Magical recitations against evil in Tibetan sutras

[Tibetan Buddhism - Dharani]. Aryamahasaniparatna ketudharani mahayanasutra [The noble Mahayanasutra: the great gathering of peaks and jewels].

Auf Anfrage

A Tibetan manuscript containing two complete sutras, each a dharani text describing magic recitations, rituals, and enchantments. The first sutra, "The great gathering of peaks and jewels", opens with two miniatures flanking the first leaf: Shakyamuni Buddha, and one of the historical Buddhas who preceded the Buddha of the current era. Likely composed before 500 CE, this sutra is part of the corpus of Mahayana Buddhism (the branch which includes Tibetan Buddhism), and its main purpose is as a ritual text rather than as a philosophical treatise. The sutra describes a dharani (a magical recitation) called, "Protection from evil forces", and contains various anecdotes and folklore about the deeds of the malignant celestial king Mara and advises on those magics which can counteract him. The name "Mara" is occasionally translated as "devil" in English, but Mara has few of the Christian connotations of Satan; Mara is set up as the antagonist of enlightenment itself, and as a creature who works to prevent further beings from achieving enlightenment; he is strongly associated with death and desire.

The second text is similarly a Mahayana sutra which describes dharani magic recitations. The central narrative of "the sutra which destroys the great thousand worlds" (Mahasaha srapamartardana sutra) describes the Buddha's use of his miraculous powers to dispel a series of natural disasters befalling the world. As a result, the Buddha convenes a meeting of deities, who suggest the use of dharani recitations to avert further natural calamities. The Buddha himself then offers up his own recitation against natural disaster. These two texts thus cover both the existential threat of Mara, a malignant force of suffering and death, and the material threat of living in the unpredictable natural world, subject to its forces.