Introduction
i.1The Dhāraṇī “Tārā’s Own Promise” is, as the title suggests, framed as a promise made by the goddess Tārā. Tārā, whose name can be translated as “Savior,” is revered in diverse Buddhist communities as a deity who quickly responds to the needs of all in the face of worldly and spiritual dangers.
i.1《度母自身的誓願》陀羅尼如其名所示，乃是由度母女神所做的誓願。度母，其名字可翻譯為「救度者」，在多個佛教社群中受到尊崇，被尊為一位面對世間和精神危難時，能夠快速回應眾生需求的女神。
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 worship and practice of the deity Tārā was introduced to Tibet as early as the seventh century via a sandalwood statue brought by the Nepalese princess Bhṛkuṭī 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 Atīśa.
i.2度母的信仰在印度可以追溯到至少第六世紀，自那時以來，這位女神在佛教萬神殿中的地位不斷提高。藏族歷史記載，度母神祇的崇拜和修持在第七世紀就通過尼泊爾公主畢瑞枯底作為嫁給藏族國王松贊干布的嫁妝帶來的檀香木雕像傳入了藏地。雖然在後來的幾個世紀中有少數經典專門用於翻譯度母的著作，但據認為度母的信仰直到十一世紀才在藏地真正扎根，當時著名佛學家阿底峽積極推廣了度母的修持。
i.3The Dhāraṇī “Tārā’s Own Promise” can be divided into two parts: the dhāraṇī and a statement of its benefits. The dhāraṇī itself was not translated into Tibetan but was instead preserved in transliterated Sanskrit. The Tibetan text lacks a colophon, so the Tibetan translators and editors of the dhāraṇī remain unidentified.
i.3《度母自誓陀羅尼》可以分為兩個部分：陀羅尼本身和對其功德利益的說明。陀羅尼本身並未被翻譯成藏文，而是以音譯的梵文形式保存下來。藏文文本缺少祖卷題記，因此該陀羅尼的藏文譯者和編者身份至今不詳。
i.4This work is cataloged in the Degé Kangyur as part of a cycle of eight Kriyātantra (bya rgyud) texts (Toh 724–731) dedicated to the goddess Tārā. The dhāraṇī recorded here is also preserved in Butön Rinchen Drup’s (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) Dhāraṇī Collection (gzungs bsdus) from his Collected Works (gsung ’bum), and is found in a short Sanskrit ritual manual collected in the Sādhanamālā and preserved in Tibetan translation as The Instructions on the Ritual of Blessed Āryatārā from the Essence of Amitābha Tantra (Amitābhagarbhatantre bhagavatyāryatārāyāḥ kalpoddeśaḥ, Toh 3501). The colophon to the Tibetan translation states that this dhāraṇī is an extract from The Supreme Vajra Tantra (rdo rje mchog gi brgyud), while the colophon to Toh 3501 and the Sanskrit witness in the Sādhanamālā state that it comes from the Amitābhagarbhatantra. There are, however, no extant texts with either of these titles.
i.4這部作品在德格版《大藏經》中被編目為專門供奉度母女神的八部事部續論文獻之一（Toh 724–731）。此處記錄的陀羅尼也保存在布頓·仁欽竹（1290–1364）的《陀羅尼集》（出自其《全集》）中，並在《成就法集》中發現一份簡短的梵文儀軌手冊，以藏文翻譯形式保存為《無量壽經精髓中聖度母祝福儀軌教導》（Toh 3501）。藏文翻譯的題記指出此陀羅尼摘自《金剛頂續》，而Toh 3501的題記及《成就法集》中的梵文文本聲稱其來自《無量壽經本體續》。然而，現存沒有任何具有這兩個名稱的文獻。
i.5In attempting to establish the text of the dhāraṇī presented here, we have consulted the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur and Butön’s Dhāraṇī Collection. The texts preserved in the Sādhanamālā edition and in the Tengyur are generally similar to each other, but they differ in a few significant ways from the dhāraṇī found in the present text. Our own rendering, therefore, is based on the best available Kangyur readings but also includes conjectures informed by the Sādhanamālā text and related Sanskrit manuscripts. The English translation of the verses following the dhāraṇī are based on the Tibetan version in the Degé Kangyur collection, in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur.
i.5在建立本文所呈現的陀羅尼文本時，我們查閱了《比較版大藏經》和布頓的《陀羅尼集》。《成就法集》版本和《丹珠爾》中保存的文本彼此大致相似，但在幾個重要方面與本文所載的陀羅尼存在差異。因此，我們的譯文以現存最佳的《大藏經》讀本為基礎，同時也參考了《成就法集》文本和相關梵文手稿所提供的推測。陀羅尼之後的詩句英文翻譯基於德格版《大藏經》的藏文版本，並參考了《比較版大藏經》中記錄的異文。