Chapter 6 - Mahāvidyā-maṇḍala-varṇana

Mahāvidyāmaṇḍalavarṇanaṃ Saṣṭhaṃ Prakaraṇam
(Chapter Six named Mahāvidyāmaṇḍalavarṇanam)

Then Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī asked the Bhagavat, ‘Bhagavat, where can I go to obtain this six-syllable mahāvidyā?’ The Bhagavat said, ‘Noble son, in the great city of Vārāṇasī there is a Dharmabhāṇaka who possesses, recites, and is completely focused on the sixsyllable mahāvidyā.’ Bhagavat, I will go to the great city of Vārāṇasī in order to see that Dharmabhāṇaka, to bow down to him, and to honour him. The Bhagavat said, ‘Excellent! Excellent! Do so, noble son! A Dharmabhāṇaka who possesses, recites, and is completely focused on the six-syllable mahāvidyā is rare. He should be seen as being equal to the Tathāgatas; seen as being the life of the world; seen as a mass of merit; seen as being like the Ganges and all sacred places; seen as one who speaks that which is not false;seen as one who speaks the truth; seen as a heap of jewels; seen as a wishfulfilling jewel; seen as a Dharma king; and seen as a saviour of beings. ‘Noble son, you should have no doubts when you see this Dharmabhāṇaka. Noble son, do not fall from a Bodhisattva bhūmi to be reborn in the lower existences. This Dharmabhāṇaka’s conduct is poor, and his behavior is poor. He is surrounded by his wife, sons, and daughters. His orange robes are filled with feces and urine; he has not followed the noble path.

Then Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī said to the Bhagavat, ‘I will do as the Bhagavat has instructed.’ Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī set forth accompanied by many hundreds of thousands of lay Bodhisattvas, monastics, boys, and girls. In order to make offerings to the Dharmabhāṇaka, they brought divine parasols, divine shoes, diadems, earrings, garlands, armlets, one hundred and eight-string and six-tyfour-string necklaces for covering the shoulders, ear adornments, and finger rings; and also various kinds of clothing: monastic robes, clothing commanded by the vidyādharas, and Kaśika cloth; and also various flowers: blue lotuses, red lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, tiger claw flowers and great tiger claw flowers, mañjuṣukas and mahāmañjuṣukas, udumbaras, various kinds of turmeric flowers, magnolias, oleanders, trumpet flowers, mountain ebony, gardenia(varṣika), star jasmine (śakunakādhyuṣita), nightflowering jasmine (vimalika), and so on; beautiful peacocks, brahminy ducks, and delightful mynas; the colours blue, yellow, red, white, and crystal; and also various fruits and flowers. He went to the great city of Vārāṇasī and eventually arrived there. He went to where the Dharmabhāṇaka was and bowed his head to his feet. Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī saw someone whose conduct was poor, whose behaviour was poor, and whose path was imperfect.

Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī gave him a great offering of parasols, shoes, cloth, adornments, scents, and ointments, and placing his palms together in front of the Dharmabhāṇaka, he said, ‘Oh you who are the treasurer of the Dharma, you are like an unfathomable ocean that is an accumulation of the treasure of amṛta. You are a repository within the human realm. The Devas, Nāgas, Yakṣas, Asuras, Garuḍas, Kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans gather to listen to the Dharma from you. You teach a Dharma that is like a great vajra. You liberate many beings that are bound in the bondage of saṃsāra. Meritorious are those beings that live in Vārāṇasī, can see you, and always gather around you. The instant they see you, you burn up all their bad karma. You burn up all bad karma like a fire burns a forest, just through being seen. The Tathāgatas, arhats, and samyaksaṃbuddhas know of you. Many millions of trillions of Bodhisattvas come to make offerings to you, as do Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Āditya, Candra, Vāyu, Varuṇa, Agni, Dharmarāja Yama, and the four mahārājas.

The Dharmabhāṇaka then said to him, ‘Noble son, do not create a cause for remorse. Those who indulge in the afflictions create the realms of beings and have the characteristics of saṃsāra. Those who know the six-syllable mahāvidyā will not be polluted by desire, anger, or stupidity. Noble son, just as the gold in the Jambu River does not become stained; someone who wears the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās on his body will have a body that is not polluted by desire, anger, or stupidity.’

Then Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī grasped the Dharmabhāṇaka’s feet tightly and said, ‘My senses are impaired, so be my eyes! I have lost the path, so show me the path! I am thirsty for the Dharma, so quench my thirst with the taste of the Dharma! I lack the highest complete enlightenment, so give me the seed for enlightenment! Give me the opportunity of the Dharma! Give me the pure body of perfectly established forms! Give me a good reputation so that all beings say, ‘He has gained unwavering goodness!’ Thus, guru, give me the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās, through which I will quickly achieve the highest complete enlightenment and be a samyaksaṃbuddha! Turn the twelve wheels of the Dharma! Free all beings from the suffering of saṃsāra! Give me the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās that I have not obtained! Give me the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās! Be my protector, refuge, and support. Be a home for the homeless.

Then the Dharmabhāṇaka said, ‘The six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās is a recitation that is hard to find. It is an unequalled vajra recitation. It is an unbreakable vajra recitation. It is a recitation of the highest wisdom. It is a recitation of unceasing wisdom. It is an unsurpassable recitation. It is a recitation that brings liberation. It is a recitation of the pure wisdom of the Tathāgatas. It is a recitation that eliminates desire, anger, stupidity, and the sufferings of saṃsāra. It is a recitation of skill in all methods. It is a recitation of dhyāna, liberation, samādhi, and samāpatti. It is a recitation of entry into all Dharmas. It is a recitation continuously yearned for by the Devas. ‘Noble son, people are ordained in various orders and are ordained in the various garments of those seeking liberation, which are rainbow-coloured garments, white garments, and pure white garments. They are ordained into those who stare at the sun (divasa), the followers of Maheśvara, the followers of Viṣṇu and Garuḍa, and naked ascetics. They take ordination in those orders, but those deities do not bring liberation; they are not protectors, nor is theirs the conduct that is to be followed. All the hosts of deities -Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Śakra, who is the lord of Devas, Āditya, Candra, Vāyu, Varuṇa, Agni, Dharmarāja Yama, and the four maharajas constantly request the sixsyllable queen of mahāvidyās.

Then Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī asked him, ‘Bhagavat, how can we obtain the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās, so that we can dedicate ourselves to liberation?’ The Dharmabhāṇaka said, ‘Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī, it is like this: Prajñāpāramitā is known to be the one who gave birth to all the Tathāgatas. Even she places her palms together and pays homage to the sixsyllable queen of mahāvidyās, let alone the Tathāgatas, arhats, samyaksaṃbuddhas, and the hosts of Bodhisattvas. ‘Noble son, this is an essence, like rice. Noble son, through this you can obtain anything from within the Mahāyāna: many Mahāyāna Sūtras, the geyas, the vyākaraṇas, the gāthās, the udānas, the nidānas, the avadānas, the itivṛttakas, the jātakas, the vaipulyas, the adbhūta dharmas, and the upadeśas. Simply repeating it will bring peace and liberation. Why say more about its other virtues? ‘What does it mean that it is conceived of as a central essence? It can be conceived of as being like the essence of rice. We take it home and fill our pots with rice and keep it in there. And then, in accord with the sun, we dry it in the sun’s heat. When it is dried, we pound it with a pestle to remove the chaff. What is the essence? The essence is the rice. In that way, all other yogas are like husks, and from among all yogas, the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās is like the rice. ‘Noble son, the Bodhisattvas produce merit in order to possess the sixsyllable queen of mahāvidyās, so as to have the perfection of generosity, the perfection of conduct, the perfection of patience, the perfection of diligence, the perfection of meditation, and the perfection of wisdom. Noble son, one repetition of the mahāvidyā completes the six perfections. Those who just touch it with their clothes will attain the level of irreversibility. Noble son that is what the six-syllable mahāvidyā queen is like. Those who recite that name are rare. Possessing its name just once will make them equal to someone who has provided all the Tathāgatas with all requisites: with robes, food, bowls, bedding, seats, necessary medicine, and utensils.

Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī then said to the Dharmabhāṇaka, ‘Give me the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās.’ Then the Dharmabhāṇaka thought and thought about this. Then a voice came from the sky saying, ‘Give him the sixsyllable queen of mahāvidyās!’

The Dharmabhāṇaka wondered where this voice had come from. Again there came the voice from the sky, saying,

‘This Bodhisattva has undergone many hardships.
Give him the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās !’

Then the Dharmabhāṇaka looked up into the sky and saw someone who had a body white as the autumn moon, a crown of coiled hair, an omniscient Buddha upon his head, and a beautiful lotus in his hand, and was adorned with the splendour of lotuses. Then the Dharmabhāṇaka said to Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī, ‘Noble son, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has given permission for the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās to be given to you.’

Then Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī reverently placed his palms together to receive it.

Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ.

As soon as this was given, the earth shook in six ways. Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī obtained these samādhis: the samādhi named Unceasing True Nature, the samādhi named Love, Compassion, and Rejoicing, the samādhi named Practicing Yoga, the samādhi named Established in the Entry to Liberation, the samādhi named Illuminating Everywhere, the samādhi named The King of Arrays, and the samādhi named holding the Dharma. Those are the samādhis he attained. As soon as Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī had obtained the sixsyllable queen of mahāvidyās, he offered the four continents, completely filled with the seven jewels, as payment to that upādhyāya.

Then the Dharmabhāṇaka said, ‘There is no payment required for even one of the syllables, let alone the six syllables of the mahāvidyā, nor will I take anything from you, noble son. You are a Bodhisattva, a noble being, with no one higher, and you are my pupil, noble son.’ The Dharmabhāṇaka presented him with a string of pearls to the value of a hundred thousand silver coins and said, ‘Noble son, in accord with my instruction, present this to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the samyaksaṃbuddha Śākyamuni.

Then Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhī bowed his head to the feet of the Dharmabhāṇaka and departed, having obtained what he sought and with his wishes fulfilled. He went to the Jetavana Monastery, arrived there, bowed down to the feet of Bhagavat Śākyamuni, and sat to one side.

End of the Chapter Six named Mahāvidyāmaṇḍalavarṇanam.