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74-573: The dhāraṇī is thought to have originally been a recitation of names and attributes of Harihara (a composite form of the Hindu gods Vishnu and Shiva ; Nīlakaṇṭha 'the blue-necked one' is a title of Shiva) said to have been recited by Avalokiteśvara , who was sometimes portrayed as introducing popular non-Buddhist deities (e.g. Hayagriva , Cundi ) into the Buddhist pantheon by reciting their dhāraṇīs. Over time, these deities became considered to be

148-591: A child, and at his request the monastery was granted an Imperial Plaque which was installed above the entrance to the main assembly hall. In 1757, went to Tibet In 1760, returned to China In 1763, Father died Trouble with the Bönpo in In 1792, Qianlong, who had been the generous patron, friend and dedicated student of Rölpé Dorjé, sought to assure his Chinese subjects that foreign priests exercised no influence over him. His Pronouncements on Lamas (Lama Shuo) preserved in

222-463: A commitment to practice daily, which he kept despite his busy schedule" In 1745, after Rölpé Dorjé completed a retreat, the Qianlong emperor asked him for the tantric teachings and empowerment (abhisheka) of his yidam , Chakrasamvara . As the disciple and requester of the abhisheka, the emperor had to gather all the necessary materials and equipment. Rölpé Dorjé conferred on the emperor abhisheka

296-399: A lotus ; the first left (arm) holds a wheel , (and) the second left (arm) holds a conch . " (Wearing) a tiger skin as his lower garment, a black antelope skin is draped diagonally from his left shoulder, and a black serpent is his sacred thread. Standing on an eight-petaled lotus, the effulgence of necklaces, armlets and ornaments adorn his body; his sacred thread hangs diagonally from

370-599: A monk from western India named Bhagavaddharma ( Chinese : 伽梵達摩 ; pinyin : Jiāfàndámó , birth and death dates unknown) between 650 and 660 CE. Twelve scrolls of Nīlakaṇṭha Lokeśvara texts in Chinese were found at Dunhuang along the Silk Road in today's Gansu province of China . One of the texts contains a colophon at the end: "Translated at Khotan by the śramaṇa Bhagavaddharma of Western India" (西天竺伽梵達摩沙門於于闐譯). The milieu of this transliteration

444-556: A number of titles associated with the Hindu gods Vishnu (e.g. Hare , Narasiṃha -mukha , gadā- / cakra- / padma-hastā 'the wielder of the mace / discus / lotus') and Shiva (e.g. Nīlakaṇṭha 'the blue-necked one', Śaṅkara , kṛṣṇa-sarpopavita 'the one who has a black serpent as a sacred thread '), suggesting that Nīlakaṇṭha was in origin Harihara - a fusion of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) - assimilated into Buddhism. This

518-441: A place in Buddhist scriptures and ritual. Eventually, however, these deities came to be identified as different forms or manifestations of the bodhisattva himself. Thus Avalokiteśvara gradually took on forms, attributes and titles originally ascribed to Shiva and/or to Vishnu such as sahasra-bhuja , sahasra-netra ('thousand-eyed'), Īśvara , Maheśvara , Hari , or Nīlakaṇṭha . The emergence of Avalokiteśvara's thousand-armed form

592-472: A tathāgata. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a pratyekabuddha to beings who are to be taught by a pratyekabuddha. He teaches the Dharma in the form of an arhat to beings who are to be taught by an arhat. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a bodhisattva to beings who are to be taught by a bodhisattva. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Maheśvara to beings who are to be taught by Maheśvara. He teaches

666-676: A tetraglot (Chinese, Manchu, Mongol, and Tibetan) inscription at the Yonghe Temple in Beijing, Qianlong defends his patronage of the "Yellow Hat" (Gelug) sect from his Chinese critics by claiming that his support had simply been expedient: "By patronizing the Yellow Sect we maintain peace among the Mongols. This being an important task we cannot but protect this (religion). (In doing so) we do not show any bias, nor do we wish to adulate

740-420: A virtuous family! If there is any land where sentient beings are to be saved by the form of a buddha, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of a buddha. ... To those who are to be saved by the form of Brahma, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Brahma. To those who are to be saved by the form of Śakra , he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into

814-645: A womb, but am always transformed from a lotus." After giving this explanation, he then calls upon anyone who wants to keep this dhāraṇī to give rise to the thought of compassion for all sentient beings by making the following ten vows after him. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly learn all Dharma. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily obtain the eye of wisdom. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly save all sentient beings. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily obtain skillful means . Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly sail on

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888-475: Is evident from Bhagavaddharma's rendering of the word Nīlakaṇṭha as 'Narakindi' ( Chinese : 那囉謹墀 ; pinyin : Nàluōjǐnchí ), a Central Asian form of the Sanskrit word. Other notable Chinese versions of the dhāraṇī include: In addition, there are texts bearing the "Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara" title, but which feature a completely different dhāraṇī within the text. At least three versions of

962-544: Is linked with the interiorisation of Shiva into the bodhisattva as Viśvarūpa . The dhāraṇī of 'Nīlakaṇṭha' (i.e. Harihara - Vishnu and Shiva - later conflated with Avalokiteśvara) became attached to the sahasra-bhuja Avalokiteśvara (of which Harihara was the prototype), so that the thousand-armed form became seen as a bestower of royal authority, a trait carried over from Nīlakaṇṭha/Harihara. Indeed, in Sri Lanka, Tibet and Southeast Asia, Avalokiteśvara became associated with

1036-762: Is more explicit in the longer version of the dhāraṇī, where Nīlakaṇṭha is invoked with more names and epithets associated with the two gods such as Tripūra-dahaneśvara 'the Lord ( Īśvara ) who destroyed / burnt down Tripūra ' (Shiva) or Padmanābha 'lotus-naveled' (Vishnu), as well as a short description of the iconography of Nīlakaṇṭha Avalokiteśvara in Amoghavajra's version (T. 1111), which combines elements from depictions of Shiva and Vishnu. 次當說此青頸觀自在菩薩畫像法。 其像三面。當前正面作慈悲凞怡貌。右邊作師子面。左邊作猪面。 首戴寶冠。冠中有化無量壽佛。 又有四臂。右第一臂執杖。第二臂執把蓮花。左第一執輪。左第二執螺。 以虎皮為裙。以黑鹿皮於左膊角絡。被黑蛇以為神線。 於八葉蓮花上立。瓔珞臂釧鐶珮光焰莊嚴其身。其神線從左膊角絡下。 "Next, I shall explain here

1110-501: Is portrayed as pronouncing the dhāraṇī, but is not (yet) identified with Nīlakaṇṭha. As late as the 15th century, the tradition knew at least that Avalokiteśvara is the dhāraṇī's locutor, as is clear from a Chinese manual of the liturgical service of the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara, presented to the Oriental scholar Samuel Beal by the monks of Hoi Tong Monastery (a.k.a. Hai Chwang Temple) on Henan Island . Its preface, authored by

1184-486: Is the Hindu practice of congregational chanting of the names and other sacred expressions associated with a given deity. More commonly practised by members of the Vaishnava tradition, the namasamkirtana is characterised by devotees chanting the names of God in a religious gathering, in an expression of bhakti (devotion) and in a bid to achieve devotional ecstasy. This practice is regarded to have become popularised by

1258-479: Is thought to be due to its relative simplicity compared to other versions: while other sūtras on the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara contained detailed rules on how to visualize and depict this form of the bodhisattva, the very lack of such instructions in Bhagavaddharma's text might have contributed to its democratic appeal for ordinary people. In addition, Bhagavaddharma's version is the only one that contained

1332-545: The British Library ) dating from around the 8th century containing the longer version of the dhāraṇī (Or.8212/175) in both late Brahmi and Sogdian scripts was discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang and published by Robert Gauthiot and Louis de La Vallée-Poussin in 1912. The dhāraṇī's title is given in this manuscript as 1 LPw δsty ʾʾryʾβṛʾwkδʾyšβr nyṛknt nʾm tʾrny "the dhāraṇī of

1406-532: The 7th Dalai Lama to Lhasa . This trip gave Rölpé Dorjé the opportunity to study with the Dalai Lama as well as to make offerings at Lhasa's major monasteries and to present gifts from the emperor. In 1735 Changkya and the Dalai Lama went on to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse to pay his respect to Lobsang Yeshe, 5th Panchen Lama (1663-1737), where he took both his initial and final monastic vows under

1480-478: The Dharma-Body . If I face a mountain of knives, may it naturally crumble, if I face a roaring fire, may it naturally burn out, if I face hell, may it naturally disappear, if I face a hungry ghost , may it naturally be satiated, if I face an Asura , may its evil heart gradually become tame and, if I face an animal, may it naturally obtain great wisdom. After making such vows, one should then sincerely call

1554-508: The Ming emperor Yongle , says thus: It is reported by Kwan Tseu Tsai Bodhisattva, prompted by her great compassionate heart has engaged herself by a great oath to enter into every one of the innumerable worlds, and bring deliverance to all creatures who inhabit them. For this purpose she has enunciated the Divine sentences which follow, if properly recited, will render all creatures exempt from

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1628-837: The Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735-1796). He also took an interest in Chinese Buddhism and thought that their principle philosophical views had close similarities with those of the Yogachara ( Tibetan : སེམས་ཙམ་པ ) school. He was also apparently the one who came up with the notion that Dampa Sangye , the Indian founder of the Pacification ( Tibetan : ཞི་བྱེད། , Wylie : zhi byed , THL : Zhijé ) school in Tibet who supposedly also visited China, and Bodhidharma were

1702-595: The Tiruppavai of Andal . Changkya R%C3%B6lp%C3%A9 Dorj%C3%A9 Changkya Rölpé Dorjé (1717-1786) was a principal Tibetan Buddhist teacher in the Qing court , a close associate of the Qianlong Emperor of China , and an important intermediary between the imperial court and Inner Asia . He also oversaw the translation of the Tibetan Buddhist canon into Classical Mongolian and Manchu . He also

1776-461: The prajñā boat. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily cross over the ocean of suffering. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly obtain the way of discipline and meditation. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily ascend the nirvāṇa mountain. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I quickly enter the house of non-action. Namaḥ Avalokiteśvara of Great Compassion, may I speedily achieve

1850-564: The sahasra-bhuja Avalokiteśvara from the Tang period on, though previously it was used in other sūtras to describe Avalokiteśvara in general. Bhagavaddharma's text begins with Śākyamuni Buddha in Avalokiteśvara's palace on the island Potalaka about to preach to a congregation of bodhisattvas , arhats , devas and other beings. Suddenly there is a great illumination and the three thousand realms become golden in color, shaking all over while

1924-518: The thousand-armed ( sahasra-bhuja ) one, and became attached to Buddhist texts concerning the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara. Different versions of this dhāraṇī, of varying length, exist; the shorter version, as transliterated into Chinese characters by Indian monk Bhagavaddharma in the 7th century, enjoys a high degree of popularity in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism , especially in Chinese Buddhism , comparable to that of

1998-513: The 'Dhāraṇī of the Great Compassionate Heart' (大悲心陀羅尼呪). As soon as he heard the dhāraṇī, Avalokiteśvara - who had then been a bodhisattva of the first stage - quickly advanced to the eighth stage, and after reciting a vow, became endowed with a thousand hands and eyes: "So from that epoch long ago, I have kept the dhāraṇī. As a result, I have always been born where there is a buddha. Moreover, I have never undergone birth from

2072-613: The 'Sūtra of the Vast, Perfect, Unimpeded Great-Compassionate Heart of the Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Avalokitasvara's Dhāraṇī', made at Khotan around 650-661 CE, has made him immortal. The popularity of his version is attested by surviving Dunhuang manuscripts dated to the 8th century, some of which are excerpts of the ten great vows contained in the sūtra. In China itself, various anecdotes about miracles effected by

2146-488: The Dharma by changing himself into any of these forms." A similar statement appears in the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra: Bhagavat Śikhin replied, 'He [Avalokiteśvara] completely ripens the many beings who circle in saṃsāra, teaches them the path to enlightenment, and teaches the Dharma in whatever form a being can be taught through. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a tathāgata to beings who are to be taught by

2220-413: The Dharma in the form of Nārāyaṇa to beings who are to be taught by Nārāyaṇa. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Brahmā to beings who are to be taught by Brahmā. ... He teaches the Dharma in whatever particular form a being should be taught through. That, noble son, is how Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara completely ripens beings and teaches them the Dharma of nirvāṇa.' Despite being a latecomer among

2294-716: The Fire-Bird year (1717) in Wuwei (formerly known as Liangzhou) near Lanzhou in Gansu . At an early age he was recognized by the first Jamyang Zhépa as the incarnation of the previous Changkya Kutuktu of Gönlung Jampa Ling monastery (佑宁寺) in Amdo (now Qinghai ), one of the four great Gelug monasteries of the north. At his investiture the Kangxi Emperor sent Kachen Shérap Dargyé as his representative. In 1723, soon after

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2368-582: The Indian mainland, which could explain the dearth of Indian artifacts connected to this depiction. A thousand limbs are integral to the Indian tradition: the Puruṣa sūkta of the Ṛgveda , for instance, describes the cosmic man Puruṣa as having "a thousand heads ... a thousand eyes, a thousand feet." Notably, the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra contains a Buddhist adaptation of the Vedic Puruṣa myth, with Avalokiteśvara as

2442-556: The Panchen Lama's supervision. When Yongzheng died in 1736, Rölpé Dorjé had to give up his plans to study under the Panchen Lama and returned to Beijing. Both the Panchen Lama and Dalai Lama offered him religious statues and other significant gifts as parting presents. In 1744, the Qianlong emperor decided to transform the Yonghegong Palace in Beijing into a Gelugpa monastery as well as an Imperial Palace. This became

2516-481: The all-pervasive cosmic being from whose body springs various gods : " Āditya and Candra came from his eyes, Maheśvara came from his forehead, Brahmā came from his shoulders, Nārāyaṇa came from his heart, Devi Sarasvatī came from his canines, Vāyu came from his mouth, Dharaṇī came from his feet, and Varuṇa came from his stomach." The epithets sahasra-bāhu ('thousand-armed') or sahasra-bhuja ('thousand-handed') commonly appear in Indian literature from

2590-419: The boundary. The sūtra also offers many recipes employing the dhāraṇī to deal with various mundane problems (e.g. to ease a difficult childbirth or to cure scotophobia or snakebite) or to attain specific goals (e.g. commanding a ghost or the four guardian gods , repelling foreign invasions or natural disasters away from one's own country). The sūtra then ends by identifying the names of the forty mudrās of

2664-642: The causes of sorrow, and by removing them, render them capable of attaining Supreme Reason. During the process of transmission, however, Nīlakaṇṭha became increasingly identified with Avalokiteśvara, so that the dhāraṇī eventually became understood as being addressed to Avalokiteśvara as Nīlakaṇṭha, now considered to be one of Avalokiteśvara's various forms or manifestations - most of whom were themselves originally folk deities who were assimilated into Avalokiteśvara upon being integrated into Buddhist belief and practice (e.g. Hayagriva , Cundi , Tara or Mazu ; cf. also Shinbutsu-shūgō ). The dhāraṇī proper contains

2738-591: The death of Kangxi, the new ruler, Yongzheng (r. 1722-1735) was just establishing his authority, Mongol tribesmen claiming the succession of Güshi Khan , together with their Amdo Tibetan allies and supported by some factions within the monasteries, rose up against the Qing in the region of Kokonor. Yongzheng insisted on violent reprisals and in Amdo the Manchu army, destroyed villages and monasteries believed to have sided with

2812-540: The deity ( lokeśvara ) Nīlakaṇṭha recited by the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara: "Avalokiteśvara was responsible for introducing popular ( loka ) deities ( iśvara ) into the Buddhist pantheon by pronouncing their dhāraṇīs which averted evils to the person who obtained his wishes as soon as he recited it ( paṭhita-siddhaḥ , Dutt: text 44)." In Vajrabodhi's longer version (T. 1061), the dhāraṇī is explicitly referred to as Āryāvalokiteśvara-bhāṣitaṃ "uttered ( bhāṣita ) by noble ( ārya ) Avalokiteśvara;" at this stage, Avalokiteśvara

2886-509: The dhāraṇī is said to also result in fifteen kinds of good rebirth (e.g. being ruled by a virtuous king wherever one is born, fully endowed with money and food, can see the Buddha and listen to the Dharma in the place of birth) and the avoidance of fifteen kinds of evil deaths (e.g. suicide , death on the battlefield, death by starvation ). Avalokiteśvara then recites the dhāraṇī; the earth shakes in six ways, while precious flowers rain down from

2960-606: The eastern part of the region to Lhasa. In 1729 after the Panchen Lama sent a letter and numerous gifts to the Yongzheng emperor, Rölpé Dorjé obtained permission from the emperor for his monastery Gönlung Jampa Ling to be rebuilt. In 1732 the Panchen Lama petitioned the Emperor to enable the Seventh Dalai Lama to return to Lhasa. When the petition was granted in 1734 Rölpé Dorjé was ordered by Yongzheng to accompany

3034-399: The esoteric forms of Avalokiteśvara introduced into China, because of the promotion of his cult by the three esoteric masters ( Śubhakarasiṃha , Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra have all made translations of thousand-armed Avalokitesvara texts) and patronage by the imperial court, the sahasra-bhuja Avalokitesvara overtook and absorbed the fame of other tantric forms of the bodhisattva. Out of

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3108-508: The faithful to obtain religious merit. An abbreviated version of the sūtra, consisting of only the ten great vows recited by Avalokiteśvara within the text (see 'Summary' below) and the dhāraṇī itself, was also in circulation. Known as the 'Invocation of the Great Compassionate One' (大悲啟請 Dàbēi qǐqǐng ), this text was probably used in a liturgical setting. The reason behind the subsequent popularity of Bhagavaddharma's sūtra

3182-405: The female body and wants to become a man, he (Avalokiteśvara) will not achieve complete, perfect enlightenment, unless those who recited it were insincere, in which case they will not reap its benefits. Aside from such spiritual and mundane benefits as removing grave sins caused by heinous acts such as the five crimes or the ten evil acts or curing 84,000 kinds of illnesses, the sincere keeping of

3256-562: The five Wisdom Kings , depicted as trampling on Maheśvara - the Buddhist version of Shiva - and his consort.) The thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara's eleven heads, meanwhile, are thought to be derived from the eleven Rudras , forms and companions of Shiva ( Rudra ). Originally portrayed as a servant or acolyte of the buddha Amitābha in some of the texts which mention him, Avalokiteśvara - originally 'Avalokita(svara)' - also later came to be depicted as one who brought popular deities into Buddhism by pronouncing their hymns, thereby according them

3330-575: The five deities Chakrasamvara according to the lineage of the Indian siddha, Ghantapa. During the initiation, Rölpé Dorjé as vajra master sat on the throne and the emperor knelt to receive the initiation according to the prescriptions for disciples. The emperor offered 100 ounces of gold with a mandala (symbolizing the universe) to receive the initiation. After the initiation, Qianlong said to Rolpai Dorje, "Now you are not only my lama, you are my vajra master." In 1748, Rölpé Dorjé made his first trip back to Gönlung Jampa Ling, his monastery that he had left as

3404-435: The form of Śakra. To those who are to be saved by the form of Īśvara, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Īśvara. To those who are to be saved in the form of Maheśvara, he teaches the Dharma by changing himself into the form of Maheśvara. ... To those who are to be saved by the form of a human or of a nonhuman such as a deva , nāga , yakṣa , gandharva , asura , garuḍa , kiṃnara, or mahoraga, he teaches

3478-421: The keepers of the dhāraṇī. Like all esoteric sūtras, this sūtra shows interest in ritual matters. As part of the sādhanā or ritual requirement, detailed instructions on constructing a sacred space or boundary are provided: the dhāraṇī is to be recited twenty-one times over a particular item such as a knife, pure water, white mustard seed, clean ashes, or five colored twine, which would then be used to demarcate

3552-470: The left shoulder downward." The status of Shiva and Vishnu in the dhāraṇī follows a similar pattern to the one identified in the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra (4th-5th century CE): the two gods are repeatedly invoked one after the other, indicating that they stand in a "complementary" relationship to each other. At the same time, however, Shiva is portrayed as the dominant of the two. The first of many images of

3626-477: The longer form of the dhāraṇī exist in Tibetan . One was made in the middle of the 9th century by a translator named Chödrup ( Wylie : Chos grub ; Chinese: 法成 Fǎchéng ) supposedly from Chinese, but which does not correspond exactly to any Chinese version, being more akin to that of Vajrabodhi. Among the various versions of the dhāraṇī, it is the longest and fullest. Preceding Chödrup is an anonymous translation of

3700-424: The manner of depicting the bodhisattva Nīlakaṇṭha-Avalokiteśvara. "His figure is three-faced: in the center is fashioned a compassionate, serene face, on the right a lion's face, (and) on the left a boar's face. On his head is a crown, (and) within the crown is an emanation (i.e. an image) of the buddha Amitāyus . "In addition, he has four arms: the first right arm holds a rod , the second (right) arm grasps

3774-421: The name of Avalokiteśvara as well as the name of Amitābha Buddha , Avalokiteśvara's original teacher. Avalokiteśvara stresses the dhāraṇī's efficacy by vowing that should anyone who recites it fall into an evil realm of rebirth, or not be born into one of the buddha lands, or not attain unlimited samādhi and eloquence, or not get whatever he desires in his present life, or, in the case of a woman, if she detests

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3848-481: The names of Vishnu is regarded to be a method of salvation in the Kali Yuga . According to Gaudiya Vaishnavism , the loud chanting and singing of the name of God is regarded to be conducive to attaining salvation, since it is considered to represent a more expressive love of God and thereby constitutes a greater spiritual experience. The recitation of the names of Vishnu is a central theme of many texts, such as

3922-470: The names of Āryāvalokiteśvara-Nīlakaṇṭha with a thousand hands." The text shows a very close affinity to that found in Vajrabodhi's T. 1061 text. The dhāraṇī is followed by a short, unidentified mantra named wyspw ʾʾγδʾk δβrʾynʾk δrzyʾwr ptsrwm " hṛdaya mantra fulfilling all the wishes." According to author Lokesh Chandra (1988), the dhāraṇī in its original form was a recitation of the names of

3996-529: The rebels including in 1724 Gönlung. However the emperor ordered that the seven-year-old Changkya incarnation not be harmed but brought to China as a "guest". At the Yongzheng Emperor's court, he was raised and educated to serve as an intermediary between the seat of Manchu power and the Buddhists of Amdo, Tibet and Mongolia. Rölpé Dorjé's monastic teachers included Zhangshu Kachen Shérap Dargyé;

4070-461: The recitation of the dhāraṇī appear from the Tang dynasty onwards. As the dhāraṇī's efficacy became widely known, dhāraṇī pillars on which the dhāraṇī's text was inscribed began to be erected, the earliest of these dating from 871 CE. By the end of the period, both the sūtra text and the dhāraṇī circulated among the monks and the laity, with copies being made either as pious offerings or commissioned by

4144-486: The residence of Changkya and many other important incarnations from Amdo and Mongolia and the centre for the Qing to manage Tibetan Buddhist affairs and control local authorities in Mongolia, Amdo, Tibet and other areas which followed Tibetan Buddhism. In 1744, Qianlong also indicated to Rölpé Dorjé that he wanted to receive private religious teachings and Rölpé Dorjé first taught him the commentary on how to take refuge in

4218-636: The same person. In the late 1720s Polhané Sönam Topgyé mounted a successful campaign to take control of Tibet and the Seventh Dalai Lama was exiled, leaving Lhasa at the end of 1728. The Manchu ambans in Lhasa, representatives of the Yongzheng emperor, arranged for an invitation to the Paṇchen Lama Lozang Yéshé to travel to Lhasa, which he reluctantly did, in October 1728. Polhané granted him dominion over most of Tsang and Ngari, forcing him to cede

4292-487: The same text. A third version was made by Changkya Rölpé Dorjé (Wylie: Lcang skya Rol pa'i Rdo rje ) in the 18th century. While claimed to be a reconstruction of Zhitōng's text using a Tibetan version as a base, Changkya Rölpé Dorjé's text actually completely follows the Tibetan readings, with significant differences from Chödrup's version in a number of places, rather than Zhitōng's. A manuscript fragment (currently in

4366-508: The second Thuken Hotogtu, Ngakwang Chökyi Gyatso and Atsé Chöjé Lozang Chödzin. Changkya Rölpé Dorjé and his teachers realised that in order for the Gelug teachings to flourish in China and Manchuria they would need to be available in Chinese, Mongolian and Manchu and so he began the study of those languages. One of his fellow students was Prince Hungli, who became his friend — and eventually

4440-438: The sections on the ten great vows and the blessing of the fifteen kinds of good deaths as well as protection from fifteen kinds of bad deaths. The dhāraṇī's concrete power over death and the comprehensiveness of Avalokiteśvara's vows might have been another factor that appealed to the masses. Because of the great popularity enjoyed by this sūtra, the epithet 'Great Compassionate One' (大悲 Dàbēi ) became identified specifically with

4514-498: The shorter text and the longer text. The text currently considered to be the standard in most of East Asia is the shorter version, specifically the one found in the so-called 'Sūtra of the Vast, Perfect, Unimpeded Great-Compassionate Heart of the Thousand-Handed Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva Avalokitasvara's Dhāraṇī' ( Chinese : 千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經 ; pinyin : Qiānshǒu qiānyǎn Guānshìyīn púsà guǎngdà yuánmǎn wúài dàbēixīn tuóluóní jīng ; T. 1060 , K. 0294) translated by

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4588-507: The six-syllable mantra Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ , which is also synonymous with Avalokiteśvara. It is often used for protection or purification. In Korea , copies of the dhāraṇī are hung inside homes to bring auspiciousness. In Japan , it is especially associated with Zen , being revered and recited in Zen schools such as Sōtō or Rinzai . Various different recensions of this dhāraṇī are in existence, which can be classified into two main versions:

4662-402: The sky. As all the buddhas of the ten directions are delighted and practitioners of heterodox ways become frightened, all the assembled reach different levels of realization. Upon being asked by Mahābrahmā (大梵天王), Avalokiteśvara goes on to further explain the dhāraṇī's benefits, both spiritual and temporal, and recites a gāthā commanding various benevolent devas, nāgas and yakṣas to guard

4736-469: The state and with royalty. Classic Mahayana teaching holds that Avalokiteśvara is able to manifest in different forms according to the needs of different individuals . In the Lotus Sūtra , it is stated that Avalokiteśvara can appear in different guises - which includes that of 'Īśvara' and 'Maheśvara' - to teach the Dharma to various classes of beings. The Buddha said to Bodhisattva Akṣayamati: "O son of

4810-489: The sun and moon become dull by comparison. One of the bodhisattvas present, Dhāraṇī King (總持王菩薩), asks the Buddha why this is happening; the Buddha reveals that Avalokiteśvara secretly emitted this light "in order to comfort and please all living-beings." Avalokiteśvara then begins to speak, revealing that innumerable kalpas ago, the Thousand-light King Tathāgata of Tranquil Abode (千光王靜住如來) entrusted to him

4884-628: The thousand-armed ( sahasra-bhuja ) Avalokiteśvara - a form of the bodhisattva that would subsequently become popular in East Asia - to appear in China was presented to the Tang Emperor by a monk from central India named Guptadeva(?) (瞿多提婆, pinyin : Qúduōtípó) somewhere between 618 and 626 CE. While as of yet, no trace of this iconographic depiction has been found within India itself, the depiction must have had an Indian origin: an image of this type

4958-658: The thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara - forty standing for the full number of a thousand - and the respective benefits they bestow on the worshipper. These mudrās are only described verbally on Bhagavaddharma's version; illustrated depictions are found in the version by Amoghavajra (T. 1064). The Nīlakaṇṭha dhāraṇī, now firmly associated with the sahasra-bhuja form of Avalokiteśvara, enjoys a huge popularity in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism . Nama sankeerthanam The namasamkirtana ( Sanskrit : नामसङ्कीर्तन , romanized :  Nāmasaṅkīrtana ), also rendered namajapa ( Sanskrit : नामजप , romanized :  Nāmajapa )

5032-489: The three jewels as well instructing him in Tibetan grammar and reading. Later, Qianlong requested teachings on the bodhisattva path and Rölpé Dorjé taught him the commentary of the Graduated Path (Lam Rim) by Vajradhara Kunchok Gyaltsen, together with a commentary by the previous Changkya, Ngawang Losang Chöden. "By studying these two texts, Qianlong developed great faith ( gong ma thugs dad gting nas khrungs ) and made

5106-399: The traditions that centred around Chaitanya , Vallabha , and Vithoba . The practice is regarded to be a common form of bhajana . In Vaishnavism , the chanting of any or all of the names of Vishnu , either with or without the help of a japamala (rosary), is regarded to offer punya (religious merit) to the chanter, and is hence an important part of ritualistic worship. Chanting

5180-533: The various forms or incarnations of Avalokiteśvara, who was described in texts such as the Lotus Sutra as manifesting himself in different forms according to the needs of different individuals; the dhāraṇī thus came to be considered as addressed to Avalokiteśvara as Nīlakaṇṭha, now understood to be a manifestation of the bodhisattva. From Nīlakaṇṭha Avalokiteśvara, this particular dhāraṇī eventually became associated with another of Avalokiteśvara's forms, namely

5254-471: The various transliterations of the dhāraṇī in Chinese, that of Bhagavaddharma (T. 1060) has risen to become the standard in East Asia. Bhagavaddharma was a monk who came to China from western India around the mid-7th century, about whom nothing else is known; the Taishō Tripitaka has only two works in Chinese by him, both on the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara (T. 1059, 1060). The latter of these two works,

5328-444: The Ṛgveda onwards applied to various personages (e.g. Kartavirya Arjuna ), including the gods Shiva and Vishnu. It has been suggested that the thousand arms of Avalokiteśvara is another example of an attribute of Shiva being assimilated into the bodhisattva, with the thousand arms being a symbol of the victory of Avalokiteśvara (and Buddhism) over Shiva, whose name ' Īśvara ' he appropriates, and his cult . (Cf. Trailokyavijaya , one of

5402-485: Was brought to China by an Indian monk, and all the Chinese texts on the thousand-handed Avalokiteśvara are translations from Sanskrit or Pali and contain Sanskrit hymns in transliteration. One possibility is that this form of Avalokiteśvara had its origins in Kashmir , whence the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra may also have originated. From Kashmir, the "thousandfold" Avalokiteśvara might have spread northward, but not southward into

5476-479: Was involved in the compilation of a quadrilingual set (Chinese, Manchurian, Mongolian, and Tibetan) and supervised the translation from Chinese into Manchurian , Mongolian and Tibetan of the entire Śūraṅgama Sūtra completed in 1763; the Tibetan translation is currently preserved in a supplement to the Narthang Kangyur. Changkya Rölpé Dorjé was born on the 10th day of the fourth (Hor) month of

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