freshly churned butter. He should continue with the offering for one fortnight, without counting the homas. When this rite is fully completed, he will obtain every type of enjoyment. If he makes a fire of cedar wood in front of the painting and offers one hundred and eight homas of mustard seeds and lotus petals smeared with asafetida resin and sesame oil three times a day for seven days, he will obtain one hundred villages.

2.907“If he offers one hundred and eight homas of aśoka sticks smeared with ghee three times a day for one fortnight, he will obtain a kingdom. If he offers the sticks one hundred and eight times three times a day for seven days, he will be able to reveal the places where instructions are given. If he offers one thousand and eight homas of jasmine flowers to the image of Noble Avalokiteśvara for twelve days, he will propitiate all the blessed buddhas as well as the gods and nāgas. He will then obtain every boon and accomplish all tasks.

2.908“If the vidyā holder wants to summon Maṇibhadra, he should place his ring finger against his heart and recite the mantra one hundred and eight times at the three junctions of the day for twelve days. When the rite is completed, Maṇibhadra will appear to him. By merely touching the heart area with his finger, the vidyā holder will obtain one hundred dinars every single day. If this amount is spent entirely, Maṇibhadra will give more. Should the vidyā holder hoard any of it, no more will come.

2.909“Standing opposite an image of Noble Avalokiteśvara, a reliquary, or a painting facing west, the vidyā holder should offer one hundred and eight homas of cutch tree sticks, [F.134.b] smeared with curds, honey, and ghee, at the three junctions of the day for seven days. When the rite is completed, he will obtain ten thousand rūpaka coins. These and other enriching rites can be employed for any purpose.

2.910“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the eye ointment rite, he should remain ritually pure, bathe thoroughly, and maintain the purity of practice. [Tv.150] On the eighth or the fifteenth day of the lunar fortnight, after fasting for one day and one night, he should place some realgar in a copper container and sit down facing the cloth painting in a cross-legged position. He should cover the container with four leaves from a bodhi tree and recite the mantra until one of the three signs of accomplishment appears‍—the realgar gets hot, emits smoke, or bursts into flames.

2.911“If the realgar gets hot, anyone who sees the vidyā holder who anointed his eyes with it will fall under his thrall. He will thus obtain whatever he asks for and be venerated by the entire world. He will be worshiped, venerated, and honored by the king, the royal ministers, and the king’s harem and retinue, who will all place him above their heads. If the realgar emits smoke, the vidyā holder who anoints his eyes with it will be able to walk one thousand leagues and back again without touching the ground; he will remain ten fingers above the ground. He will also be able to hear sounds from a distance of one thousand leagues [A.71.b] and see things at the same distance. He will live thirteen thousand years, will never have to follow anyone’s orders, will always be happy, and will enjoy the position of a respected teacher. All the tathāgatas will always look after him. If the realgar bursts into flames, the vidyā holder will fly up into space in the company of Noble Avalokiteśvara and live ten thousand years.

2.912“The vidyā holder who performs rites involving realgar can, in addition, perform other practices both worldly and supramundane. He should procure oleander flowers and realgar by honest means, purify them, and mix them with the five products of the cow. After fasting for three days, [F.135.a] he should make large offerings to the Blessed One and to Noble Avalokiteśvara on the day of the full moon. He should place the realgar upon four lotus leaves, cover it with another three, and recite the mantra until one of the three signs of accomplishment appears‍—the realgar gets hot, emits smoke, or bursts into flames.

2.913“He should then use the realgar to mark a bindi between his eyebrows. If he does this with realgar that became hot, all the beings he sees or who see him will fall under his thrall, even animals. Their lifespan will double. If he makes a bindi with the realgar that emits smoke, the people of all four castes will fall under his thrall. He will be able to walk with his feet off the ground at the height of a man, see objects at a distance of three thousand leagues, and hear sounds from the same distance. He will live twelve thousand years. If he makes a bindi with the realgar that emits flames, he will be able to travel through space, [Tv.151] flying with a retinue of twenty. He will become the king of all those who mastered the magic of realgar. He will ascend to a height of three thousand leagues and will live eighty thousand years.

2.914“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish rites involving bovine bezoar, he should purify the bezoar with the ghee from a tawny cow. On the eighth or the fifteenth day of the bright fortnight, after fasting for three days, he should make large offerings to the Blessed One and to Noble Avalokiteśvara. He should place the bezoar on the palm of his right hand and, propping it up, recite the mantra until one of the three signs of accomplishment appears.

2.915“If he marks his forehead with the bezoar that has become hot, he will bring under his control yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, piśācas, and bhūtas, who will provide for him anything he seeks. He will live, from that day onward, another five thousand years. If he marks his forehead with the bezoar that emits smoke, he will become the king of all who are able to become invisible, and he will be able to travel upon still air for a distance of twenty thousand leagues and come back again. [F.135.b] His lifespan will increase to sixty thousand years, and he will see objects at the distance of sixty thousand leagues. If he marks his forehead with the bezoar that emits flames, he will travel through space, flying with the personal retinue of one hundred. He will become the king of all those who mastered the magic of bezoar. He will live ten million years and become, after death, a king ruling over the four continents.

2.916“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the rite that will give his body a golden hue, he should complete the following recitation procedure within six fortnights. Maintaining ritual purity, wearing clean clothes, and bathing thoroughly, he should procure the following medicinal substances and flowers: realgar, yellow orpiment, honey, sakī, costus, saffron, bovine bezoar, aśoka blossoms, the ‘white’ substance, powdered thorn apple, cow’s milk, the sap of giant milkweed, the sap of suvarṇakṣīra, the sap of common milk hedge, the sap of bodhi tree, and the sap of viṣṇukrama. Taking an equal part of each, he should combine them together, place them in a copper vessel, and shake them. Within a fortnight, the mixture will turn into cow’s milk; there is no doubt about this.

2.917“He should place the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara in a forest, monastery, walking ground, or clean area, arranging it in such a way that it faces the viewer. [A.72.a] [Tv.152] Filled with great love and compassion, contemplating the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, protected by the great armor, armed with determination, energy, and valor, feeling supreme devotion and the highest respect for Noble Avalokiteśvara, and ardently desiring awakening, he should make large offerings according to his means every single day. First he should recite the mantra for six fortnights, and then, when this recitation is completed, he should dry the best of herbs, grind them into a fine powder, place them in a copper vessel, and incant them one thousand and eight times with the heart mantra of Amogharāja. [F.136.a] He should also recite the Krodharāja one thousand and eight times.

2.918“Then, on the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, after he has fasted for three days, the vidyā holder should offer the blessed Buddha and Noble Avalokiteśvara a large pūjā and a sumptuous bali of food articles to the recipients in the four directions. He should blend the excellent herbs with quicksilver, white sugar, and honey. After reciting the mantra a further ten thousand times in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the mixture in the copper vessel will either blaze with light, get hot, or radiate light of various colors. The body of the vidyā holder will also radiate light, and the earth will quake. Thrilled with joy, the vidyā holder should remain fully alert.

2.919“If the mixture blazes with light, he should blend it with brahmaputraka and sesame oil and anoint his body with it. As soon as he does this, the complexion of his body will become golden, and his body will turn adamantine in essence, becoming unbreakable and indestructible. The vidyā holder will ascend into the sky with the retinue of one hundred thousand. If he smears his hair with the mixture, his head and body hair will become golden. If he smears his fingernails, they will become golden. If he smears his teeth, they will become golden. Any part of the human body that is smeared with the mixture will become golden in color.

2.920“If sesame oil is not excluded from the recipe, the mixture can also be used as an excellent alchemical elixir that can transform one thousand palas of copper into gold. If a copper plate is smeared with the elixir that has been suffused with sesame oil and heated over a fire, one pala of the elixir can produce ten palas of gold. The vidyā holder should combine equal parts of the excellent elixir and ghee and cook it in cow’s milk over a low fire. When he knows that the elixir is ready, he should take it off the fire.

2.921“He should then purify himself ritually, take a good bath, put on clean clothes, and sprinkle himself with the five products of the cow. Then he should drink the supreme elixir with warm water. [Tv.153] After applying this remedy for seven days, [F.136.b] his body will become pure. All his wrongdoings will be instantly purified, and all his afflictions will be burned away. All his diseases will instantly disappear, and all poisons will be arrested. Poison will not affect him again, weapons will not harm him, and water will not carry him away. He will never again be burned by fire or experience other dreadful calamities, such as poisoning and so forth.

2.922“After applying the remedy for fourteen days, all his ailments will cease completely, his complexion will clear up, and his wrinkles and grey hair will disappear. After applying the same remedy for twenty-one days, he will become like a ten-year-old child with a body as white as a lotus and as soft as the petals of a lotus or water lily. His eyes will turn divine blue like a blue lotus, and his voice will become as beautiful as a kinnara’s. His hair will become curly and wavy and of the divine color of a bumble bee. After applying the remedy for one month, his lifespan will increase to ten thousand years. He will be invisible to all enemies, including yakṣas, rākṣasas, gaṇas, and bhūtas; neither they nor any other evildoers will be able to see him. If he applies the remedy for an entire year, he will be able to frolic with gods; he will continually revel in the enjoyment of divine pleasures just as the gods do in their palaces. [A.72.b]

2.923“If the elixir gets hot, he should ingest it with honey so that his lifespan will increase to twelve thousand years. He will be able to travel in space. One pala of this supreme elixir is sufficient for treating one thousand palas of copper. First the vidyā holder should treat ten palas of silver, combine it with copper, and smelt it. He will thus obtain one thousand palas of silver with this supreme elixir. He can then transform one hundred palas of wrought copper with one pala of the elixir.

2.924“If the elixir emits light of various colors, the vidyā holder will be able to produce various colors. If he smelts silver and gold together, he will obtain jewels of various forms and colors. If he boils the elixir in sesame oil and smears his head with the infusion, his hair will assume various colors as soon as it is smeared. If he smears his body, it will emit light of various colors. If he anoints his eyes, he will be able to travel throughout the sky. [F.137.a] The doors to all palaces will be open for him, and in all these residences he will be treated like a king and master. If he makes a bindi on his forehead with the infusion, he will become invisible. If he speaks while holding the infusion in his mouth, the person spoken to will fall under his control and serve him physically [Tv.154] and with their wealth.

2.925“Optionally, the vidyā holder should procure ghee, freshly churned butter, and milk from a tawny cow and boil them together with the supreme elixir that emitted light. When the preparation is well cooked and resembles white sugar, he should take it off the fire, incant it with the mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times, and anoint his body with it. By doing so, he will become the emperor of all the vidyādhara s and live for ten great eons. He will behold the blessed Buddha of each intermediary eon and receive from him the prophecy of his future attainment of the seat of awakening. If instead he uses the preparation to mark his forehead with a bindi, he will fly up into the sky. With the sound oṁ, he will cause Brahmā to come out of his palace. He will be able to go as far as Akaniṣṭha and come back again in the snap of a finger. After he dies, he will be reborn in the world sphere of Sukhāvatī. That birth will be his last, after which he will be completely liberated from all confines of the place of habitation.

2.926“Now I will teach the rite of the amogha pill. To accomplish this practice in reality, the vidyā holder should put on clean clothes and procure lotus flowers, malachite, the blossom of cobra’s saffron, bovine bezoar, the root of śatāvarī, collyrium, and agarwood. He should take an equal part of each, combine them, and grind them into a fine powder. He should then add white sugar, make the mixture into a pill, wrap it in gold, silver, and copper, and place it in a box made from white sandalwood.

2.927“Then, on either the eighth or the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight, after fasting for one day and one night, he should take the box, hold it in his cupped hands in front of the cloth painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one thousand and eight times and the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times. [F.137.b] When he has recited the first mantra one thousand and eight times, the pill will begin to vibrate. If he then places it in his mouth, he will become invisible, and his lifespan will increase to one thousand years. Moving four fingers above the ground, he will be able to travel for one hundred leagues and come back again without touching the ground. He will become an emperor of vidyādhara s of the lotus family and possess a body that exudes the scent of water lilies and lotuses.

2.928“The skilled vidyā holder should procure an equal amount of blue lotus, champak, and screw pine flowers, blend them together, and mix them with honey. He should then make a pill out of this and enclose it in gold, silver, and copper. Then, on either the eighth, fourteenth, [Tv.155] or fifteenth day of the bright fortnight, after fasting for three days, he should purify himself ritually, take a bath, put on clean clothes, and make large offerings to the blessed Buddha in front of the cloth painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara. He should place the pill in a box made of bodhi wood and recite the mantra while holding the box in his cupped hands in front of the painting. [A.73.a] He should keep reciting until the pill starts vibrating, at which time it will possess magical power.

2.929“If he puts the pill in his mouth, he will be able to travel three thousand leagues and back again without ever touching the ground, his feet remaining eight fingers above the ground. His lifespan will increase to ten thousand years, his eyes will turn blue, and the scent of blue lotuses will waft from his mouth. His face will be round like the full moon, its complexion resembling a lotus, and his body will exude the scent of champak flowers. He will become an emperor-king of all the sky-dwelling vidyādhara s.

2.930“The vidyā holder should take equal parts powdered sandalwood, powdered agarwood, crepe jasmine, black myrobalan, and pāṇi and grind them into a fine powder. Adding olibanum oil, he should make a pill, wrap it with the three metals, and place it in a sandalwood box. Then, on the full moon day, after fasting for three days, [F.138.a] he should make large offerings to the blessed Buddha in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara, including a sumptuous bali offering. Holding the box in his hands, he should sit on darbha grass and incant the pill with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one thousand and eight times. He should further recite the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times.

2.931“Subsequently, the pill will start revolving, the sign of success that indicates to the vidyā holder that the pill has acquired magical power. He should then make large offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and, when the golden sun of dawn turns the sky orange in the morning, eat some food. He should bow to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas and think about all beings with love. He should give each of his attendants a pill, and he should also put one in his mouth; he will become invisible as soon as his hand places it in his mouth. He will be able to travel through space, traveling the distance of five thousand leagues and back without ever getting tired. He will become a wheel-turning monarch of the vidyādhara s who accomplished the magical pill, and his lifespan will increase to five thousand years. [Tv.156] He will walk without touching the ground, with his feet at the height of one cubit.

2.932“If the vidyā holder wants to excavate treasure, he should use cow dung to demarcate a maṇḍala in the place where the treasure is supposed to be, strew the area with flowers, and burn incense of bdellium. He should offer the threefold bali: (1) the bali of ‘white’ foods, (2) the bali of meat and blood, and (3) the bali of saktuphalā and lotuses. He should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and recite the mantra ten thousand times. When he has completed ten thousand recitations, the guardian of the treasure will rise from the place where the treasure is, and the treasure will rise to the surface. The vidyā holder should offer a bali and argha water to the guardian, who will subsequently remain his servant for the rest of the vidyā holder’s life, going wherever he is sent and carrying out all the tasks he is asked to. [F.138.b]

2.933“If the vidyā holder incants ashes and mustard seeds seven times with the heart mantra of Amogharāja and casts them in the four directions, all the vighnas, vināyakas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and bhūtas will be bound, and a great protective boundary will be created. If the vidyā holder wants to destroy vināyakas, he should make a fire with oleander sticks and offer one hundred and eight homas of white mustard, yellow mustard, bdellium, datura seeds, and sea salt mixed with honey at the three junctions of the day for three days. This will bring all the families of vināyakas to ruin. They will perish.

2.934“If the vidyā holder wants to paralyze an army, he should make a fire with neem sticks and, facing the army, offer homas of mustard seeds, viśarājikā, and saptabījaka mixed with honey. [A.73.b] The army will be paralyzed after the first one hundred and eight recitations; after the second, the soldiers will be beset with serious diseases; after the third, all of them will perish and never return.

2.935“If the vidyā holder wants to perform the rite of the rod, he should use cutch wood to fashion a rod two cubits long that is like Yama’s rod. Subsisting on the three ‘white’ foods, he should recite the mantra in front of the painting of Noble Avalokiteśvara ten thousand times. Then, on the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon, after fasting for one day and one night, he should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja one hundred and eight times and the mantra of Krodharāja the same number of times. The rod will blaze with light, the sign by which the vidyā holder will know that the practice has been accomplished. [Tv.157] He will hear the words ‘amogha rod’ spoken. He should make large offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara.

2.936“Taking hold of the rod, the vidyā holder should rotate it in a circle seven times and then strike the earth. He should use the rod to measure out a square area on the ground; a great residential mansion will appear in each of its four corners, and a celestial palace fully provided with all kinds of amenities will appear in the center. [F.139.a] It will be crowded with women, men, boys, and girls. A celestial woman‍—one who is adorned with every ornament and is beautiful, graceful, and pleasing to look at‍—will come forward, and while standing in the doorway she will hold out a full jar made of the seven types of jewels. The celestial woman will say, ‘Enter, O vidyā holder! This palace is your own!’ He should reply, ‘What would I do in this worthless palatial dwelling?’ She will say, ‘Accept this vessel! It will bring you great prosperity.’ He should then curse her angrily, which will cause the woman to cry and shed tears as big as drops of heavy rainfall. The vidyā holder should scoop up some of the tears and wipe them on his body. As soon as he does, his body will become the color of the gold from the Jambu river and will exude the scent of the uragasāra and gośīrṣa sandalwood. If he puts some of the tears into his mouth, his breath will have the divine smell of blue lotuses. If he anoints his eyes with them, they will turn blue like blue lotuses and take on a divine appearance. If he rubs some into his hair, it will take on the colors of peacock feathers and become wavy and curly. If he places the tears in his ears, he will develop divine hearing. He will be able to hear and see objects at the distance of three thousand leagues.

2.937“If he drinks the tears, his lifespan will increase to ten thousand eons. He will be able to recall his former births as far back as one thousand eons. He will obtain direct insight into all the worldly and celestial dramas, works on grammar, scientific treatises, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa, the Purāṇas, works on polity, works on monastic rules, the birth stories of the Buddha, works on poetics, works on the Vaiśeṣika philosophy, all ritual works on maṇḍalas, mudrās, mantras, and dhāraṇīs, the sūtras, the Abhidharma, and all the Mahāyāna works. He will follow a distinguished career in every respect. [F.139.b]

2.938“The woman will again say, ‘Please enter, dear friend! This is your house!’ The vidyā holder should reply, and he should enter step by step. When she exposes her breasts, [Tv.158] the vidyā holder should grasp and squeeze them, causing milk to flow. He should scoop it up and drink it. If he smears some on his feet, he will immediately ascend into the sky in the company of the celestial woman and her thousandfold retinue. First, he will be borne by a mass of air, and then he will become a king and emperor of the eighty-four thousand vidyādhara s. He will enter the realm of Sukhāvatī as the chief vidyādhara .

2.939“There is also the following worldly procedure: the vidyā holder should grasp the rod with his right hand while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times and rotating the rod seven times. [A.74.a] Any wish that comes to his mind, any request, will be fully realized in an instant. Whomever the vidyā holder attempts to bring into his presence will be summoned and stand in front of him. If he wants to summon a yakṣa and a yakṣiṇī, he should draw them with red chalk, incant the rod with the Amogharāja mantra seven times, and swing the rod above the yakṣa and yakṣiṇī. He should burn incense of bdellium and offer a dish with a bali offering of ‘white’ foods. As soon as he swings the rod, both the yakṣa and the yakṣiṇī will appear in front of him and follow his orders. They will do whatever task he commands them to do, and they will accomplish everything perfectly. They will procure money, grain, gold, jewels, pearls, silver, wrought gold, clothes, beds, seats, adornments, ornaments, jewelry, and so forth. Whatever else he asks them to procure, they will procure it all. [F.140.a]

2.940“If the vidyā holder swings the rod before an image of Śrī, she will bestow upon him a great quantity of the finest riches. She will appear before him in person and grant him whatever he asks for. If he strikes Vaiśravaṇa’s feet with the rod seven times and mindfully repeats the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times, Vaiśravaṇa will come running and will stand directly before him. He will give abundant wealth and do whatever he is asked to do. If the vidyā holder silently incants the rod twenty-one times and swings it at the gate of the royal household seven times, the king, together with his harem and retinue, will fall under the vidyā holder’s thrall [Tv.159] and serve him with their bodies and wealth.

2.941“If the vidyā holder swings the rod at the gates to a city, all its citizens‍—women, men, boys, and girls‍—will fall under his thrall. He will be their sole object of veneration, and they will all become his followers and male and female servants. If he swings the rod in a temple before an image of a deity while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja, that deity will appear before him in person to do whatever it is asked to do and give whatever it is asked to give. If he swings the rod facing the rising sun while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja, he will cause the god Sūrya to descend to earth and grant all the boons he desires. If he swings the rod while facing the full moon and recites the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, he will cause the god Candra, the nakṣatras, and the multitude of stars to descend to earth and grant him all the boons he desires.

2.942“If the vidyā holder circumambulates a reliquary clockwise while reciting the Amogharāja mantra and swings the rod, the reliquary will blaze with light and a voice will be heard. The reliquary will answer in full whatever question the vidyā holder asks and will give everything he requests it to give. If he swings the rod while circumambulating an image of a tathāgata clockwise while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja, all the tathāgatas will appear to him and give him comfort. [F.140.b] They will fulfill his every hope and grant his every wish. Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear to him in person in the last watch of the night, grant all the boons the vidyā holder desires, and help him accomplish all his aims. The vidyā holder will become an emperor of the vidyādhara s who have accomplished the amogha rod.

2.943“If during a drought the vidyā holder goes to a place inhabited by nāgas and swings the rod while mindfully repeating the heart mantra of Amogharāja, the nāgas will send a heavy rain the very moment he swings the rod. They will send as much rain as he wishes. If there is too much rain, [A.74.b] the vidyā holder should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa in a loud voice on top of his house and swing the rod. This will stop excessive rain. If it hails, the vidyā holder should stand facing the cloud and angrily recite the mantra of Krodharāja in a loud voice while waving the rod with anger. Subsequently, there will be no cold, wind, or hail, and a great protective boundary will be created for a radius of one league. [Tv.160]

2.944“In the event of epileptic seizures, the vidyā holder should repeat the mantra of Krodharāja seven times while displaying the rod. All grahas will flee, crying. All such spirits, including apasmāras, will flee at the mere sight of the rod. In the event of any fever, he should cleanse the patient by rubbing him with the rod while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja. As soon as he rubs the patient, all the jvaras will depart. The jvaras of quartan fever will flee, crying. If the vidyā holder enters the thick of battle while angrily reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja and swinging the rod, all the soldiers’ weapons and armaments will disappear. The enemy army will flee, uttering cries of woe.

2.945“When entering a forest or wilderness in the company of fellow travelers, the vidyā holder should mindfully repeat the Amogharāja mantra and swing the rod. All thieves, bandits, [F.141.a] robbers, lions, tigers, bears, wolves, venomous snakes, small predators, elephants, buffalo, and venomous creatures will disappear. The travelers will each return to their homes in safety and comfort. In the event of any calamities, cattle plagues, horse plagues, the dying of livestock, or deadly pestilences that affect women, men, boys, and girls, the vidyā holder should recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja and the mantra of Krodharāja in a loud voice while swinging the rod at each of the four gates of the affected city. As soon as he swings the rod, all calamities, misfortunes, disasters, catastrophes, quarrels, disputes, and disagreements will be pacified, and everyone will be freed from fear.

2.946“If the vidyā holder wants to bring a specific woman or man into his presence, he should stand at an elevated spot and recite the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times in a loud voice while swinging the rod. He should focus on the name of the person targeted by the rite, and they will come, even from one hundred leagues away. They will fall under his thrall and serve him physically and with their wealth, and they will continue to do so for as long as they live.

2.947“If the vidyā holder wants to summon Maṇibhadra, he should fast for one day and one night and then, on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, incant the rod with the heart mantra of Amogharāja twenty-one times. He should then place the rod against the belly of Maṇibhadra and recite the mantra of Krodharāja until Maṇibhadra appears before the vidyā holder in person during the last watch of the night and gives him ten thousand dinars. [Tv.161] A part of this amount should be offered to the Three Jewels. The vidyā holder should make offerings to Noble Avalokiteśvara and offer argha water to Maṇibhadra. If he offers the argha water to him every single day, Maṇibhadra will give the vidyā holder one thousand dinars every day for as long as he lives. [F.141.b] The vidyā holder should spend half of it and give the other half away, thus accumulating merit and pleasing Maṇibhadra.

2.948“If the vidyā holder finds himself in a forest or a desert without water, he should incant the rod with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times, swing the rod, and strike the ground at a grassy spot seven times while reciting the heart mantra of Amogharāja in a loud voice seven times. He should then call out to Noble Avalokiteśvara, and a lotus pond will appear at the place that was struck. [A.75.a] It will contain divine water that is neither too cold nor too hot and that tastes sweet. The vidyā holder should incant the rod with the Krodharāja mantra seven times and strike the water in the middle of the pond. A brown man will instantly emerge, stand before the vidyā holder with folded hands, and say, ‘Tell me, vidyā holder, what do you need?’ The vidyā holder should reply, ‘I need food. Please give it to me!’ and bid farewell to the man, who will subsequently reenter the water of the pond.

2.949“After a short while, the man will bring various kinds of dainty food and drink and offer them to the vidyā holder in quantities sufficient for one hundred thousand people. He will also give him an assortment of other useful things. If the vidyā holder does not make the pond disappear again, it will remain forever without disappearing, and all kinds of useful things in impeccable condition will appear in it for all travelers and all beings.

2.950“If the vidyā holder wants to accomplish the practice of the amogha circle, he should bathe in perfumed water incanted twenty-one times and tie his hair in a topknot without saying anything. [Tv.162] He should incant the amogha rod one hundred and eight times and swing it in the midst of an assembly. [F.142.a] The most prominent members of the assembly will subsequently become confused and befuddled. If the vidyā holder swings the rod again, he will be able to manifest any form exactly as he imagines it and able to produce showers of fruits and flowers and various magical displays.

2.951“If the vidyā holder wants to cause a vetāla to possess a dead body, he should purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, put on clean clothes, and go to a charnel ground. There, he should incant the amogha rod seven times with the heart mantra of Amogharāja and seven times with the mantra of Krodharāja. By swinging the rod in the middle of the charnel ground, he will create a protected area extending one league in all directions, and he will bind all the vighnas and wicked yakṣas and rākṣasas there. He should then take the dead body, wash it, and clean it with the five products of the cow.

2.952“He should use cow dung to mark out a symmetrical maṇḍala with four corners, and then drive four pegs made of cutch wood, twelve fingers long, into each corner. He should surround the maṇḍala with five-colored thread stretched around the pegs. He should wrap the dead body in a white shroud, place it in the center of the maṇḍala, and strew the maṇḍala with flowers. He should offer a bali of three ‘white’ foods, offer argha water for the feet, and burn incense of bdellium. He should then sit down facing the east, hold the amogha rod in his right hand, repeat the king of vidyās , and mindfully repeat the mantra of Krodharāja sixty times. He should stroke the right side of the corpse and hit its right arm with the rod. The corpse will move and tremble, get up, and look in the ten directions. When the vidyā holder places the rod on the vetāla’s head, it will start speaking.

2.953“The vidyā holder should mindfully repeat the mantra and think of the things he wants to know. The vetāla will tell him everything‍—things that happened in the past, [F.142.b] that will happen in the future, or that are happening now. When the vidyā holder places the rod on the corpse’s heart, [A.75.b] blood will spurt out, and the vidyā holder should use it to mark a bindi on his forehead. [Tv.163] This will allow him to pass through any door unobstructed. The doors to all the palaces will thus be open for him, and all the women, men, boys, and girls dwelling there will fall under his thrall.

2.954“If the vidyā holder presses harder with the rod, the corpse will vomit its heart. The vidyā holder should take it and eat it whole. As soon as he does, he will ascend into the sky, become a great lord of bhūtas like Maheśvara, and live thousands of celestial years. Alternatively, if he presses the rod while pronouncing the syllable oṁ and threatening the corpse, its tongue will stick out. The vidyā holder should chop it off and hold it. As soon as does, he will ascend into the sky, become an emperor of all sword vidyādharas, and live ten thousand years. His retinue of vidyādhara s will number eighteen.

2.955“By striking the corpse on the head with the rod, the vidyā holder will release the vetāla. The dead body will then become a single piece of solid gold, which the vidyā holder should take. He will be able to use that one pala to turn one thousand palas of copper into gold. This procedure is for accomplishing worldly purposes.”

2.956The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara further said to the Blessed One, “My instructions for accomplishing worldly purposes are, O lord, an expression of my compassionate concern for all beings.”

2.957The Tathāgata Śākyamuni replied, “O great being, out of compassion for all beings, please now teach the most secret heart maṇḍala through which beings can attain mental stability and fearlessness and by which all vidyā holders reach the supreme accomplishment in their practice. [F.143.a] This maṇḍala, when memorized through study and successfully performed, brings this accomplishment in full. It is a great fulfiller of wishes. The vidyā holder will thus obtain all the best and greatest accomplishments. All his desires will be fulfilled, and all his hopes will come true.”

2.958Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, encouraged by the Blessed One, was overjoyed when he heard this request for instructions. He got up from his seat, put his robe over one shoulder, and, placing his right knee on the ground, bowed toward the Blessed One with folded hands and touched the Blessed One’s feet with his head. He made large offerings to him that included a variety of flowers, incense, fragrances, garlands, scented oils, scented powders, monk’s robes, parasols, banners, flags, and various garments, adornments, and ornaments. [Tv.164]

2.959Having thus worshiped the Blessed One with offerings, Noble Avalokiteśvara made offerings to the great assembly‍—to the great bodhisattva beings, to the gods present in the gathering, to the siddhas and vidyādhara s, to the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas who were established in the samaya of the great maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa, and to the beings who dwell on Potala Mountain. He gave them all various flowers, incense, fragrances, garlands, and scented oils of superior quality, as well as various garments, adornments, ornaments, and jewelry.

2.960Having thus honored them with offerings, the exhilarated Noble Avalokiteśvara circumambulated the Blessed One clockwise hundreds of thousands of times, [F.143.b] paid respect to the circle of the assembly, and bowed with folded hands toward the Blessed One. Facing him, he spoke to the Blessed One without blinking and in the sweetest of voices:

2.961“I have, O Blessed One, a maṇḍala of liberation that is wonderful to behold. It is a miraculous amogha manifestation, the heart essence of all the tathāgatas, [A.76.a] a magical display of the wondrous reality of all the tathāgatas, a maṇḍala of the great samaya that is blessed by Vairocana. It is the heart of Amoghavilokita­pāśa and the very essence of the accomplishment of the study and practice of the supramundane. It leads to the ultimate supramundane accomplishment. Taught by all the tathāgatas, it possesses their blessing.

2.962“Lord, with your blessing I will now present this maṇḍala of liberation in your presence for the sake of the ultimate accomplishment of all vidyā holders. I will present it to save all beings and to prevent rebirth in any of the hells, the realm of animals, or the world of Yama. I present it to remove all previously accumulated obscurations, nonvirtue, and wrongdoings, to block all unhappy destinies, and to incinerate all worldly and supramundane negativities and obscurations. By merely listening to, seeing, training in, dwelling in, teaching, or elucidating this maṇḍala of liberation, beings will completely exhaust all the consequences of the five acts of immediate retribution and of denying the realization of the Buddha, opposing realized beings, offending the noble saṅgha, or opposing any śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, or bodhisattvas‍—acts that would otherwise lead to rebirth in the Avīci hell. By merely seeing me, beings will exhaust and cast off all their negativity. They will then be free from all fever and disease. All their stains [F.144.a] of envy and jealousy will be cleansed, they will be free from all afflictions and obscurations, and all their suffering, mundane and transcendent, will depart. [Tv.165] They will leave behind birth, old age, disease, death, grief, lamentation, pain, and despair. All quarrels, scuffles, riots, beatings, threats, blockades, disputes, chains and fetters, discords, imprisonments, and the dangers from thieves, robbers, bandits, lions, elephants, and buffalo will cease. All disease, decrepitude, edema, spotted leprosy, scabs, skin eruptions, dadrū leprosy, itching, headaches, and hemiplegia will be cured. There will be no danger from bears, wolves, yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, piśācas, apasmāras, king’s poisoners, āśīviṣa snakes, cobras, gonāsa snakes, and any other venomous creatures. There will be no danger from fire, water, poison, weapons, falling, slipping in a house, cold, wind, heat, hail, and rats.

2.963“All these calamities will disappear by merely reading, memorizing, or teaching this maṇḍala of liberation. They will disperse and cease. Beings will be freed from them instantaneously. This should not be questioned, denied, or disbelieved, nor should any doubt arise in the mind. Instead, O Blessed One, the vidyā holder should continually visualize me in front of him, continually think of me, and be aware of my presence. He should repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and the heart mantra of Krodharāja. He should also, at all times, keep this maṇḍala of liberation in mind. It is wonderful to behold, a miraculous amogha manifestation, the heart essence and magical display of all the tathāgatas, [F.144.b] the maṇḍala of the great samaya blessed by Vairocana, and the heart essence of Amoghavilokita­pāśa. He should always repeat it mentally and verbally with uninterrupted mindfulness.

2.964“By merely recollecting this maṇḍala of liberation, the vidya holder will acquire a complete range of good qualities both worldly and supramundane. It is called the maṇḍala of non-returning because the vidyā holder will be irreversibly established on the path to awakening. All the tathāgatas will keep him in their thoughts, grant him a prophecy of his future attainment of buddhahood, and bless him. How much more this is true for someone who not only recollects but sees, reads, and studies this maṇḍala of liberation, who beholds, worships, and recollects Noble Avalokiteśvara, and who makes offerings, pays homage to, and lucidly reflects on him three times a day. [A.76.b] Such a being should be known to be like me, with a body blessed by the Lokeśvara. [Tv.166] He should be known as a recipient of all the tathāgatas’ blessings and of their prophecy of his future awakening. What about someone who does even more than this? Such a being should be known as having the very nature of a tathāgata. I myself will always be close to them, appear to them continually, fulfill all their hopes, and grant all their wishes. May I include all beings in the great turning of the wheel of Dharma that will take them to the seat of awakening in the shortest possible time! I have made a firm vow, O Blessed One, and girded myself up to deliver all beings, [F.145.a] fulfill all their hopes, and grant them every boon.”

2.965The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni applauded Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, saying, “Good! Good, O supremely pure being! This supramundane procedure is extremely difficult to find. If beings can be liberated by merely accepting it, how much more so if they look at it, read it, practice it, observe the ritual fast, and train in the procedure? Such beings will become irreversibly established on the path to perfect awakening. Please teach, O pure being, this maṇḍala of liberation, if you think the time is right.”

2.966Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, looked up at the Blessed One’s face, smiled, and pronounced the heart mantra of Amoghavilokita­pāśa:

2.967“Homage to all the tathāgatas successively established throughout the three times! Homage to all the pratyekabuddhas and the congregation of noble śrāvakas! Homage to the eminent hosts of the great bodhisattvas headed by Maitreya! Homage to the deities in the maṇḍala of Noble Vajradhara! Homage to Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and the hosts of eminent ṛṣis! Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being with great compassion!

2.968[199] “ Oṁ, the heart essence of the noose gaze of all the tathāgatas, blaze, blaze! Born from the dharmadhātu, move, move! O great one with lotus arms, carry, carry! O bearer of the great noose, hold captive, hold! With your body adorned with hundreds of thousands of beautiful light rays, pass through, pass! You are endowed with the great fiery energy, bear, bear! You fulfill the six perfections, kala kala! O wearer of the great garb of Brahmā, mala mala! [Tv.167] You remove all evil, [F.145.b] obscurations, and nonvirtue, dhuru dhuru! O pure bodhisattva being, bhuru bhuru! O beloved great being! You are revered by Yama, Varuṇa, and Kubera, huru huru! You are revered and adored by the gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Kumāra, Nandikeśvara, Īśvara, and Maheśvara! You wear various jewels in your diadem, which is crowned with the victorious Amitābha! Your body is adorned with divine jewels, gold, diamonds, beryls, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and divine pearls! You are invested with the white sacred thread! Your topknot is adorned with a diadem and a new moon! You hold a lotus, sit on a lotus seat, and have lotus arms. O three-eyed one with a trident and a noose! You are consecrated by all the tathāgatas, sara sara! You pacify all evil! O most compassionate one, turu turu! You grant every boon! O bodhi, bodhi! Yours is the gaze of all the tathāgatas, the gaze that is the essence of awakening! [A.77.a] O great lord of the world, holder of the wish-fulfilling jewel, one that assumes all forms! With a sweet expression on your face and great compassion, maintain your wakefulness, maintain! Awaken them, awaken! O Blessed Lord , you are the essence of all the tathāgatas’ enlightenment (āloka). You possess great merit and great brilliance! You bring the most excellent accomplishment! You remove every disease! Loving care for all beings is your highest commitment! You release them from all suffering, O most compassionate one! Homage be to you, svāhā!

2.969“This dhāraṇī, O Blessed One, is my heart essence, the heart essence of the extraordinary noose-gaze, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. This dhāraṇī is a maṇḍala of liberation; it is my heart dhāraṇī intended for supramundane purposes; it is the omnifarious great essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara. It is a magical transformation‍—one that has a thousand arms and a thousand heads and gazes with one thousand eyes‍—that is born of the illusion-like samādhi. It is empowered with one thousand mudrās, leads to hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of samaya maṇḍalas as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river, introduces the vidyā holder to the secret nature of all the tathāgatas, and lets him enter all buddha fields.

2.970“This dhāraṇī causes the vidyā holder to attain the seat of awakening, turn the wheel of Dharma, [F.146.a] and become a blazing torch of the Dharma. It will allow him to crush all māras and other such beings including the evil Māra himself, to blow the conch of Dharma, to raise the banner of Dharma, and to block rebirth in any of the hells. It grants the accomplishment of all rites [Tv.168] and is the ultimate cure for every disease. It is a great means for establishing beings on the ten bodhisattva levels, and it irreversibly establishes them on the path to awakening. It is blessed and empowered by all the tathāgatas and amogha-produces supremely auspicious circumstances. It is a magical amogha transformation and a condensed ocean of amogha mind; it plants amogha seeds of goodness and causes the vidyā holder to partake in the amogha displays of the bodhisattvas.

2.971“This dhāraṇī is a proclamation of miraculous amogha transformations of all the tathāgatas. It sends forth amogha clouds of offerings to all the tathāgatas and conjures up amogha acts of service. It causes all beings to enter the amogha city of fearlessness. It fulfills the six perfections as a great amogha gift. It brings the amogha rain of various divine flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, scented oils and powders, monk’s robes, parasols, banners, flags, garments, adornments, ornaments, and the seven types of jewels. It grants amogha rebirth in various beautifully adorned buddha fields, where the vidyā holder will see all the tathāgatas. It produces a great accumulation of amogha merit and plants amogha roots of great virtue.

2.972“This dhāraṇī facilitates an amogha appearance of all the tathāgatas and an amogha demonstration of their magical powers, manifestations, and displays; it grants lordly amogha power; it allows an amogha insight into the maṇḍalas of the vidyās, the collections of mudrās, and the rites; [F.146.b] it shows amogha accomplishments and amogha treasure troves; it amogha-increases the lifespan; it brings amogha fame and renown; it amogha-rescues from saṃsāra and amogha-saves from birth, old age, and death; it grants amogha boons; it amogha-accomplishes mantra recitation procedures; it grants amogha powers of recollection and plants amogha roots of virtue.

2.973“This dhāraṇī is an amogha guide to becoming an emperor of vidyādhara s; it secures an amogha entry to the palaces and celestial chariots of the devas, including the thirty-two palaces, and an amogha entry to the realm of Tuṣita, the abode of Akaniṣṭha, and the palaces in the realm of Thirty-Three, which are ruled by Śakra, the king of gods. This dhāraṇī allows the vidyā holder to amogha-move the great Mount Sumeru single-handedly; it exhibits magical amogha powers; [A.77.b] it teaches how to become invisible; it causes the amogha power to grow; [Tv.169] and it is an amogha guide to becoming an emperor who rules over the four continents.

2.974“This dhāraṇī is a wish-fulfilling jewel that brings an amogha rain of various jewels, grain, and pieces of clothing. It conjures up an amogha rain of adornments, jewelry, various gems, pearl necklaces, earrings, golden strings, bracelets, and armlets; it brings an amogha rain of the best foodstuffs of a hundred different flavors; it amogha-shows the way to completely liberate different types of beings; it grants amogha insight into various scientific treatises, aphorisms, works on polity, manuals on monastic rules, works on grammar, the epics, udāna literature, nidāna literature, stories of the past events, the jātakas, the vaipulya sūtras, the ‘marvels,’ Dharma instructions, the Abhidharma, and various narratives.

2.975“This dhāraṇī amogha-shows the depths of the great ocean of Mahāyāna in its diversity and causes the vidyā holder to submerge himself in it. [F.147.a] It amogha-demonstrates the suppression, killing, and eradication of all wicked yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, pretas, kumbhāṇḍas, apasmāras, vighnas, and vināyakas. In this way, O Blessed One, this dhāraṇī brings great benefits. It pacifies all evil, shows one how to be fearless in every situation, shows the exalted, supramundane path, shows the path to nirvāṇa, irreversibly establishes beings on the path to awakening, and grants buddhahood. This great dhāraṇī, O Blessed One, is the heart essence of Amoghāvalokita­pāśa. It is the heart essence of Noble Avalokiteśvara. It is praised for its special qualities and abides as the secret heart essence of all the tathāgatas.”

2.976The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni said to Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Good! It is good, O great being, that you have taught this heart dhāraṇī that is so difficult to obtain. This dhāraṇī is a magical display of the supramundane, praised as the secret essence of the qualities, powers, and miraculous transformations of all tathāgatas and bodhisattvas. This dhāraṇī is the supreme path to be followed by all beings. It is famed as the secret heart-dhāraṇī, exceedingly difficult to obtain and supreme among the best, that any being can use to cross to the other shore of the great ocean of saṃsāra with its flood-like waters and leave the ocean of existence.

2.977“Any son or daughter who belongs to the family of Noble Avalokiteśvara, any monk or nun, any male or female lay practitioner, any ascetic brahmin, kṣatriya, [F.147.b] vaiśya, or śūdra, or any other being will plant the roots of great merit merely by learning the name of this dhāraṇī, which is the heart essence of the amogha gaze, the heart essence of the wondrous amogha gaze, [Tv.173] the maṇḍala of liberation of all the tathāgatas, a magical transformation of the extraordinary nature of all the tathāgatas, and the maṇḍala of the great samaya blessed by Vairocana. They will create and obtain a great amount of merit. They will directly behold ninety-two times four hundred thousand million billion tathāgatas, tathāgatas equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river. They will hear their voices directly and will learn the Dharma directly from them. They will also hear, directly from them, the prophecy of their own future awakening. Such a great person will consequently obtain a great amount of merit and plant roots of great virtue.

2.978“Any son or daughter of good family who merely hears the name of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala rite, recites it, or sees it displayed will accumulate great merit and plants roots of great virtue. What would this merit be equivalent to in terms of difficult or rare achievements? It would be the same as the achievement of seeing and listening to a tathāgata.

2.979“And what if someone were to apply effort, strength, energy, and valor for the sake of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala? What if they wrote it, read it, or recited it according to procedure? [A.79.a] What if they practiced this maṇḍala as prescribed, made a genuine effort, and underwent great austerities for its sake? What would their achievement be equivalent to? It would be equivalent to the hardships undergone by the Tathāgata Śākyamuni, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha, over the period of the three immeasurable eons it took him to attain buddhahood and then turn the wheel of Dharma. [F.148.a]

2.980“Any son or daughter of good family, any monk or nun, any male or female lay practitioner, any ascetic, brahmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra, or any other being who makes genuine effort and applies great strength, energy, and courage in performing the procedure of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala is known to follow the supramundane method. Such a person will make a pledge to write, read, study, recite according to procedure, and gaze at this maṇḍala. They will take up the samaya, employ the mudrās, and listen to, uphold, propagate, study, deeply reflect on, and contemplate this dhāraṇī. They will, at the three junctions of the day, [Tv.174] mentally repeat the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, consecrate themselves with the mantra of Krodharāja, and mindfully repeat the dhāraṇī twenty-one times while following the recitation procedure. Their heart will be filled with love and compassion, and they will be wholly motivated by feelings of pity for all sentient beings.

2.981“In acting like this, they will have performed great austerities that are not just equal to but actually exceed the austerities undergone by the Buddha over three immeasurable eons. They will obtain great supramundane results in their current birth and will become established in buddhahood. [B13] They will plant the roots of virtue and accumulate a great amount of merit. The Lokeśvara, to whom they will always remain close, is certain to place his right hand on their head and grant them boons. The Lokeśvara will always appear to them directly. [F.148.b]

2.982“This procedure, the seal of the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala, is thus a source of great qualities. It is extremely difficult to find. Those who merely hear this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala recited seven times into their ear are destined to be reborn in the world sphere of Sukhāvatī immediately after they leave their body. They will be born there, adorned with all ornaments, from a lotus, at the feet and in the immediate presence of Amitābha. The sūtras, the rites, the maṇḍalas, and the mudrās that were taught by all the tathāgatas will remain at the tip of their tongue. They will be able to remember their successive rebirths, their six senses will be completely pure, and they will obtain the five superknowledges. From the moment of their birth, they will have a divine form and complexion and perfect bodily proportions.

2.983“In view of this, all beings, whether they are weak or strong, should embrace this dhāraṇī and request, read, and study it. They should eradicate the stains of jealousy and envy and cultivate compassion, love, pity, and so forth for all beings, making these sentiments their chief preoccupation. They should teach, explain, and cause others to practice the procedure of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala, the value of which is inestimable. It should be practiced with great resolve in the final time of the final period. This supramundane practice procedure is supreme. What more should I say here? This procedure should be learned without competitive feelings.”

2.984In the same, brief moment that Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, pronounced the dhāraṇī, [Tv.175] Potala Mountain turned into the seven types of jewels, as did all the trees there that bear blossoms and fruit. [A.79.b] [F.149.a] A palatial temple appeared, followed by ninety-nine hundred thousand million billion similar temples‍—as numerous as the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā river‍—adorned with various colorful flowers and divine fruits. Each temple was decorated with a variety of beautiful nettings and complete with tiny bells, golden bells, silk streamers, canopies, and draperies arranged in cascades above a divine lion seat located in the center of the temple. As there was such a seat in each temple, ninety-nine hundred thousand lion seats magically appeared. On the seats, arrayed everywhere in the ten directions, sat the assembled tathāgatas. Each of them extended his golden right arm, placed his hand on the head of the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and celebrated him, saying, “Good! It is good, Avalokiteśvara! The supramundane path that you have shown in order to help all beings cross to the other shore is very special. If beings who merely hear it enter the most distinguished supramundane path to buddhahood, what need is there to mention those beings who, in addition to hearing it, undertake to recite it, write it, read it, and see its maṇḍala. Such beings will follow their samaya and will, in their current birth, awaken to their inner nature as a tathāgata.”

2.985Lotuses then appeared in the abode of Potala Mountain, where all the grasses, bushes, herbs, and trees are human sized. Each lotus was the size of a cartwheel, was made of seven precious jewels, and had petals in various colors, beryl stalks the color of gold from the river Jambu, [F.149.b] round pericarps made of red pearl, and stamens made of celestial pearls. On the lotuses sat great bodhisattva beings, all of whom knelt down before Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and out of respect for the Dharma bedecked him with pearl necklaces worth hundreds of thousands, in return for his teaching and demonstrating the seal of this dhāraṇī-mandala. A great earthquake rattled the great trichiliocosm whose world systems, blessed by the dhāraṇī, turned into diamond. A great rain of divine flowers fell to convey offerings to all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas and to make supreme, extensive offerings to the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala.

2.986Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, smiling and waving his vajra, approached the Blessed One, saluted him by touching his feet with his head, and said, “It is very difficult, O Blessed One, to obtain the supramundane procedure of this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala, one that can produce a display of magical powers and miracles such as we are seeing. One can observe the arising of a tathāgata and the turning of the wheel of Dharma‍—this dhāraṇī should be regarded to be the same as a tathāgata. Such a supremely great power, one that is difficult to find, can be found in Jambudvīpa, O Blessed One. This power will accomplish the work of the tathāgatas and the work of the Buddha in the final time of the final period. By merely recollecting this dhāraṇī, one will obtain the benefit of the qualities that are described. This dhāraṇī alone will become a beacon of light for the world. There is no savior of any being other than the Lokeśvara, the great bodhisattva being, who is present here.” [Tv.170] [F.150.a]

2.987The Blessed One replied, “It is just as you said, Vajrapāṇi! All the beings in Jambudvīpa who are born to mothers and fathers, O Vajrapāṇi, constitute this dhāraṇī-maṇḍala. And here is Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being who is wholly dedicated to protecting, fulfilling the hopes of, and providing refuge to all beings, both on the worldly and supramundane levels, until all these beings‍—each and every woman, man, boy, and girl‍—are established in buddhahood. The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, who possesses strength, energy, and courage, arose in former times to bring benefit to beings.”

2.988Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, then took a great gem called bright as the sun and innately pure, walked up to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, bowed down, touched his head to the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, and offered him the gem as a gift. He then went to his seat, which had been bestrewn with various divine flowers as an act of worship, and sat down. [A.78.a]

2.989At that time, the blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha, entered the samādhi called immaculately pure amogha radiance. While the Blessed One was in samādhi, a palatial temple shaped like a parasol appeared at his fontanelle. Light of various colors radiated from this temple, [F.150.b] and amid this effulgence of multicolored light a wonderful sight of various magical, miraculous displays appeared in the canopy of the sky. The body of the Tathāgata could be seen in each individual ray of light, altogether equaling hundreds of millions of billions of bodies as numerous as grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers. All these bodies of the Tathāgata applauded Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, saying, “Good! It is good, O great being! You have spoken this seal of the dhāraṇī-maṇḍala that is extremely difficult to find, the seal that constitutes the special supramundane path leading to the seat of awakening, to the turning of the wheel of Dharma, [Tv.171] to blazing magical Dharma displays, to the raising of the banner of Dharma, to the blowing of the conch of Dharma, to victory over the cycle of the four māras, to the obtainment of the ten strengths of a tathāgata, to the obtainment of the eighteen special qualities of a buddha, to the development of the four types of confidence, to the attainment of the ultimate reality of thatness, and to the mastery of the ten perfections. This dhāraṇī promotes the eightfold path of the noble ones. It brings those who have strayed from the path back onto it and gives them purpose. It purifies the hearts of those who whose hearts are corrupt. It leads those who are destined for unhappy rebirths to happy rebirths instead. It reveals the seed and the fruition of the great seat of awakening.”

2.990The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni said to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, “Please teach, O pure being, this expressly supramundane maṇḍala of liberation, [F.151.a] the practice procedure of the supramundane maṇḍala that is a magical amogha transformation.”

2.991Hearing the Blessed One’s request to teach, Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, faced the Blessed One and taught the supramundane procedure of the formal practice of the maṇḍala:

2.992“The vidyā holder should find a nice place in a suitable location where the ground is clean, verdant with grass, and abounding in flowers, fruits, and trees covered in blossom and vines. The place should have a smooth, clean surface and be close to a flowing stream. It should be bright and pleasant, pleasing to the mind, and with much open space. It should be pure and free from anything defiling, such as skeletal remains, gravel, feces, and vomit. The ground should be completely clean and entirely pure. There he should skillfully delimit a symmetrical enclosure that is the width of a boat and is clean, soft, and smooth. If he sets up the maṇḍala and sits there, he will attain the supreme awakening of the Buddha. Such a unique place is supramundane and blessed by all the tathāgatas.

2.993“The vidyā holder should excavate an area on the ground to the depth of a human head and color it red or saffron. It should be smoothed over with white powder and soft like freshly churned butter. Such special ground is praised by all the tathāgatas‍—it is the ground of awakening, and it is equal to a reliquary or a caitya. The learned vidyā holder should fill it with dust from the earth. When the cavity is filled to the level of the ground, it serves as a true maṇḍala. If it is not filled enough or is filled too much, [A.78.b] [Tv.172] it is not perfect and will not bring accomplishment. [F.151.b]

2.994“Using thread, the wise vidyā holder should carefully delimit a square maṇḍala either thirty-two, sixteen, or five cubits in diameter. It should be smeared with a mixture of clay and cow dung, have a smooth finish, and be pliable and soft. It should be surrounded on the outside by thread, and its various parts should have different colors. The four doors should be adorned with arched gateways. Inside the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should use colored thread to delimit a square area that is either three or four cubits across. He should draw an inner line of tridents brightly adorned with jewels and gems, an intermediate line [Tv.176] of vajras and lotuses, and, along the outer line, a railing of vajra shapes made from various jewels.

2.995“In the center he should place a temple-palace with lotuses inside it. In its center he should place the sage Vairocana on a lotus, Amitābha to the left, and the Tathāgata, the king of the Śākyas, to the right. Opposite Lord Śākyamuni should be the lokeśvara Amogharāja, standing up and bowing with folded hands. He should be drawn with four arms, two of which hold various flowers, and be adorned with all ornaments. Krodharāja should be drawn opposite Amitābha; he should have four arms and be standing up and bowing with two of his hands folded, while the other pair hold various divine flowers. He is adorned with various ornaments. The area in the center should be decorated with silk streamers and divine ornaments and adorned with a lotus seat. Upon the seat should be the great mudrā of Amoghapāśa surrounded by blazing light. [F.152.a]

2.996“He should draw the four goddesses, skillfully placed halfway between the corners and aligned with the four quarters. He should draw the goddess Tārā seated in the eastern quarter and adorned with ornaments; Pāṇḍaravāsinī is seated in the southern quarter and adorned with ornaments, the goddess Śvetā is seated in the western quarter and adorned with ornaments, and the goddess Padmasundarī is seated in the northern quarter and adorned with ornaments. The corners of the outer circle should house the Four Great Kings. On the inside, the wild Ekajaṭā should be in the east, [A.80.a] Dūtī with a contorted face is in the west, Vajraśaṅkalī with protruding fangs is in the south, and Rākṣasī with knitted brows is in the north. All of them should portrayed surrounded by flames and fearless.

2.997“Outside of this inner maṇḍala, he should draw additional concentric lines of lotuses, vajras, and tridents, all surrounded by a garland of flames. In the outer ring he should draw the emblems and insignia of the deities Īśvara, Maheśvara, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Indra, Kumāra , and the gods of the Vaśavartin, Tuṣita, and other realms as far as Akaniṣṭha. He should also draw the various emblems of the gods from the realm of Thirty-Three, each upon a lotus seat. These emblems are a dharma wheel, [Tv.177] vajra, five-pointed vajra, noose, axe, discus, trident, three-pointed spear, tiryagdaṇḍa, hammer, vajra discus, garland of lotuses, discus, conch, mace, sword, javelin, full jar, mirror, purse, lotus, blue lotus, banner, parasol, jewel staff, vajra-square marked with vajras, jewel vajra, and axe vajra, the four seals, a nandikāvarta, khara, pot, and vase, and the skin of a black antelope, [F.152.b] a sacred thread, and a paṭala. Further out, he should draw the nakṣatras, the moon, and the sun, all blazing with light and distinguished by their different colors.

2.998“At the eastern gate, the wise vidyā holder should skillfully draw the fearless Vajrapāṇi, looking fierce and standing with his feet apart. He holds a vajra and is surrounded with light. At the southern gate, he should draw the terrible Kelikila, at the western gate Vajrapiṅgala, and at the northern gate the fierce looking Nisumbha. He should draw a garland of pink and blue lotuses surrounding the outside the maṇḍala, with the four lordly elephants in the four corners. He should draw the four gatekeepers‍—Maṇibhadra, Pūrṇabhadra, Baladeva, and Pāñcika‍—standing next to the gates, as well as the four great rivers, Gaṅgā , Sītā , Vakṣā, and Candrabhāgā. Inside the garland he should draw the goddesses Śrī, Vāsantī, Anaupamyā, the earth deity, the deity of crops and herbs, Sarasvatī, Bhīmā, the fire deity, Hārītī, Śaṅkhinī, Caṇḍinī, and Puṣpadantī, all in a circle.

2.999“The painting should be executed using uncontaminated paints in clean containers by a vidyā holder who is a good artist, is ritually pure, subsists on the three ‘white’ foods prepared the right way, and avoids any food that is improper, in particular wine, meat, onions, garlic, red onions, or any combinations thereof. These are the precautions necessary to prevent the vināyakas from causing harm. He should purify himself ritually, bathe, and put on clean clothes. He should brightly adorn the maṇḍala in various ways with an assortment of banners and arrows, hang divine silk streamers, and raise banners. He should surround everything with a five-colored thread.

2.1000“The vidyā holder should then procure four copper lotuses, each four fingers wide and adorned with petals, and stick them in the ground at the four corners. [Tv.178] [F.153.a] He should add another eight lotuses, four of them golden and four silver, and surround them with strings of coral, pearls, and gold. He should place various jewels all around it. Inside, within concentric zones, he should arrange rows with four golden dishes, four silver dishes, [A.80.b] four jars filled with silver that are decorated with copper, silver, and golden flowers, and four jars filled with gold that are decorated with pearls, corals, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and silver and golden flowers.

2.1001“He should fill the golden dishes with musk, camphor, saffron, and divine sandalwood powder. On the silver dishes he should place golden flowers, silver flowers, and copper flowers adorned with pearls and encrusted with various jewels. He should install four crest banners and four jewel banners and hang red and multicolored silk streamers. He should add four silver incense holders and burn incense of sandalwood, musk, camphor, and saffron. He should prepare a clay pot with a gold covering and fill it with water suffused with various strong fragrances, also adding the seven types of jewels. He should tie a piece of clean, pure cloth around the pot, decorate it with various adornments, put it on a copper lotus, and place it upon a lotus, at the center of the maṇḍala.

2.1002“All along the outer circle of the maṇḍala, he should place sixty-four silver and copper dishes with various fragrant powders, oils, and flowers, sixty-four full jars made of iron and filled with with various flowers and vines, [F.153.b] and sixty-four incense holders in which burn various types of incense. At the four gates he should place iron and copper jars full of scented water and adorned with ornaments and silk streamers. He should erect, upon golden rings, sixty-four arrows and banners of various bright colors. He should further adorn the outer circumference of the maṇḍala with many kinds of jewels strung upon threads.

2.1003“Then, outside the maṇḍala, the vidyā holder should prepare an outer zone made of clay and cow dung and daubed on the surface with perfumed water and five-colored chaff. He should demarcate four doors using a cord [Tv.179] and then drive sixty-four stakes of cutch wood, twelve fingers long, into the ground. By stretching a five-colored thread around them, he should thus demarcate the outer periphery. He should place sixty-four pots, jars, and pitchers there, as well as sixty-four earthenware bowls and water jars, all filled with various bali offerings. In each of the sixty-four vessels in each group of sixty-four, he should place bali articles of various kinds. The groups of sixty-four vessels should be of five different colors and be filled completely. The vidyā holder should offer various white bali foods arranged according to their types.

2.1004“The bali should be complete with all the required paraphernalia and consist of various flavors. The area should be strewn with various fruits and flowers. The vidyā holder should place one hundred and twenty-one garlands in the area around the bali: sixty-four in the outlying area and thirty-two in the inner area. He should light four lanterns in the inner area and one hundred and sixty-four lamps throughout the bali area. He should avoid offering alcohol, meat, onions, garlic, red onions, unripe vegetables, or roots and instead offer a bali of various other ingredients.

2.1005“He should read aloud the Amogha­pāśa Sūtra at each of the four corners outside the maṇḍala and read the blessed Prajñāpāramitā at each of the doors. Each time, he should prepare a seat that is well adorned and covered in divine cloth. [F.154.a] Ritually pure and thoroughly bathed, he should speak according to the Dharma, perfume himself with various fragrances, and wear clean new clothes. He should sit down on the divine seat and read each text in a voice as sweet and soft as can be.

2.1006In the western quarter, [A.81.a] on a raised circular dais, he should erect, facing the maṇḍala, an image of the magically arrayed realm of Sukhāvatī. It should include an image of Amitābha, Noble Avalokiteśvara, and Mahā­sthāma­prāpta. In the eastern quarter, on a raised quadrangular dais, he should erect a cloth painting with an image of Śākyamuni that faces the maṇḍala of liberation. The painting should also include Noble Vajradhara and the wrathful form of Amoghapāśa. In the southern quarter, on a raised dais shaped like a mountain, he should erect a cloth painting of Amoghapāśa that faces the maṇḍala. The painting should also include the Tathāgata Lokendrarāja, Mañjuśrī, and [Tv.180] Sarva­nivaraṇa­viṣkambhin. In the northern quarter, he should erect a painting of Krodharāja that faces the maṇḍala. The painting should also include the Tathāgata Vairocana, Maitreya, and Kṣitigarbha. They should all be upon daises shaped as described, seated on seats decorated with silk streamers and garlands, and adorned with all ornaments.

2.1007“He should place a full jar in front of each of the paintings and prepare a perfumed area around them. He should offer ‘white’ food and drink, of various types, that have been prepared according to various recipes and are of various superb flavors, and he should include various fruits and piles of alms food. In front of each painting he should burn incense consisting of a mixture of sandalwood, agarwood, olibanum, camphor, musk, and saffron. He should bathe at the three junctions of the day, changing his clothes each time. He should recite the mantra and offer homa according to procedure at the three junctions of the day, [F.154.b] from the eighth to the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon.

2.1008“He should recite the mantra of Amoghapāśa twenty-one times, consecrate himself with the mantra of Krodharāja twenty-one times, recite the mantra of Amogha­pāśāṅkuśa twenty-one times, and recite the heart mantra of Amoghavilokita­pāśa, which produces supramundane results, twenty-one times. He should recite the maṇḍala of liberation that is revered by all the bodhisattvas one thousand and eight times and recite the heart mantra of the noose-like maṇḍala of liberation the same number of times. He should restrict his diet to the three ‘white’ foods up until the fifteenth lunar day, the day of the full moon.

2.1009“On the fifteenth day, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa all day and all night without counting. He should recite all night, ignoring fatigue and physical exhaustion. While reciting, he should harbor the heartfelt sentiment of love and compassion. When he has completed the recitation procedure, he should perform the rites associated with the maṇḍala: namely, the rites for creating the boundary, binding the directions, self-protection, protection of others, and binding the maṇḍala. He should then cause his assistants to enter the samaya maṇḍala. When the rites of entering the maṇḍala are completed, he should make offerings. After completing the offerings’ procedure, he should recite the mantra.

2.1010“Facing the maṇḍala of Amoghapāśa, he should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa one hundred and eight times and then consecrate the painting twenty-one times with the mantra of Krodharāja. Once consecrated by reciting the mantra, the entire surface of the cloth maṇḍala will blaze with light, and light of various colors will radiate in all directions. The word ‘good!’ will be heard, [Tv.181] the vidyā holder will be thrilled with joy, and his body will emit light. Noble Avalokiteśvara will emerge from the center of the maṇḍala in his natural form, blazing with a light brighter [F.155.a] than a hundred thousand suns. He will appear in his great form of Amoghapāśa, look at the entire maṇḍala‍—both its main and the intermediate quarters‍—and applaud the vidyā holder. Extending his right arm, he will place his right hand on the vidyā holder’s head and say, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! This maṇḍala is most beautiful; it is well adorned and beautifully decorated. It is a maṇḍala of liberation [A.81.b] that constitutes a miraculous manifestation of Amoghapāśa, and it is blessed by all tathāgatas and revered by all bodhisattvas. It is the secret maṇḍala of all tathāgatas and bodhisattvas, and it is the samaya maṇḍala of all devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and rākṣasas. It is a maṇḍala that ensures victory over all māras, destroys all vighnas and vināyakas, and pulls all beings‍—women, men, boys, girls, monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas , vaiśyas, and śūdras, all the way down to animals and birds‍—out of the wasteland of saṃsāra. This maṇḍala delivers you from all evil, obscurations, and the sufferings of hell, disease, birth, old age, and death, and it ensures entry into the city of fearlessness.

2.1011“ ‘This great maṇḍala and its heart mantra bring salvation. For this reason, vidyā holder, it is called the maṇḍala of liberation revered by all bodhisattvas . If someone who merely recollects it, sees it, hears it, or learns its name can reach the distant shore of saṃsāra, [F.155.b] reach the point of no return on the path to awakening, progress toward the tenth bodhisattva level, and attain perfect awakening, what need is there to mention someone who looks directly at this great maṇḍala, recites the supramundane mantra-words of this dhāraṇī of liberation, studies them, memorizes them, and explains them, or someone who gazes at it during a fast, even for a brief moment. Such a person is equal to me. I can say he is exactly the same as me. I hold him in the high esteem that is due to a tathāgata, and I nurture him in both a worldly and supramundane way. Accept, O vidyā holder, any boon you choose! I will grant whatever wishes [Tv.182] or desires you may have.’

2.1012“At that point, the vidyā holder should announce whatever wishes he has, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant them all. The vidyā holder will obtain the samādhi called the pure, liberating display of amogha knowledge, as well as hundreds of thousands of other samādhis as numerous as the grains of sand in ten million Gaṅgā rivers. He will be able to travel through space using his magical power.

2.1013“All those who enter this maṇḍala and gain an understanding of its samaya will be established on the ten bodhisattva levels and reach the point of no return, as their prophesied unsurpassable perfect awakening cannot be undone. Their current birth will be their last birth from a womb, and they will never again be stained by sojourning in the womb. After they leave their present body, they will be born spontaneously from a lotus flower in the realm of Sukhāvatī and be adorned with every ornament. They will carry their memories with them from birth to birth, and they will be directly introduced to this fortunate blessing of Amogharāja, [F.156.a] the great sovereign ritual, the maṇḍala of liberation, the great samaya that leads to the seat of awakening of all the tathāgatas, and to the turning of the wheel of Dharma.

2.1014“Such beings will behold all the tathāgatas in the ten directions sitting on their seats of awakening in their respective buddha fields. From each of these tathāgatas they will hear the words of celebration: ‘Good! It is good, O son of good family! You have obtained a good birth and have now been established in the unsurpassable perfect awakening, from which you cannot lapse.’ Subsequently, all the tathāgatas, the blessed buddhas in the ten directions, blazing with a hundred thousand light rays and adorned with merit, will extend their golden arm and place their hand upon these beings’ head, giving them comfort and encouragement. These beings will hear the full Dharma teachings directly from the tathāgatas until they attain the ultimate and final liberation.

2.1015“If any beings hear the sounds of musical instruments‍—wind, stringed, or percussion instruments, or conches, kettle drums, [A.82.a] or tambourines‍—played in the maṇḍala, even if the sound merely reaches their ears, they will reach a point of no return on the path to, and subsequently become established in, unsurpassable perfect awakening. Even birds and animals who hear these sounds will reach the point of no return. [Tv.183] This liberation-maṇḍala procedure is attended by great marvels and miracles and has great magical power.

2.1016“Any son or daughter of good family, a monk or nun, a male or female lay practitioner, or any other being‍—whether they are an ascetic, brahmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra‍—who proclaims this liberation-maṇḍala procedure in the midst of a great assembly, and any beings who hear this proclamation, [F.156.b] who experience its sound falling on their ears, will have all their obscurations and nonvirtue purified. They will be completely freed from their previously accumulated obscurations and evil, and they will reach the point of no return. They will all be known as children of the tathāgatas. They will have a bond with Noble Avalokiteśvara, who will always encourage and protect them until their final realization of awakening.

2.1017“Even those beings who only approach the entrance to this maṇḍala and merely behold its ground will reach the point of no return. Their afflictions will burn away, and they will be freed from all obscurations. When dust from this maṇḍala, carried on the wind, lands on the bodies of beings, they will all reach the point of no return and be freed from all their evil, even if they are wicked. Noble Avalokiteśvara will always appear to them, all the tathāgatas will think of them, all the bodhisattvas will give them courage and comfort, and all deities will protect them. Such beings will obtain a great amount of merit and plant many roots of virtue. Thus, great results will be obtained merely by hearing about this maṇḍala and learning its name. [Tvi.181]

2.1018“Now I will teach a homa procedure, a maṇḍala of liberation whereby the vidyā holder can incinerate all his evil and obscurations. He will consequently be freed from all suffering, cross the ocean of saṃsāra with its vices and its dreadful afflictions, and reach the point of no return. [F.157.a] He will be comforted by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, perceive their supreme supramundane path, and perceive the buddhas and bodhisattvas themselves. He will reach the deities in an instant through the mere performance of homa; there is no doubt. Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Īśvara, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra will all arrive instantly as soon as this homa is performed; there is no doubt.

2.1019“In the same instant, the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and kumbhāṇḍas will arrive and will all bow down at the vidyā holder’s feet. They will protect him continually, day and night, in every way. The Four Great Kings of noble nature, Vajrapāṇi and so forth, and the ten great yakṣa lords who guard the ten directions, will keep evil people and wicked beings away from him, will prevent the terrible terrors of hell, and will stop injustice. [A.82.b] From then on, all the wicked beings will be kept away from him, and he will accumulate a great heap of merit as big as Mount Sumeru.

2.1020“For this homa rite he should always use twenty palas of sandalwood, five palas of agarwood, seven palas of olibanum, a quarter pala of camphor and musk, one pala of saffron, five palas of frankincense, and seven palas of bdellium. Having ground the ingredients into a homogenous powder, the vidyā holder should mix it with white sugar and honey and make one thousand and eight pills, each the size of a die. He should combine the pills with mustard seeds and parched rice, daub them in ghee, and offer them as one thousand and eight homas. He should kindle the fire with śamī sticks and use the sticks of surabhi and giant milkweed as fuel.

2.1021“As he then offers the one thousand and eight homas according to procedure, [Tvi.182] [F.157.b] his evil, obscurations, and wrongdoings will all diminish proportionally, and he will become free from all disease. Concurrently, all the obscurations and evil of all beings in Jambudvīpa‍—the women, men, boys, girls, monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras‍—will gradually disappear. All fears, disasters, misfortunes, calamities, epileptic fits, quarrels, disputes, and disagreements, all dangers from marauding armies, whether one’s own or the enemy’s, all dangers that originate from one’s adversaries and opponents, and all dangers from thieves, rogues, bandits, and wild animals will be pacified. All affected beings will become free from fear.

2.1022“All beings who smell the fragrance of the homa‍—women, men, boys, girls, monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras‍—will reach the point of no return and progress toward unsurpassable perfect awakening. When they take a new birth, it will be in the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower. Likewise, all animals who smell the fragrance, whether two- or four-footed, will certainly reach the point of no return through merely smelling it. They will fully awaken to perfect buddhahood, from which they cannot lapse.

2.1023“As the vidyā holder progresses with the homa, his body will become increasingly pure and free of stain. [F.158.a] When he has reached one thousand and eight homas, his body will blaze with light, and he will see the body of a buddha in each of the directions. Each of these tathāgatas will applaud the vidyā holder, saying, ‘Good! It is good, vidyā holder! This supramundane homa procedure constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation, the supreme secret of all the tathāgatas. This great homa procedure crushes all māras, eliminates yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, vighnas, vināyakas, and apasmāras, brings one toward the seat of awakening, and leads to the turning of the wheel of Dharma. It constitutes the supreme path to awakening.’ Each tathāgata will then extend his golden right arm and place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head.

2.1024“Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before the vidyā holder in person. He will be adorned with every ornament, wear the Brahmā attire of Amoghapāśa, wear his hair in a topknot adorned with a diadem, and hold a lotus, a trident, and a noose in his hands. He will say to the vidyā holder, ‘Good! Good it is, O vidyā holder! You have accomplished [Tvi.183] the supramundane homa procedure, a maṇḍala of liberation that is the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. You may choose a boon, and I will grant whatever you wish for in full.’ The vidyā holder should then state his desired boons, and he will obtain them all.

2.1025“Noble Avalokiteśvara will then extend his arm and place his hand on the vidyā holder’s head. As soon as he places it there, the vidyā holder will ascend into the sky [F.158.b] and visit the buddha fields in the ten directions, where he will meet all the tathāgatas face-to-face. [A.83.a] He will reach the point of not turning back and become established in the state from which he cannot lapse. He will obtain a prophecy of his future realization from all the tathāgatas in all buddha fields. Having traveled around all the buddha fields, he will visit the realm of Sukhāvatī. There he will sit opposite the Tathāgata Amitābha and his retinue and hear Dharma teachings from him until the attainment of final, ultimate realization.

2.1026“Now I will teach how to prepare a pit that will serve as the location for the supramundane homa. The vidyā holder should draw a fully blooming lotus that is three cubits wide and daub it with a mixture of clay and cow dung. In the center, among the lotus filaments, he should dig a hole one cubit in diameter and arrange sixteen petals lying horizontally in a circle inside it. The lotus should be painted with various colors. He should then demarcate a square maṇḍala that surrounds the lotus and skillfully arrange various fragrant substances there. He should distribute four full jars around the maṇḍala, four silver dishes filled with argha water for the feet, and four golden dishes filled with water perfumed with various fragrances.

2.1027“Around the maṇḍala he should arrange a bali of various flavors that consists of different preparations of the three ‘white’ foods and includes an assortment of fruits. He should then scatter flowers over them and add garlands of various kinds, along with arrows adorned with five colors of banners. At each of the four doors he should place a nicely adorned jar filled with perfumed water and read the Prajñāpāramitā while seated on a well-adorned seat fit for a Dharma teacher. [Tvi.184] In the four corners he should read the Amogha­pāśa Sūtra aloud while seated upon a well-adorned Dharma seat fit for a Dharma teacher. He should offer golden, silver, and copper flowers, as well as the seven precious jewels. [F.159.a]

2.1028“Then, ritually pure, thoroughly bathed, dressed in clean clothes, and perfumed with pleasing fragrances, he should incant one thousand and eight pills one hundred and eight times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, consecrate the pills with the mantra of Krodharāja one hundred and eight times, and recite the heart mantra of Amoghavilokita one hundred and eight times. After that, he should offer one thousand and eight pills into the fire while reciting, without saying anything else, the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa called the liberating maṇḍala of fire as he generates a loving mind and a compassionate and kind heart.

2.1029“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great compassionate being!

2.1030[201] “ Oṁ, Padmapāṇi! Hold, hold, O lotus-armed one! Blaze, blaze, O oblation eater! Flicker, flicker! Your arms grant liberation. Burn, burn all the impurities! Your hand displays the amogha boon-granting gesture, hūṁ hūṁ! Burn all evil! Pacify, O pacifier who saves the world! O boon granter, immersed in light, make haste, make haste! Your amogha accomplishment is awesome. Oṁ bhūr bhuva! Homage to you! Svāhā!

2.1031“This heart dhāraṇī of Mahāpāśa, the liberating maṇḍala of fire, is the supreme method for performing the supramundane homa. The vidyā holder can use the ashes left after this homa to perform any wonderful or miraculous activity. Anyone whose body comes into contact with these ashes will be freed from all their obscurations and cleansed of all evil. If he applies the ashes to his forehead as a bindi, he will be instantly cured of a quartan fever, a fever that recurs every two days or every three days, a fever that lasts one day and one night, a fever that recurs every midnight or every midday, or one that recurs annually, monthly, [A.83.b] or weekly. He will no longer experience cold fever, as the jvaras will flee as far as one hundred leagues.

2.1032“If he marks the top of his head with the bindi, he will be released from all eighty-four thousand grahas; [F.159.b] they will flee in the ten directions as far as one thousand leagues. [Tvi.185] If he casts the ashes against the wind, the places where the ashes fall will be free of yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, pretas, kumbhāṇḍas, apasmāras, vighnas, and vināyakas. They will all flee and will be unable to return to the same place again. If he marks his chest with the bindi, all his diseases will disappear. If he marks his navel with it, all his abdominal ailments will disappear instantly. If he sprinkles the ashes onto a poisonous bite, the poison will abate. If he administers the ashes to someone delirious due to poisoning, the poison will be neutralized.

2.1033“If he bathes in water suffused with the ashes, all kākhordas, kiraṇas, curses, and garas will perish. If he mixes the ashes with warm water and rubs them into skin affected by white leprosy, boils, scabs, abscesses, festering ulcers, or leprous eruptions, and then smears these places with ghee incanted seven times with the mantra, all these diseases will instantly depart. If he casts the ashes in the direction of a rain cloud, this will put a stop to cold waves, wind, and hail. If he casts the ashes against the wind, the wind will stop. If he casts the ashes in the four directions, he will create a great protective boundary. If he sprinkles the ashes around in a circle, all flowers, fruits, crops, flowering trees, vegetable gardens, parks, groves, mountains, grasses, bushes, herbs, and forest trees will be well protected by a great protective circle that will extend as far as one hundred leagues.

2.1034“If he sprinkles the ashes at the four gates of a city, all beings who enter or leave through them‍—women, men, boys, girls, monks, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, [F.160.a] two- or four-legged animals, deer, and birds‍—will be freed from their obscurations and evil. All their diseases and suffering will disappear as soon as they pass through it. They will be free from disease. When they take a new birth, it will be in the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they will reach the point from which they cannot regress, and they will remain in Sukhāvatī until buddhahood.

2.1035“If he sprinkles the ashes in a charnel ground, or upon a corpse lying on a funeral pyre, any deceased beings, even those who have fallen into hell, will instantly leave the hell realm and be reborn in the realm of Abhirati or Sukhāvatī. If he sprinkles the ashes in a town, a monastery, a temple, [Tvi.186] a village, a house, or a forest hermitage, he will create a great protective boundary by sprinkling the ashes in a circle around them. If he sprinkles the ashes at the gate of a royal household, the king and his harem and retinue will be well protected from all enemies. If he sprinkles the ashes in the middle of a large crowd, all the people will be purified of obscurations and evil and freed from disease and vice. The vidyā holder will be able to perform hundreds of thousands of other activities, but he should always apply his judgement and intelligence.

2.1036“I will now teach about a supramundane painting that constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. [A.84.a] The vidyā holder should procure a piece of cloth, either cotton or Chinese silk, that is well woven and clean and is two, three, or four cubits in length. In the center, he should draw the lokeśvara Amoghapāśa wearing his garb of Brahmā and with his topknot adorned with a diadem. On top of the diadem is the victorious Amitābha with the crescent of the new moon to his right. The four-armed Amoghapāśa is adorned with all the ornaments and sits in a cross-legged posture.

2.1037“The vidyā holder should draw Potala Mountain covered in various flowers, vines, and jewels. [F.160.b] Upon it he should draw a lion throne adorned with all the ornaments, and upon the throne a lotus seat. The beautifully formed Noble Avalokiteśvara is seated there, holding a lotus, a trident, and a noose and displaying the gesture of giving comfort. Above his head is a palatial structure encrusted with various divine jewels and furnished with a terrace. On that terrace he should draw the seven tathāgatas adorned with all ornaments and sitting on lotus seats, each drawn to scale. Above the seven tathāgatas, and inside the palatial structure, he should draw the three tathāgatas Vairocana, Amitābha, and Avalokiteśvara­prabha, each adorned with every ornament and seated in a cross-legged posture.

2.1038“Surrounding Noble Avalokiteśvara, at the distance of one fathom, is a circle of the thirty-two tathāgatas. The circle is filled with multicolored light and has, beyond its circumference, a garland of tridents. The vidyā holder should draw the thirty-two deities surrounding this. In the center, at the top, is the wrathful Vajradhara, [Tvi.187] his face contorted, wielding a vajra. Next to him are Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara. Further, there are the divine sons Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Indra, the lord of the realm of Thirty-Three. The vidyā holder should also draw the gods from the realms of Akaniṣṭha, Tuṣita, and Nirmita , the divine sons Candra and Sūrya, the Four Great Kings, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Kumāra, Agni, Mahākāla, Nandikeśvara, Nanda, Upananda, Baladeva, Pūrṇabhadra, Maṇibhadra, the gods from the realms of the Pure Abode and the Heaven of Thirty-Three, and the divine sons from the Paranirmita­vaśavartin heaven. [F.161.a]

2.1039“Around the circle of deities, the vidyā holder should draw a ring of lotuses surrounded by vajras and tridents. [B14] Outside the circle of lotuses, he should draw a circle of outward-pointing hands that hold various flowers, jewels, gems, and other kinds of implements. Outside all this he should paint a halo of light.

2.1040“To the right of Noble Avalokiteśvara is Noble Tārā, sitting with one leg extended as she gazes up at the face of Noble Avalokiteśvara. She holds a blue lotus and a jewel and is adorned with every ornament. Behind her is Bhṛkuṭī, holding various flowers and adorned with every ornament. To the left of Noble Avalokiteśvara is Śvetā, sitting with one leg extended as she gazes at Noble Avalokiteśvara. She holds in her hands a white water-lily and a jewel, and she is adorned with various ornaments. Behind Śvetā is Padmasundarī, holding various flowers and adorned with every ornament. Below the goddesses Tārā and Śvetā, the vidyā holder should draw the ten Pāramitās , all of them standing with their head slightly bowed, dressed in white, and adorned with every ornament.

2.1041“To the right, the vidyā holder should draw the fierce rākṣasī Ekajaṭā, who has four arms, sits with one leg extended, holds in her four hands a noose, axe, sword, and vajra, [A.84.b] and gazes at Noble Avalokiteśvara. To the left, he should draw Dūtī with fangs protruding from her mouth and adorned with every ornament. Four armed, in her four hands she holds a vajra, axe, noose, [Tvi.188] and trident. She sits with one leg extended as she gazes at the Lokeśvara, and she is surrounded by a halo of flames. Inside Potala Mountain he should draw the nāga kings Nanda and Upananda in their palace, together with nāginīs. They should be depicted casting various kinds of flowers up toward the blessed Lokeśvara.

2.1042“Below Potala Mountain he should draw the goddesses Anaupamyā, Vāsantī, Pṛthivī, [F.161.b] Śrī, Bhīmā, Sarasvatī, Saṅkalā, and Śaṅkhinī, each adorned with their respective ornaments and holding various flowers, jewels, and gems. Above the palatial structure he should draw the eight great caityas in a straight row, adorned with all the ornaments particular to caityas. On the right side, below the caityas, he should draw the Blessed One approaching the seat of awakening, with the Lokeśvara facing him and making offerings. He should also draw Noble Vajradhara with a yak-tail whisk in his hand. Below them he should draw ṛṣis and devas offering various kinds of flowers to the Blessed One. On the left side, below the caityas, he should draw the Blessed One turning the wheel of Dharma, and Ānanda and Vajradhara with yak-tail whisks in their hands, facing him and fanning him.

2.1043“To the right, the vidyā holder should draw Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa worshiping the Blessed One, and to the left, Krodharāja worshiping the Blessed One. Below each of them are hosts of ṛṣis and devas worshiping the respective Blessed One. On the left and right margins of the canvas he should draw to scale the figures of one hundred and eight tathāgatas, each sitting in a cross-legged posture upon lotus seats and adorned with all ornaments. He should draw himself at the base of the lotus that supports the lion throne of Noble Avalokiteśvara, kneeling down and facing Noble Avalokiteśvara, with flowers, an incense holder, and a rosary in his hands.

2.1044“He should maintain ritual purity, bathe thoroughly, wear clean clothes, and subsist on the three ‘white’ foods prepared in various flavors. He should execute the painting using uncontaminated paints kept in clean containers. He should avoid inappropriate foods and inappropriate clothing; [F.162.a] in particular he should avoid wine, meat, onions, garlic, red onions, or any combinations thereof. [Tvi.189] He should sprinkle himself, every day, with the five products of the cow, and he should be free from the defilements and envy and jealousy. Instead, he should cultivate loving kindness and compassion and, above all, have faith in the Three Jewels.

2.1045“He should execute the painting on canvas of fine cotton using paints of various colors perfumed with camphor and musk. He should be undistracted, avoid crowds, and be free from sloth and apathy. If he paints in this way his work will turn out well. He should not begin painting during the dark fortnight but rather the bright fortnight when the stars are auspicious, specifically on the auspicious lunar day during the lunar asterism of Puṣya, which is praised by all the tathāgatas and blessed by all the bodhisattvas. All the deities will then be favorably disposed.

2.1046“Any son or daughter of good family, monk or nun, male or female lay practitioner, [A.85.a] or ascetic, any brahmin, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra, and any woman, man, boy, or girl who sees this great cloth painting‍—the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, honored by all bodhisattvas, consecrated by the gaze of all tathāgatas, the great secret maṇḍala of awakening, the great secret maṇḍala of liberation‍—will be purged of all their negativity and obscurations as soon as they see it. Even those who have committed the five acts of immediate retribution and are destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell, those who reject the Dharma or revile the noble ones, and those who reject all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas will eliminate all their evil [F.162.b] and be liberated. They will develop great moral restraint.

2.1047“Seeing this painting is known to be the same as seeing tathāgatas equal in number to the grains of sand in ninety-nine Gaṅgā rivers multiplied by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions. It is known to be the same as proceeding to the seat of awakening and subsequently turning the wheel of Dharma. Seeing this cloth painting is the same as seeing Noble Avalokiteśvara face-to-face in his palace on Potala Mountain, surrounded by his retinue. This should not be doubted or questioned. A single moment of faith will result in a great accumulation of merit and the planting of the roots of great virtue. [Tvi.190]

2.1048“Anyone who sees this painting will be in Noble Avalokiteśvara’s thoughts and receive boons from him. They will be accepted by all the tathāgatas, and their mind and body will be completely purified, as will all their sense faculties. Their defilements of envy and jealousy will disappear, and everyone will love them and regard them as their teacher. They will have a long life that is free from all disease, and after leaving their body they will go, as is their destiny, to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower with the memory of their previous birth. They will become irreversibly established on the path to awakening as soon as they behold the Tathāgata Amitābha.

2.1049“Anyone who makes offerings to this cloth painting worships every tathāgata in the ten directions. Their current birth will be their last birth from a womb, and they will never again fall into the darkness of ignorance. They will be equal to those without equal. This supramundane procedure of the cloth painting is the best method of practice.

2.1050“Now I will teach a mantra method that produces supramundane results. Through merely recollecting this mantra, [F.163.a] all the tathāgatas will appear directly before vidyā holder, and the doors to all the buddha fields in the ten directions will be open to him. He will be able to see all the bodhisattvas directly, and all the deities of the maṇḍala will remain close to him in order to protect, guard, and defend him. All the ritual methods based on the maṇḍalas, mudrās, and heart mantras will be revealed to him directly, and his progress on the supramundane path will be unimpeded.

2.1051“Homage to all the tathāgatas established throughout the three times, to the great bodhisattvas, and to the hosts of the noble ones! Homage to Noble Vajradhara, to all the deities of the maṇḍala, and to all the kings of vidyās. The mantra to recite is:

[202] “ Oṁ, O great lotus maṇḍala of the amogha gaze! You are honored by all the bodhisattvas. Keep it, keep! You can see everywhere, O amogha wearer of the great garb of Brahmā! Wear it, wear, O most compassionate one! Awaken them, awaken, O great awakener! O awakening, awakening! O lotus awakener, [A.85.b] you pacify all the darkness produced by evil. You block all unhappy destinies, O most compassionate one! [Tvi.191] You take on many appearances and yet retain the essence of a tathāgata. Huru huru, O amogha essence! Turu turu, O Amoghapāśa with a noose in your hand! Muru muru, you whose arms grant liberation! Diminish them, diminish, O purifier of all obscurations! You fully embody every tathāgata‍—carry them in you, carry! Gaze, one with lotus-like arms, adorned with jewels and gold! Tame, tame those difficult to tame, O great bodhisattva! O most compassionate granter of boons, honored by all gods and praised by all ṛṣis! You are radiant with light brighter than a hundred thousand suns and moons. You wear the great garb of Paśupati, O supremely pure being! You are the lokeśvara of compassionate gazing, a great lord, the supremely compassionate lord of the maṇḍala, the fully awakened one! O great lord with a lotus in your hand, the great lord of vidyādhara s! [F.163.b] Be steadfast, be steadfast, O great steadfast being! You are the most compassionate upholder of great maṇḍalas of liberation. You keep the samaya of the secret seat of all the tathāgatas. You possess great energy and strength. You wear a jeweled diadem upon your head crowned with Amitābha. Wear it, wear! O lord with panoptic vision! O great lord who carries the noose! O supreme, supreme, supremely compassionate being who gazes with great compassion and delivers all beings from suffering! O accomplishment, accomplishment, you fulfill all hopes! O great granter of boons, homage to you! Svāhā!

“This mantra is a complete maṇḍala of liberation that is honored by all bodhisattvas. It is a secret mantra of all tathāgatas and the most secret essence Noble Avalokiteśvara. It completely purifies all obscurations and perfects the supramundane path. It brings the reciter into the family of all the tathāgatas.

2.1052“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas established throughout the three times! The mantra to recite is:

[203] “ Oṁ, hero, hero! The omnifarious form of the great maṇḍala! You are the fulfiller of the six perfections, honored by all the bodhisattvas! O supreme sustainer of the vast state of liberation! Your great gaze is your noose, O blazing light of the unfailing noose! Your gaze is a great blaze! You hold the great jeweled lamp that shines its light everywhere. Blaze, blaze! You hold the great noose of profound liberation! You bring the power and the means to attain awakening! Oṁ, your form is infinite, O great Amoghapāśa! Hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ phaṭ! You gaze at all beings. O generous granter of boons, homage be to you! Svāhā!

“The mantra above is a maṇḍala of liberation, the heart essence of Amoghapāśa that brings supramundane, miraculous results.

2.1053“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The mantra is:

[204] “ Oṁ, [Tvi.192] awaken them, awaken, awaken, O most compassionate one! Ferry, ferry! Take beings across the great ocean to the other shore! O strong-armed one, look on with compassion! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

“This was the auxiliary heart mantra of Amoghapāśa.

2.1054“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! [F.164.a] The mantra is:

[205] “ Oṁ, Amoghapāśa, please fulfill the great perfection of generosity, hūṁ! Burst, burst the clouds of offerings! Bring to all beings various wonderful enjoyments! Set in motion the great generosity of all tathāgatas! Ferry, ferry! Take the beings across the ocean of suffering, O great being with a lotus in your hand! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

“This mantra is the essence of the perfection of generosity of Mahāpāśa. If one gives as little as a mustard seed, silently incanted with this mantra seven times, the seed will be magically transformed into a great sacrificial offering, multiplied many times over. One will thus master the perfection of generosity. [A.86.a]

2.1055“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is:

[206] “ Oṁ, Amoghaśīla, accumulate, accumulate! Hold on, hold on, O great pure being! Your hands are adorned with lotuses; hold them, hold! You can see everywhere, hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

“If this dhāraṇī is recited twenty-one times by a person who is fasting and who adheres to the eightfold path of the noble ones, and if it is then followed by the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, the reciter will become amply endowed with pure morality and will thus complete the perfection of morality. His body will exude the exquisite fragrance of morality, which will be smelled throughout the ten directions of the world. Whoever calls this dhāraṇī to mind every day will always possess pure morality. If a monk whose morality has deteriorated recites this dhāraṇī during his fast, his morality will be restored as soon as he recites it, and he will become highly disciplined.

2.1056“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is:

[207] “ Oṁ, Amoghavilokita who has great energy, vara vara! Steady energy and great strength! [F.164.b] Strength, strength, the great aid to awakening, you are a powerful awakener, [Tvi.193] hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

“When this dhāraṇī is mindfully repeated while having a pure appreciation of its content, the perfection of energy is attained merely by calling it to mind. One will never again be separated from the perfection of energy, until the attainment of the seat of awakening.

2.1057“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is:

[208] “ Oṁ, Amoghakṣānti, you possess the forbearance of all the bodhisattvas! Be forbearing, be forbearing! With your great kindness and compassion, you love all beings as your children. O most compassionate being, you have forbearance for all beings! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

“This dhāraṇī should be employed with a mind filled with great forbearance, compassion, and sympathy for all beings. Beings of the past, present, and future, as well as those in hell and those born as animals, whether beasts or birds, will be released from their condition if the vidyā holder mindfully repeats this supreme dhāraṇī out of compassion for them. Hell beings will be released from hell, and many people will observe and fully maintain the perfection of forbearance until they become established in a buddha field.

2.1058“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is:

[209] “ Oṁ, you possess the great amogha compassion, meditative concentration, and samādhi of all the tathāgatas! You liberate everyone, O unshakable one! Curu curu! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

“This dhāraṇī should be mindfully repeated while focusing one-pointedly on Noble Avalokiteśvara. As soon as it is mindfully repeated, the reciter will attain the perfection of meditative concentration and accomplish hundreds of thousands of other samādhis. He will be able to enter every buddha field. As soon as he recites this dhāraṇī he will gain control over everything by means of samādhi. [F.165.a]

2.1059“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The dhāraṇī is: [A.86.b]

[210] “ Oṁ, the great splendor of amogha wisdom! Your intellect bursts forth in all directions. May it expand, may it expand! Your intellect is all-encompassing. Look on, Lord , with your eye of wisdom’s gaze! With your hand displaying the boon-granting gesture, you grant the boon of great wisdom, while in your other hand you hold the lotus of great wisdom. Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

“As soon as this dhāraṇī is mindfully repeated, the vidyā holder will attain the perfection of wisdom and develop various types of intelligence and skillful means that are consistent with great wisdom. [Tvi.194] He will always possess the type of intelligence that corresponds to each of the ten perfections, and he will develop wisdom and intelligence by recollecting the buddhas‍—all the tathāgatas of the past, present, and future throughout the ten directions. Never again will he be separated from the six perfections; he will never be without generosity, morality, forbearance, energy, meditative concentration, wisdom, and intelligence. These qualities will not leave him until his final realization of awakening.

“This concludes the dhāraṇīs of the six perfections.

2.1060“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The mantra is:

[211] “ Oṁ, you are a pure being, a wondrous amogha maṇḍala of liberation! Support, support! Be steadfast, be steadfast! You hold a marvelous great lotus and wear Amitābha as your crest jewel! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

2.1061“This is the mantra for digging the maṇḍala. The vidyā holder should use it to incant a jar containing mustard seeds and perfumed water and then sprinkle the surrounding area. As soon as he sprinkles it, the entire area within a radius of one league will be purified. The ground within this area will be bright and immaculate, and it will sparkle like quartz or a great jewel. It will become a spotlessly clean, pure, pleasant, [F.165.b] nice, and auspicious piece of land. Any women, men, boys, girls, mendicants, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, or śūdras present in that area will be established on the level of irreversibility, none of them liable to turn back. After they die, they will be reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī and will be able to recollect their successive births.

2.1062“They will accumulate a great amount of merit and plant the roots of great virtue until, eventually, they awaken to the state of unsurpassable perfect awakening. Likewise, any animals, whether beasts or birds, that stray onto or enter that area of land will be liberated and embark upon the path of the sugatas. Any beings who touch the soil with their hands will be freed from their diseases and afflictions, and their fevers, obscurations, and vices will depart. They will never again experience discomfort or illness in their bodies but will always feel at ease.

“This was the vidyā for purifying the land. [Tvi.195]

2.1063“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The mantra is:

[212] “ Oṁ, you with lotus-like arms! Please amogha-purify the various beautiful trees, tree vines, vegetables, leaves, flowers, fruits, sprouts, uplands, rivers, ponds, lotus lakes, springs, water reservoirs, and magnificent waterfalls! Purify the area, sama sama, all around! Mala mala, stainless and immaculate! Kissed by an immaculate lotus! Purify, purify the polluted waters, O supremely pure great being! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā! Homage to the lord of the three worlds! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā! [A.87.a]

2.1064“The vidyā holder should use this dhāraṇī to incant mustard seeds and sandalwood scented with lotus petals [F.166.a] and then sprinkle the tree trunks of flowering trees and fruit trees, as well as various vines, grasses, bushes, herbs, rivers, tanks, ponds, lotus lakes, and beautiful waterfalls. The trees, sprinkled with this ambrosia, will all yield divine flowers and fruits, and all the grasses, bushes, herbs, and trees will become divine. Any beings who touch them will be freed, as soon as they touch them, from the defilements of envy and jealousy, and from any disorders due to bile, phlegm, or wind. Their unpleasant body odor will disappear, and they will be completely pure inside and out. All those who suffer from various ailments and diseases of the internal organs will be cured. With their diseases purified and gone, they will be free from any blemishes.

2.1065“Any beings who make ablutions with this water will be bathed in the divine water that aids awakening. All their impurities, evil, and obscurations will be washed away, and they will be bathed in the water of the eightfold path. Those who ingest this water while brushing their teeth will receive a great boost to their powers of recollection, intellect, and wisdom. All their sorrows will depart, and their fetters will fall away. Their breath will always have the fragrance of blue lotuses, their speech will be gentle and sweet, and their words will be agreeable. They will be gracious speakers who captivate everyone and are loved by all, and they will have voices that sound like kinnaras. They will be able to memorize, merely by hearing them, all treatises concerning ritual, mantra, and the Mahāyāna, [Tvi.196] and they will remain on the tip of their tongue.

2.1066“Any beings who smell these flowers or wear them woven into garlands will be garlanded with the flowering limbs of awakening [F.166.b] and will thereby receive the tathāgata empowerment. Their olfactory faculty will be purified and exude a divine scent. Their tactile faculty will likewise become divine. Their tongue, when purified, will resemble a lotus petal. They will have a complexion like that of divine teeth. Whoever they speak to, be it a woman, man, boy, or girl, will invariably fall under their thrall. Their next rebirth will be in the realm of Sukhāvatī, where they will be born spontaneously from a lotus flower and be able to recollect their previous births.

2.1067“This was the mantra for purifying fruits, flowers, water, trees, grasses, bushes, and herbs.

2.1068“Homage to all the tathāgatas! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate great being! The mantra is:

[213] “ Oṁ, amogha stainless, free from the three stains, free from dirt, immaculately pure, divinely pure! You are invoked to remove all stains. O great, boon-granting, eminently pure bodhisattva! Your pure body is like a great jewel. You are a jewel, a purifying jewel! A great, pure, wish-fulfilling amogha jewel! You are pure at heart, and pure in the body that is like a great gem. Huru huru! Your hands are most excellent. You display the great boon-granting gesture with your hand. Turu turu! You love sentient beings as your own children. Cleanse me of all my evil, O immaculately pure being! Svāhā!

2.1069“The vidyā holder should employ this vidyā to purify his body. He should fill a new earthenware jar with sandalwood-scented water, saffron, musk-scented water, camphor-scented water, and mustard seeds, mix in the five products of the cow, and incant the mixture with the vidyā one thousand and eight times. Then, using a white towel, he should perform ablutions seven times, each time drinking seven palas of the mixture. [A.87.b] Immediately after the ablutions, he should consecrate himself with the mantra of Krodharāja. As soon as he has performed the ablutions and the consecration, he will become immaculately pure inside and out. His evil, obscurations, and vices will disappear, as will his afflictions [F.167.a] and diseases. He will be free from old age and so forth. [Tvi.197] He will be completely free from all vighnas, vināyakas, māras, and so forth. All yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas will leave him alone, and they will no longer be able to come near him to create obstacles.

2.1070“He will accomplish the vidyā with ease, and he will sleep well, wake up with ease, and remain at ease for as long as he lives. He will be free from every impurity and will directly perceive all the tathāgatas and bodhisattvas. At the time of his death, he will meet Noble Avalokiteśvara face-to-face, and he will proceed, as is his destiny, to the realm of Sukhāvatī, where he will be spontaneously born from a lotus flower in front of the Tathāgata Amitābha. His body will be decked in every ornament and adorned with the major and minor signs of perfection.

2.1071“Retaining the memory of his successive births, he will proceed from one buddha field to another until his final realization of awakening. All the while, this maṇḍala of liberation, this entire essential manual of Amoghapāśa, will remain on the tip of his tongue, as will various other texts, such as the sūtras taught by the tathāgatas. He will recollect his former births as far back as one hundred thousand eons.

2.1072“The mantra for partitioning the maṇḍala with a thread:

[214] “ Oṁ, pure Amoghapadma, expand! You face all the quarters, svāhā!

2.1073“The mantra for coloring and drawing distinct forms, emblems, and implements:

[215] “ Oṁ, you possess various amogha forms and colors; you bring various scents and flavors; you hold various implements in your hands, svāhā!

2.1074“The mantra for binding the maṇḍala:

[216] “ Oṁ, you bind the full circle of the maṇḍala with the noose. Hūṁ!

“The binding of the maṇḍala is performed by throwing mustard seeds incanted seven times with this mantra.

2.1075“The mantra for creating the protective boundary:

[217] “ Oṁ, create a great amogha-boundary [F.167.b] encompassing in the ten directions! Dhuru dhuru, hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

“The boundary is created by sprinkling mustard water incanted with this mantra seven times.

2.1076“The mantra for performing self-protection:

[218] “ Oṁ, you hold in your hand the protecting, unfailing noose. Bhuru bhuru, svāhā!

“The self-protection is performed by sprinkling oneself with mustard water incanted seven times with this mantra.

2.1077“The mantra for tying the topknot:

[219] “ Oṁ, you carry the amogha jewel in your topknot. Huru huru! You bind the nāgas with the noose! Hūṁ, svāhā!

“The mantra for tying the topknot should be recited twenty-one times.

2.1078“The mantra for the protection of disciples and assistants:

[220] “ Oṁ, you create amogha protection everywhere with the great noose. Bhuru bhuru, svāhā!

“The protection takes effect after sprinkling the disciples and assistants with mustard seeds and ashes incanted with this mantra twenty-one times.

2.1079“The mantra for performing ablutions:

[221] “ Oṁ, pure amogha water! Suru suru, svāhā! [Tvi.198]

“The ablutions should be performed with perfumed water incanted with this mantra twenty-one times.

2.1080“The mantra for the ritual sipping of water:

[222] “ Oṁ, the drop of amogha nectar! Act, act! Svāhā!

2.1081“The mantra for putting on the clothes:

[223] “ Oṁ, O divine amogha clothes! Curu curu, svāhā!

2.1082“The mantra of the armor:

[224] “ Oṁ, you provide the best armor with your amogha arms. Ciri ciri, svāhā!

“The armor is created by sprinkling water that has been mixed with mustard seeds and saffron and then incanted with this mantra.

2.1083“The mantra of the sacred thread:

[225] “ Oṁ, please extend your great amogha arms far and wide! Svāhā!

2.1084“The mantra of consecration:

[226] “ Oṁ, Amoghapadma with a jewel upon your topknot, consecrate me! Grant me the empowerment of all the tathāgatas! O jewel, jewel, svāhā!

2.1085“The mantra of the seat:

[227] “ Oṁ, Amoghapadma, you are the supporting earth! Support, support! You are the earth seat, hūṁ!

2.1086“The mantra of the cross-legged posture:

[228] “ Oṁ, the universal amogha posture! Heaven and earth, svāhā! [A.88.a]

2.1087“The mantra of flowers:

[229] “ Oṁ, the fragrant amogha lotus! Para para, hūṁ!

2.1088“The mantra of perfume:

[230] “ Oṁ, Spread around various amogha fragrances! Fill up the place with fragrance! Your hands are full, svāhā!

2.1089“The mantra of scented oils:

[231] “ Oṁ, you possess the choicest amogha unguents of various kinds! Piri piri, svāhā!

2.1090“The mantra of incense:

[232] “ Oṁ, your smoke sparkles in the sky! Dhūra dhūra, hūṁ!

2.1091“The mantra of the bali offering consisting of all three ‘white’ foods:

[233] “ Oṁ, you possess the exquisite amogha flavors of the white foods! Preserve them distinctively, hūṁ!

2.1092“The mantra of the bali-offering of food:

[234] “ Oṁ, Amoghavilokita who provides the best food! Kiri kiri, hūṁ!

2.1093“The mantra of fruits: [F.168.a]

[235] “ Oṁ, various amogha fruits! Para para, hūṁ!

2.1094“The mantra of the argha offering:

[236] “ Oṁ, the exquisite amogha fragrance, so good! Hūṁ!

2.1095“The mantra of adornments, turbans, banners, arrows, and the five-colored thread:

[237] “ Oṁ, various amogha jewel-adornments, the best among the best, sparkle, sparkle! Hūṁ!

2.1096“The mantra of vessels:

[238] “ Oṁ, various amogha vessels, triumph, triumph! Svāhā!

“This mantra of vessels can be used for all types of vessels.

2.1097“The mantra of ushering in:

[239] “ Oṁ, the ground of excellent amogha dwelling, tremble, tremble! Svāhā!

2.1098“The añjali mantra of greeting:

[240] “ Oṁ, bowing to all the tathāgatas with the amogha añjali-gesture, hūṃ!

2.1099“The mantra of circumambulation:

[241] “ Oṁ, amogha circuit! Duru duru praduru! Svāhā! [Tvi.199]

2.1100“The mantra of summoning:

[242] “ Oṁ, come to the amogha dwelling! Dwell here, dwell! Svāha!

2.1101“The mantra of supplication:

[243] “ Oṁ, O wish-fulfilling amogha gem, move along! Dhuru dhuru! Svāhā!

2.1102“The mantra of invitation:

[244] “ Oṁ, inviting you into the amogha maṇḍala of liberation! Assemble, assemble! Svāhā!

2.1103“The mantra of lighting the lamps:

[245] “ Oṁ, O great amogha light, the thousandfold blaze! Blaze, blaze all around! Svāhā!

2.1104“The mantra of dismissing the deity:

[246] “ Oṁ, Amoghapāśa, with the noose in your hand, go! Leave the house! You are dismissed! Move, move! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

2.1105“The samaya mantra:

[247] “ Oṁ, Amoghapāśa, bind! You are firmly bound to the all-encompassing samaya! Hūṁ phaṭ, svāhā!

2.1106“The mantra for offering a bali to the great Gaṇapati:

[248] “ Oṁ, O great lord of bhūtas, amogha-omnipresent, the most excellent! Move, move, travel far! Dhiri dhiri! Hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ, svāhā!

2.1107“Reciting the above mantra, the vidyā holder should offer a white bali consisting of sweetmeats, candies, barley, and root vegetables to the great Gaṇapati. He should include flowers and incense. The vighnas will not be able to harm him again.

2.1108“Now I will teach a mudrā that is the seal of a supramundane maṇḍala. As soon as it is displayed, all evildoers will perish, and all afflictions, karmic obscurations, and wrongdoings will be exhausted. This mudrā, a maṇḍala of liberation, is the reality of the samaya of the family. To display it, the vidyā holder should form his hands into a lotus, positioning the thumbs so they align evenly. He should keep his hands together, with the middle fingers forming the shape of the hook. This mudrā, empowered by Amoghapāśa to function as the samaya mudrā of liberation, [F.168.b] allows access to the path that bears supramundane, extraordinary fruits. The mantra to accompany the mudrā is:

[249] “ Oṁ, you have lotus arms, lotus hands, and are lotus pure! Svāhā!

2.1109“To create the most auspicious circumstances, a learned vidyā holder should always display the vajra-lotus mudrā. He should form his hands into the shape of a lotus, which is to be made by folding the middle fingers only. Whoever displays this mudrā will obtain corresponding power and influence in the world. With this mudrā of liberation he will certainly obtain unsurpassable buddhahood. This mudrā is revered by all bodhisattvas as a wondrous maṇḍala of liberation. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:

[250] “ Oṁ, lotus, auspicious lotus! O lotus-armed maṇḍala of liberation, svāhā!

2.1110“Having formed the shape of the lotus, the vidyā holder should fold the middle fingers to form a vajra lotus. This is the mudrā of all tathāgatas, the secret mudrā of liberation that shows the nature of liberation. All evil actions are purified when this mudrā is displayed. [A.88.b] [Tvi.200] The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:

[251] “ Oṁ, Amogha , you hold the vajra and the lotus in your hands, mili mili! Svāhā!

2.1111“The vidyā holder should join his cupped hands to form a jewel-like enclosure. This is how the mudrā of the wish-fulfilling jewel is formed, a gem that has the shape of a vajra. It turns any activity into an amogha activity and produces a rain of amogha offerings. It amogha-fulfills the six perfections and amogha-allows the vidyā holder to see buddhas and the bodhisattvas. This mudrā is the secret amogha maṇḍala of liberation that purifies even the five acts of immediate retribution. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:

[252] “ Oṁ, amogha jewel, jewel! The great jewel! The lotus jewel! Svāhā!

2.1112“The vidyā holder should join his hands in an añjali gesture shaped like the vajra lotus. It should be a lotus in full bloom and be skillfully formed. This mudrā, with the middle fingers forming the shape of a hook, is supremely auspicious. It is capable of producing great and marvelous results when displayed. It is distinguished as a supramundane mudrā that allows the vidyā holder to see the buddhas of the three times. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:

[253] “ Oṁ, amogha vajra! Great lotus! Añjali, jali, auspicious jali, the great jali, svāhā!

2.1113“The vidyā holder should display the vajra-lotus mudrā at his heart and press on his index fingers with the hook-shaped middle fingers, thus forming the vajra tip. This mudrā produces a great amount of vital energy and brings great strength and valor. It is the seat of every accomplishment, [F.169.a] grants every accomplishment, and leads to the great accomplishment that is beyond this world: unsurpassable buddhahood. It is unsurpassed when it comes to successfully removing everything that is evil. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:

[254] “ Oṁ, you possess amogha accomplishment, the accomplishment of every tathāgata! Look on with compassion, O accomplished being! Your accomplishment is great and profound! Act, act! Svāhā!

2.1114“The vidyā holder should form the lotus añjali-gesture, with the middle fingers raised up to the same level. The little fingers and the thumbs should held be apart, with only the middle fingers folded in. This mudrā stands for the lotus lord, the great being and lokeśvara-teacher. It constitutes a maṇḍala of liberation that is always revered by all bodhisattvas. This mudrā is the heart mudrā of Amoghapāśa. Seeing this mudrā is the same as seeing the Lokeśvara himself. Seeing this supreme mudrā is the same as seeing a maṇḍala of liberation. Anyone who displays it will be irreversibly established on the path to awakening. By seeing this mudrā displayed, one will come to understand all samayas as soon as one sees it. Great results can be instantaneously obtained by merely seeing or forming this mudrā, including the unsurpassable awakening of a buddha. The mantra to accompany this mudrā is:

2.1115“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the most compassionate, great being! [Tvi.201] The mantra to repeat is:

[255] “ Oṁ, great, pure being with a compassionate gaze! Move around, move around! You wear earrings that radiate light everywhere. Your crown jewel is Amitābha, and your topknot is adorned with the crescent of the vajra moon. Act, act! Please help to accumulate provisions, O being with the lotus of the lord of the worlds in your hand! Svāhā!

2.1116“These seven mudrās reveal the fruits that are beyond this world. They show the path that leads to the seat of awakening and sets in motion the wheel of Dharma. They are the dwelling place of the Lord of the World. They are lokeśvara-teachers. These seven mudrās are each surrounded by seven times ten million great mudrās. Wherever these seven mudrās are displayed and perceived, seven times ten million great mudrās are displayed and perceived. They are all worshiped, honored, and revered. [F.169.b] Their names are understood and remembered. These seven great mudrās render the mantras efficacious in every respect. They can be employed in any activity, and they will accomplish anything. They constitute the supreme path that leads beyond this world.

2.1117“The practitioner who forms and displays these mudrās while ritually pure and thoroughly bathed will not experience hell or other unhappy destinies. His previous obscurations will be instantaneously purified. As soon as he displays these mudrās, he plants the same roots of virtue as he would if he were in the presence of seven times one hundred thousand million billion perfectly realized buddhas. He will accumulate a tremendous amount of merit [A.89.a] and will fully master the six perfections. He will be established on the tenth bodhisattva level and will not be liable to turn back. Even if he were bound for the Avīci hell after committing the five acts of immediate retribution, opposing the true Dharma, or slandering the noble ones, all these evil acts will be instantly purified as soon as he forms and displays these seven mudrās.

2.1118“All buddhas and bodhisattvas will treat him kindly, and he will be well protected by the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas. Īśvara, Maheśvara, the Four Great Kings, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, and Kumāra will be his constant companions and will stand by in order to guard, protect, and defend him. Everyone will be delighted to see him. His body will become like a caitya containing holy relics and will be as impregnable as a diamond. No poison, fire, water, weapons, hail, rats, [Tvi.202] lions, wild animals, āśīviṣa snakes, thieves, or bandits will present any danger to him. [F.170.a] He will not be driven out of his home, and he will no longer be troubled by yakṣas, rākṣasas, or grahas. He will be immune to all diseases; no venoms, kākhordas, or kiraṇas will ever harm his body, and he will never have nightmares.

2.1119“He will always see and receive boons from the tathāgatas, bodhisattvas, and Noble Avalokiteśvara, and the gods will always want to see him. His qualities and merit will continuously shine forth, so that his body is resplendent and glows with light. Everywhere he goes he will be honored with great offerings, including offerings from the king and his ministers, chamberlains, harem, and retinue. Even the devas, as far as the thirty-two abodes, will worship him with delight. He will be honored with great offerings by Śakra, the chief god-king of the thirty gods, and by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Kumāra, and the hosts of ṛṣis. All beings will constantly desire to see him; they will take pleasure in seeing him and will always wish for it.

2.1120“To display these mudrās, the vidyā holder should purify himself ritually, bathe thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. He should anoint his body with various fragrances, fumigate it with various types of incense, and smear his arms with white sandalwood and saffron. Ritually pure and perfumed with camphor and musk, he should sit cross-legged on a clean patch of ground. He should display the mudrās in front of either a cloth painting or a figure of the Buddha. He can also display them in front of Noble Avalokiteśvara or a caitya containing relics. Following the procedure of making offerings to the Buddha, he should offer argha water for the feet and generate thoughts of love and compassion. [F.170.b] With his heart overflowing with great compassion, he should be motivated wholly by pity for all sentient beings, regarding each of them as his one and only child. He should contemplate Noble Avalokiteśvara and the Buddha and maintain mindfulness of them. By displaying these seven mudrās, he will in effect display seven times ten million.

2.1121“I will now teach the rite of communion whereby the reality of the lives to come is revealed [Tvi.203] and the magical activity of Amoghapāśa can be plainly seen. This rite reveals the true state of one’s body and mind, and it will instantly demonstrate the miraculous power of Amoghapāśa whether it is performed in front of a king, in the midst of his harem, or [A.89.b] in a great crowd or a great assembly, a congregation of monks, a group of people, a society of scholars versed in the four modes of knowledge, a gathering of ascetics or brahmins or kṣatriyas‍—be they women, men, boys, or girls‍—or a gathering of vaiśyas or śūdras.

2.1122“They will see, before their very eyes, their deaths and births beyond their current life‍—those of the past, present, and future‍—as well as their good and bad karma and its fruits. They will see whether their death and subsequent rebirth will be auspicious; whether they will be born into riches and power or into poverty; whether they will be born as a king or in any of the thirty-two abodes with their celestial enjoyments; whether they will be reborn as Śakra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Maheśvara or as a nāga, preta, yakṣa, rākṣasa, or guhyaka. It will be fully revealed whether they are destined for a terrible rebirth in hell, including even the farthest reaches of the Avīci hell. They will clearly see, as if in front of their eyes, their rebirths in a family of brahmins or kṣatriyas, or in any other family. Through the power of the Lord of the World, all the results of their worldly karma will appear to them clearly in a summary revelation.

2.1123“They will get a true picture of their minor and great victories and their prosperous existences, as well as times of plenty and times of famine, pestilence, misfortune, assault by foreign or domestic armies, and attack by opponents and adversaries. [F.171.a] They will see whether their lives will be long or short, whether they will be healthy or diseased. They will see excessive rainfalls, droughts, untimely rains, their power and influence or lack thereof, their good or bad fortune, their acquisitions and losses, their obtainment of money and grain, the increases or decreases thereof, and any related famines. They will see any saṃsāric karma that is unfolding for them, their good and bad deeds, their virtue and nonvirtue, and the fluctuations thereof. They will see auspicious and inauspicious births, whether they will obtain a son or a daughter, and whether a son will be good or bad, endowed with merit, or lacking it. They will see him conceived in the womb. If the rite is performed well, there is no doubt that they will truly see these facts.

2.1124“When performing this rite, there are no restrictions regarding the lunar day or the nakṣatra, nor is it relevant whether it is day or night. All that is required is mantra recitation and a bali offering. The vidyā holder should be ritually pure, thoroughly washed, [Tvi.204] and wear clean clothes. He should speak the truth, cultivate loving thoughts, and obey his teacher. He should consume food and drink that is pure, and he should avoid defiled foods as well as alcohol, meat, foods that contain onions, garlic, red onions, and stale food. In this way, the practitioner who seeks excellence will accomplish this rite and will see everything in front his eyes. He should abide by his vows and should not disdain anyone or treat them disrespectfully, especially behind their back. This is the most important instruction, the supreme instruction given by the lokeśvara Lord himself.

2.1125“He should procure a silver mirror that is round in shape and sixteen fingers wide. It should be placed on a lotus base made of copper and then mounted on a stand that extends one cubit above the mirror. Using either silver or gold, he should make a figure of Noble Avalokiteśvara-Amoghapāśa [F.171.b] that is four fingers tall and has four arms that hold a trident, noose, lotus, and jewel in their hands. The figure should be clean and polished to a shine. The vidyā holder should put relics inside it, place it upon the lotus seat, and offer camphor and musk to it. He should place rows of silver and golden flowers inlaid with various jewels around the mirror.

2.1126“He should then incant the mirror with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa, reciting it one hundred and eight times every day at the three junctions of the day. He should then consecrate the mirror with the mantra of Krodharāja. When he has reached the number one thousand and eight, the mirror will blaze with light [A.90.a] of different colors that combine into a single blaze. The figure of the Lokeśvara will ooze divine water and radiate light. The vidyā holder will get goose bumps of excitement, and his body will emit light. He will attain the accomplishment called amogha purity of joy, which is the heart essence of this rite, and his body will become immaculately pure. At this stage he will exhibit the ability to produce magical displays of Amoghapāśa for the entire world to see.

2.1127“Next, the vidyā holder should build a four-cornered maṇḍala using clay and cow dung. It should be four cubits wide and two cubits high, and it should be smooth and wiped clean. Using a measuring thread, he should divide the maṇḍala into sections of different colors. He should demarcate the four doors and, [Tvi.205] in the inner area, delineate a circular lotus with one hundred and eight petals, each distinguished by its skillfully applied colors. The lotus should be complete with stamens and the orb of the pericarp. He should surround the lotus by drawing a square veranda adorned with various jewels.

2.1128“In the four corners of the veranda he should draw the Four Great Kings wearing cuirasses and coats of mail, their fierce appearance inspiring fear. [F.172.a] At the points midway between the corners of the veranda he should draw the deities Īśvara, Maheśvara, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera, Kumāra, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, and Indra, as well as the deities Vajrapāṇi, Ekajaṭā, Tārā, Śvetā, Bhṛkuṭī, and Vajradūtī. They should all be drawn in their various distinctive colors, adorned with every ornament and holding various colorful flowers. Outside the veranda and surrounding it on all sides, the vidyā holder should draw a row of tridents, a row of vajras, and a row of lotuses.

2.1129“In the inner zone between the three rows, at the four corners and the middle points between them, he should draw, respectively, the eight goddesses Bhīmā, Anaupamyā, Vāsantī, Śrī, Sarasvatī, Pṛthivī, Śaṅkhinī, and Puṣpadantī, each adorned with every ornament and holding a dish of various flowers and jewels. In the outer zone between the three rows smeared with various fragrances such as white sandalwood and saffron, he should offer various kinds of worship using substances such as camphor and musk. He should adorn the entire maṇḍala with five-colored streamers, banners, arrows, and archways. He should arrange four silver vessels filled with flour cakes, another four filled with the three ‘white’ foods, and another four filled with argha water for the feet. Another eight vessels should be filled with bali articles of various flavors.

2.1130“He should add an assortment of fruits and other bali articles of food and drink, including a silver vessel with various fragrances and scented oils. He should fill eight silver incense holders with various types of incense, such as sandalwood, agarwood, olibanum, camphor, musk, saffron, sal tree resin, and frankincense, and then light them. He should strew flowers made of silver, copper, and gold around the inner maṇḍala, and any available flowers around the outer maṇḍala. [Tvi.206] [F.172.b] He should also surround the maṇḍala with garlands. He should then place the well-adorned mirror facing east upon the lotus pericarp in the center of the maṇḍala, among the lotus filaments.

2.1131“The vidyā holder should then purify himself ritually, wash thoroughly, and put on clean clothes. Having done all the required preparations for the maṇḍala, he should sit cross-legged opposite the mirror and recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa. [A.90.b] After completing one hundred and eight recitations, he should consecrate the mirror with the mantra of Krodharāja. As soon as the vidyā holder consecrates it, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear in person in the mirror, clearly visible to everyone, in the midst of a great assembly. From the mirror, he will congratulate the vidyā holder: ‘Good! It is good, O great vidyā holder! You can see everything, as it truly is, actually present in this marvelous mirror of mine. This is the excellent result of your worldly and supramundane actions. Thoroughly purified, you have attained, vidyā holder, the unexcelled supramundane path. This is a great result indeed! You have accomplished the essence of Amoghapāśa by following the practice procedure that is at once worldly and supramundane, one that relies on the ritual involving the maṇḍala and the mudrās. Please choose a boon, O vidyā holder, and I will grant it in full; it can be worldly or supramundane.’

2.1132“The vidyā holder should then state the boon he would like, and Noble Avalokiteśvara will grant it instantly and in full. All the beings gathered in that assembly‍—women, men, boys, girls, ascetics, brahmins, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, and kings with their ministers, advisers, priests, and harem, regardless of whether they possess merit, [F.173.a] have pure hearts, have wrong views, have fallen into various hells in the blindness of their ignorance, are destined for rebirth in the Avīci hell after committing the five acts of immediate retribution, have slandered the noble ones, or have opposed the true Dharma‍—will see the real Noble Avalokiteśvara, who will converse with each of them, comfort them, and tell them what good or bad karma they have and how it will ripen for them. No such explanation will be given to the vile thieves of vidyās, the degraded individuals who spurn the vidyās, or those who want to hear the vidyās but lack faith‍—they will be excluded. Instead, they will see the painful results of their own karma ripening for them.

2.1133“At that time, all the beings in that great assembly who harbor particular wishes, [Tvi.207] whether worldly or supramundane, will see the results according to their merit or lack thereof. They will see all the buddha fields with their tathāgatas. They will see the individual forms of the great tathāgatas, along with their temples and palaces. They will see the palaces on Potala Mountain and the magical displays of the Blessed One. They will see the palace, surrounded by devas and nāgas, where Noble Avalokiteśvara stays with his retinue. They will see all the good and bad that will happen, such as abundance or famine, disease and pestilence, short or long lifespans, and the danger of assault by one’s own or foreign armies, as well as the subsequent victories or defeats. They will see whether they will perish or live.

2.1134“They will see all calamities such as excessive rain, [F.173.b] untimely rain, drought, hurricanes, and cold and hot spells. They will see their acquired wealth, any loss or increase thereof, and the increase of their stores of grain, flowers, or fruits. They will see any forthcoming dangers from thieves, bandits, poison, weapons, or kings, as well as any dangers from yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, ḍākinīs, or apasmāras. They will see all of this. They will see any great treasure troves. They will see their demise and subsequent rebirth. They will see if they will obtain a son, a village, a town, a district, a province, or a wife. They will see all of this. This should not be denied or subject to doubt or uncertainty. Instead, this rite should be performed with all care, in the spirit of utmost faith and respect. [A.91.a]

2.1135“This concludes the practice procedure of the maṇḍala of liberation of Amoghapāśa.” [Tvii.44]

2.1136Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, said to the Blessed One, “Look, O Blessed One! The bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara has taught the heart essence of Amoghapāśa that includes ritual prescriptions, worship, maṇḍalas, mudrās, and cloth paintings. It is very deep, difficult to fathom, vast, and difficult to accomplish. Many maṇḍalas, mudrās, mantras, and paintings have been made widely known, but please dispel my ignorance further, O Blessed One! There are infinite rites that are as deep as a great ocean and as high as Mount Sumeru. Illusion-like, they are also like the smallest particle. They match the extent of the Tathāgata’s knowledge, are beyond calculation and comparison, and are infinite and limitless. Their number is infinite, and so is their scope. The scope of these rites is inconceivable, [F.174.a] and so are the domains of the devas, nāgas, and other beings. The domain of the tathāgatas is inconceivable, as is the range of their vision and the scope of their knowledge. There is, O Blessed One, no beginning, no middle, and no end to the knowledge of the bodhisattvas or to the domain of Māra .

2.1137“So how am I to understand all this, O Blessed One? Which practice procedure will lead me to success most effectively? What mantra, what mudrā, and what maṇḍala should I use? Which mudrās should I draw, and which should I form with my hands? Which incense mixture should I use? Which ointment for the eyes, and which pill? Which incense should I burn, and which cloth painting should I use? Which root mantra, which heart mantra, and which auxiliary heart mantra should I recite? Which wrathful mantras, which violent mantras, and which peaceful mantras should I employ? Which mantras among the one-, two-, three-, four-, five-, six-, seven-, eight-, nine-, or ten-syllable mantras? How should I observe the ritual fast? What should my daily and nightly routine be?

2.1138“How should I perform the ablutions, and how should I dress? How should I bind the directions, and how should I bind the maṇḍala? [Tvii.45] How should I tie the topknot? How should I perform the protection rite for myself and for others? How should I perform the protection for my assistants and disciples? How should I cause the deity to enter, how should I greet it, and how should I circumambulate it? How should I offer argha water for the feet, and how should I offer a bali, flowers, incense, fragrances, and lamps? [F.174.b] How should I ritually sip water? How should I offer food? How can I summon the deity from anywhere? How can I invite it? How can I make requests to it in my dreams? How should I perform the homa ritual? How should I perform the rites for pacifying, nourishing, and assault?

2.1139“What is the noose, what is the vajra, and what is the lotus? How can I dismiss the deity? Which deities should I not approach? I do not know these things, O Blessed One! What kinds of signs and omens will be conveyed? To whom, O Blessed One, shall I pass on the practice procedures? How, O Blessed One, shall I induce beings during the final time, in the final period, to follow the instructions? To whom shall I grant the accomplishment? How will I rescue sentient beings? I am confused, O Blessed One, about this. In my intellectual helplessness, I am unable to understand. Please give me, O Blessed One, [A.91.b] an accurate description of these things. I have doubts, O Blessed One; please remove my doubts.”

2.1140The blessed Tathāgata Śākyamuni, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha, listened to the questions that were asked and replied to Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general: “Good! It is good, Vajrapāṇi, that you have asked these questions that are so difficult to answer! You conduct your inquiry to gain intellectual confidence. You are compassionate. You ask questions, Vajrapāṇi, for the benefit of all beings. You do this for the sake of all the vidyā holders’ supreme accomplishment. Your inquiry, Vajrapāṇi, is wonderful and extraordinary; it is equivalent to the illusion-like samādhi. This inquiry, Vajrapāṇi, refers to the heart essence of Amoghapāśa, namely to the procedures found in his great sovereign ritual. [Tvii.46] This essence is as deep as the great ocean; [F.175.a] it is difficult to fathom. It is impossible, Vajrapāṇi, to count the water drops in the great ocean, and similarly, Vajrapāṇi, it is impossible to grasp the measure and scale of the inner essence of Amoghapāśa.

2.1141“It is possible, Vajrapāṇi, to count the specks of dust that cover Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, down to the last one. It is possible to stand on top of Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, and to establish oneself there if that is one’s wish. But it is impossible to grasp the extent of the rituals that originate from the heart essence of Amoghapāśa: they are vast, difficult to fathom, and deep. It is impossible, Vajrapāṇi, to fathom the thoughts and knowledge of any of the past, present, and future tathāgatas, nor is it possible to grasp the extent of the rituals that originate from the heart essence of Amoghapāśa. That heart essence, Vajrapāṇi, is illusion-like. That which is samādhi is the noose.

2.1142“Magically creating things through the illusion-like samādhi, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, appears to beings in all possible forms, taking a variety of shapes, colors, characteristics, and configurations. He does this to rescue all sentient beings and to bestow the supreme accomplishment upon all vidyā holders. He permeates everything, blending as water blends with milk, and spreads his great love and compassion impartially. He pulls beings in with his noose and rescues them from the ocean of suffering. He establishes them in the vajra maṇḍala, the dry land of the immortals. As soon as they recollect him and say his name, he runs to and impartially saves all beings everywhere, regardless of whether they are of low, high, or medium position, of low or high birth, or whether they are hell beings, animals, denizens of the world of Yama, or any other type of being. [F.175.b]

2.1143“He never gets tired, weary, or discouraged. He visits the abodes of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, apasmāras, and pretas, as well as the realms of Yama and down to the subterranean paradises. He travels as far as the peak of saṃsāric existence and the farthest reaches of the Avīci hell. With his mind focused one-pointedly, he circles as far as the realm of Akaniṣṭha and saves all devas, nāgas, and so forth, down to the animals‍—female and male, young and old. Like the sun with its rays, he completely dispels the darkness of ignorance. He illuminates every part of Jambudvīpa equally. In this manner, the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, illuminates all places out of his great compassion. [Tvii.47] He is equally present everywhere, and he liberates from all suffering, including physical pain, fear, terror, disease, grief, and bondage. He liberates beings from the suffering of birth, old age, and death [A.92.a] and establishes them on the path that invariably leads to all the different paradises and so forth.

2.1144“In this way, filled with great compassion and love, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara travels everywhere without distinction and impartially saves all beings. In all places he impartially establishes them on the path to awakening. He provides refuge to all these beings with the same dedication. In this way, Vajrapāṇi, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being, with his great steadfastness, fortitude, and perseverance, works for the benefit of all practitioners and all beings. [F.176.a] As the great guide of beings, he leads them away from the path of great terror and establishes them on the auspicious path of well-being and happiness. He does not harbor any concepts or doubts, never experiences a change of heart, and never regrets anything.”

2.1145Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general, heard this account of the great qualities of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, from the Blessed One and became elated with joy and happiness. Expressing his joy and contentment, he said to [Noble Avalokiteśvara], “Wonderful, lokeśvara-protector! Wonderful, lokeśvara-teacher! May all beings escape unhappy destinies through this proclamation of your qualities!” He further described the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara: “He is the teacher of the world! Here is the grandfather of the world! He is the lord who ferries beings beyond this world! O Sage , you are like the daytime sun!”

2.1146The Blessed Śākyamuni said, “It is as you say, Vajrapāṇi. Now go, Vajrapāṇi, and address your questions, so eloquently phrased, to the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great being worthy of praise! He will explain the true nature and the core reality of things as they really are. He will show you how to accomplish the practices taught in the manual of rites of Amoghapāśa. He will give you the instructions.”

2.1147Vajrapāṇi, the great yakṣa general who follows the most profound conduct with the courage of a lion, took some immaculate flowers that were as bright as the moon, brandished his vajra, moved close to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, [Tvii.48] bowed his head at the feet of Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, [F.176.b] circumambulated him three times, and offered him the immaculate flowers that were as bright as the moon.

2.1148Then, kneeling on his right knee, he addressed Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, as follows: “ Lord ! I am steeped in ignorance. My mind wanders and my intellect is limited. This heart essence of Amoghapāśa, however, is very vast. There are many mantras and mudrās in it, along with practice procedures that involve a painting. I do not know which mantra I should use at the beginning, which mantra in the middle, and which mantra at the end. I do not know which mantra is the root mantra, which is the heart mantra, which is the auxiliary heart mantra, and so forth up to and including the ten-syllable mantra. I do not know how the maṇḍala is to be constructed and how the painting is to be drawn. Please, Lord , elucidate these things!”

2.1149Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being, feeling compassion for Vajrapāṇi, took from him the immaculate flowers that were as bright as the moon and threw them into the sky as an offering for the Blessed One. As soon as he threw them, they formed the shape of a wheel above the Blessed One’s fontanelle. The wheel rose high above the earth, its diameter expanding to five hundred leagues and reaching as far up as the Akaniṣṭha heaven. It had a supporting pillar made of blue beryl, was hung with bells made with gold from the Jambu river, [A.92.b] and had silk streamers attached underneath. Its circular shape, well formed and perfectly round, was blazing with light. The light was brighter than one hundred thousand million suns; it was exceedingly pure, pristine, and immaculate.