Introduction

i.1The Dhāraṇī of Tārā is a short recitation formula that invokes the deity Tārā for the purpose of dispelling obstacles and pacifying negative forces. As suggested by her name, which can be translated as “Savior,” Tārā is revered as a deity who quickly responds in the face of worldly and spiritual dangers, and she is commonly invoked for this purpose by diverse communities of Buddhists.

i.1《度母陀羅尼》是一部簡短的誦經文，用來祈求度母本尊消除障礙和平息負面力量。如同她的名字所暗示的一樣，度母可以翻譯為「救度者」，她被尊崇為一位在面臨世間和精神危險時能迅速回應的本尊，許多不同的佛教社群都常常為了這個目的而祈請她。

i.2The worship of Tārā in India can be traced back to at least the sixth century, and since that time the goddess has gained increasingly important status in the Buddhist pantheon. Tibetan histories recount that the worship and practice of Tārā was introduced to Tibet as early as the seventh century via a sandalwood statue brought by the Nepalese princess Bhṛkutī as dowry for her marriage to the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. While a few texts dedicated to Tārā were translated in the following centuries, it is believed that the worship of Tārā did not take firm root in Tibet until the eleventh century, when it was actively promoted by Atiśa.

i.2度母在印度的供奉可以追溯至少到公元六世紀，自那時以來，女神在佛教諸神中的地位日益重要。藏傳佛教歷史記載，度母的供奉與修行最早在七世紀時由尼泊爾公主毗俱底作為嫁給藏王松贊干布的嫁妝帶來的檀香木聖像而傳入西藏。雖然在隨後的幾個世紀中有少數關於度母的文獻被翻譯，但人們普遍認為度母的供奉直到十一世紀才在西藏牢固扎根，當時阿底峽大力推廣了度母的修行。

i.3The Dhāraṇī of Tārā begins with an homage to the Three Jewels and Avalokiteśvara. This is followed by the main dhāraṇī, which was not translated into Tibetan but preserved in transliterated Sanskrit. The Tibetan text lacks a colophon, so the Tibetan translators and editors of the dhāraṇī remain unidentified.

i.3《度母陀羅尼》以向三寶和觀世音菩薩頂禮開始。隨後是主要的陀羅尼，這個陀羅尼沒有被翻譯成藏文，而是以音譯的梵文形式保存下來。藏文文本缺少跋文，因此該陀羅尼的藏文譯者和編輯仍然未被確認。

i.4As cataloged in the Degé Kangyur, this dhāraṇī is part of a cycle of eight Kriyātantra (bya rgyud) texts (Toh 724–731) dedicated to Tārā. The same formula recorded in The Dhāraṇī of Tārā is also included in Tārā Who Protects from the Eight Dangers, a number of Tengyur texts dedicated to Tārā, and Butön Rinchen Drup’s (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) Dhāraṇī Collection (gzungs bsdus) from his Collected Works (gsung ’bum). The dhāraṇī appears to be the main dhāraṇī of the form of Tārā known as Vajratārā, as confirmed by its use in sādhanas dedicated to Vajratārā preserved in the Tengyur and the Sādhanamālā. It is not known if the dhāraṇī circulated independently, or if it was extracted and preserved separately as The Dhāraṇī of Tārā because of its prestige and widespread incorporation into other texts and practice manuals.

i.4在德格版大藏經的編目中，這部陀羅尼是獻給度母的八部事續文獻（Toh 724–731）的一個循環系統的一部分。《度母陀羅尼》中記錄的相同真言也包含在《救度八難度母》、多部丹珠爾中獻給度母的文獻，以及布敦仁欽朱（西元1290–1364年）《陀羅尼總集》（出自其《文集》）中。根據丹珠爾和《成就法總集》中保存的獻給金剛度母的成就法的使用情況來看，這部陀羅尼似乎是金剛度母這一度母形態的主要陀羅尼。目前尚不清楚這部陀羅尼最初是否獨立流傳，或者是因為其聲譽顯著以及被廣泛納入其他文獻和修習手冊而被單獨提取並保存為《度母陀羅尼》。

i.5The transcription and translation of the dhāraṇī below takes the Degé Kangyur as the primary witness, which was compared with versions recorded in other Kangyur collections, as well as the above-mentioned Tibetan and Sanskrit sources.

i.5以下的陀羅尼抄錄與翻譯以德格版大藏經為主要文本依據，並與其他大藏經版本中記載的版本，以及上述的藏文和梵文資料進行了對比。