Dharani sutra

The Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī sūtra (Sanskrit; Chinese: 佛頂尊勝陀羅尼經; Japanese pronunciation: Butchō Sonshō Darani Kyō; Vietnamese: Phật Đỉnh Tôn Thắng Đà la ni) is a Mahayana sutra from India. An alternate longer Sanskrit title is the Sarvadurgatipariśodhana Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī sūtra.

The sutra was translated a total of eight times from Sanskrit to Chinese between 679-988 CE. It gained wide circulation in China, and its practices have been utilized since the Tang dynasty, from which it then spread to the rest of East Asia. The Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya dhāraṇī is associated with Mount Wutai, which in the Chinese Buddhist tradition is considered the bodhimaṇḍa of Mañjuśrī. Sacred stone tablets with the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya dhāraṇī carved into them have been distributed widely in some regions of the Far East.

The purpose of this sūtra is said to be to help sentient beings in a troubled and tumultuous world. According to this sūtra, beings will leave suffering and obtain happiness, increasing in their prosperity and longevity, remove karmic obstacles, eliminate disasters and calamities, remove enmity and hatred, fulfill all wishes, and quickly be led onto the Buddha's way. It is held by some that when the dhāraṇī is heard, it can imbue the alaya consciousness with pure seeds that will help to lead one to buddhahood.

According to the text, major applications of this dhāraṇī include:

Some quotes from the sutra text include:

If someone hears this Dharani even just for a moment, he will not undergo karmic retribution from evil karma and severe hindrances accumulated from thousands of kalpas ago, that would otherwise cause him to revolve in the cycles of birth and death - in all kinds of life forms in the evil paths - hell, hungry ghost, animal, realm of King Yama, Asuras...ferocious animals, crawling creatures and even ants and other life forms...he will be reborn in the Buddhalands, together with all the Buddhas and Ekajati-pratibadda Bodhisattvas, or in a distinguished Brahmin or Ksatriya family, or in some other wealthy and reputable families.

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