Sutra of the Ritual Procedures for the Amoghapāśa Dhāraṇī, Spoken by the Buddha, Lower Scroll

Chapter 2: The Secret Heart Mantra

At that time, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Guanyin rose once more from his seat, adjusted his robes, placed his right knee upon the ground, joined his palms, and gazed upon the Buddha. His countenance was radiant and joyful, his heart filled with immeasurable great compassion and loving-kindness. From his entire body shone forth the majestic light of a billion thousand great sun-wheels, illuminating the three-thousandfold great-thousand Buddha-worlds of the ten directions without exception.

As this light shone forth, it penetrated and transformed all colors, making them appear like heaps of gold. With a joyful smile, he addressed the Buddha, saying:

"World-Honored One, I now emit this light for the sake of all beings in the world—ascetics, Brahmins, merchants, and farmers—so that they may attain immeasurable compassionate hearts and obtain the supreme refuge. It is also for all those who study the Great Vehicle and uphold the Samaya of the King of Hearts Mantra of the Unfailing Lasso, so that they may achieve all the fruits of their Bodhi vows.

I am about to extensively expound the Secret Heart Mantra Samaya Gate within the Samaya of the King of Hearts Mantra of the Unfailing Lasso—the vast, liberating Lotus Mandala Seal Samadhi. This Samadhi is the true, supreme accomplishment; it is the profound, secret Samaya Dharma of true liberation for all great Bodhisattvas.

I now wish, before the Buddha and in the presence of all beings—the gods, dragons, yakshas, rakshasas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, great mantra-holding sages, the Pure Abode gods, Ishvara, Maheshvara, Brahma, Indra, Yama, Varuna, Vayu, Agni, Vibhishana, the great ascetic sages, Surya, Chandra, the stellar deities, the twenty-eight lunar mansion lords, the Vidyadhara goddesses, and all celestial beings—especially before those abiding in the supreme Mandala Samaya, to broadly reveal and explain this secret Mandala Seal Samaya Dharma, which transcends the worldly. May all sentient beings who contemplate, recite, and uphold this Dharma attain the supreme accomplishment and all merits.

Therefore, I shall proclaim this fundamental, true, liberating King of Hearts Mantra Samaya, the secret heart mantra. I beseech your compassionate attention to what I shall say."

At that moment, the Tathagata Shakyamuni Buddha, the Perfectly Enlightened One, smiled with gentle joy. He extended his hand, adorned with the marks of a hundred blessings and radiant with a golden hue, and placed it upon the head of the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Guanyin. He declared: "O Greatly Compassionate and Truly Pure One! You are able to proclaim this wondrous Dharma for the great assembly. Noble son! You should now know that all Tathagatas, Perfectly Enlightened Ones, throughout the countless worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in the ten directions, are bestowing upon you their immeasurable spiritual power and radiant light. I, too, now cover and protect you with immeasurable spiritual power and radiant light. With your divine power unleashed, proclaim the secret heart mantra and samaya within the sovereign mother dharani of the Unfailing Lasso."

At that moment, the Bodhisattva Guanyin, the Great Being, surveyed all beings in the ten directions. Like a majestic elephant king, fearless and virtuous, she then proclaimed the secret heart mantra, saying:

At that moment, when the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Guanyin spoke this mantra, the Potalaka Mountain, along with the great Sumeru Mountain of the three-thousandfold world system, all celestial palaces, divine palaces, dragon palaces, yaksha palaces, rakshasa palaces, gandharva palaces, asura palaces, garuda palaces, kinnara palaces, mahoraga palaces, and the palaces of mantra-holding immortals—all trembled in six ways. The great oceans, rivers, and all springs and ponds surged and boiled fiercely. All the great sea creatures in the ocean were struck with terror, witnessing such an unprecedented marvel. All the Buddhas from the ten directions, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, in countless hundreds of thousands of dust-mote worlds, simultaneously manifested in the sky and praised in unison, saying: "Excellent, excellent, O Greatly Compassionate One! You have skillfully proclaimed this supreme, true, unfailing noose heart-king mother-dharani samaya, the secret heart-mantra samaya. Merely by reciting it, one shall attain the highest enlightenment."

At that time, Shakyamuni Buddha addressed the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Guanyin, saying: "Good man! You should expound for the great assembly this gateway of merit, the true, vast, and accomplished secret heart mantra and samaya."

Then the Bodhisattva Guanyin addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One! Regarding this secret heart mantra samaya: if any good man or good woman, with single-minded concentration, contemplates all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions, speaks truthful words, repents all heavy offenses accumulated since beginningless time, and earnestly prays that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas bestow their aid, protection, and mindfulness—from this day until attaining Enlightenment, I will serve and attend to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas.

"Purify the mind and settle the thoughts. Visualize beneath the ground, at the boundary of the Vajra wheel, placing a 'va' syllable, its strokes clear and distinct. Transform it into a vajra, emitting a great radiance. Its light blazes intensely, burning one's own body to ashes, which become white. Contemplate these ashes turning into a golden color. Take this golden ash to smear and draw a mandala. This mandala is bright, pure, and luminous.

"In the very center of the altar, visualize an eight-petaled lotus in full bloom. Upon the lotus pedestal, visualize a 'sa' syllable emitting golden light. Within that light, the holy Bodhisattva Mahasattva Guanyin emerges, manifesting a golden-colored body with a serene and joyful countenance. The left hand holds a golden lotus at the chest; the right hand counts prayer beads. Seated in full lotus posture, adorned with all wondrous jewels, emitting extraordinary light.

"Having performed this visualization, arouse great compassion and recite, receive, and uphold this secret heart mantra one hundred and eight times. Then this person will be praised and embraced by all Thus Come Ones, Worthy of Offerings, of Right and Universal Enlightenment from worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in the ten directions.

"All heavy evil karma accumulated by this person over hundreds of thousands of kalpas, all enmities, malignant illnesses, and afflictions, will completely disperse and vanish without remainder. The Bodhisattva Guanyin will then manifest his body in dreams, swiftly fulfilling all wishes.

"If one practices this samaya, one should always bathe to purify oneself, wear fresh, clean clothes, and eat the three white foods. On the eighth or fifteenth day of the bright fortnight, one should abstain from all food. Arouse great compassion toward all sentient beings. Constantly before the Bodhisattva Guanyin of the Unfailing Lasso, use white sandalwood powder mixed with clay to smear the altar ground. Offer various wonderful flowers and burn superior incense as offerings."

"When you are before the altar, properly reciting the mantra, you must cease all speech. Form hand seals to protect your body. Chant over white mustard seeds and fragrant water, then scatter them upon your head. Also chant over your hands and use them to touch your own head. Form the empowerment seal, chant the mantra over it, and place it upon your head. Sit facing west in the full lotus posture. Form the rosary seal and recite the Mother Dhāraṇī Mantra one hundred and eight times. Recite the Fierce King Mantra also one hundred and eight times. Then recite the Secret Heart Mantra one thousand and eight times. Following this, continue reciting the Fierce King Mantra until you have completed one hundred thousand recitations.

"If you can practice the recitation according to this method, you will certainly see the image of the Bodhisattva Guanyin emit rays of multi-colored light from its body. When this light appears, the ground will shake with the six types of tremors. The hand holding the lasso will also emit light, and from the sky will come wonderful sounds and various praises. The practitioner's head will also emit light. Attaining this sign means you have achieved the samaya gate of the Great Unfailing Lasso Heart-King Mother Dhāraṇī Mantra Samādhi, and all dharmas will be accomplished.

"At that time, all the Tathāgatas from as many worlds as the sands of the Ganges in the ten directions will simultaneously manifest, extend their hands to touch the practitioner's head, offering praise and blessings. The Bodhisattva Guanyin will also appear in a truly wondrous and beautiful form, looking upon you with compassion, protecting and caring for you as a beloved child. He will instruct you in all the secret samayas of the Unfailing Lasso Heart-King Mother Dhāraṇī Mantra, and will not abandon you until you attain supreme enlightenment.

"One who cultivates this method should do so during all the months of the Buddhas' spiritual power: namely, the first, fifth, and ninth months. Practice from the first to the fifteenth day of the bright fortnight. If you recite, receive, and uphold it purely and according to the method, you will achieve accomplishment.

"One who attains this Dharma should first, for one, two, three, four, or five months, regulate and subdue body and mind according to the method, purify the mind, and inwardly recite, serve, and make offerings to achieve mental purity. Only then should you prepare the maṇḍala, seals, and samayas, and you will then attain accomplishment."

A verse says:

Those who constantly burn this incense as an offering should know that such a person attains great benefit. They will not be harassed by all conflicts, soldiers, thieves, bad dreams, slander, curses, evil spells, ominous signs, thunder, lightning, all yakshas, rakshasas, evil spirits, epidemic demons, or various haunting spirits—until enlightenment. Heavy karmic obstacles will be removed, and only light retribution will manifest in this life.

Wear clean clothes and eat the three white foods. Before an image of the bodhisattva, offer ghee, milk, curds, sweet and delicious food and drink, ghee lamps, oil lamps, all flowers, incense, and ornaments as offerings. Burn this king of incense, and with the mind of enlightenment, truly contemplate that the five aggregates are inherently empty and still, free from self and what belongs to self, free from the notion of sentient beings, free from the notion of a recipient. They are inherently empty and still, without self, without doing, without self and without other. Transcending the realms of the five aggregates, truly contemplate the aggregates, sense bases, and realms—they cannot be grasped because they are unobtainable and without inherent perception.

Why is this? All phenomena are originally without color, without form, without appearance, free from all defilements and attachments. The mind also does not dwell between inside and outside. Phenomena are originally of a nature empty, still, pure, equal, non-dual, undefiled, and unattached. Why? The mind is originally without appearance.

One who contemplates in this way is practicing right contemplation, its measure equal to the Dharma realm, accompanied by samadhi. In the Dharma realm, contemplate the Dharma; truly contemplate the syllable "ka," which means that all phenomena have no meaning of grasping or doing. Contemplate four kinds of Dharma: first, contemplate Guanyin; second, contemplate the seal; third, contemplate oneself as the holy Guanyin; fourth, contemplate one's own mind like a full, bright moon, luminous and transparent, with the mantra syllables of the mudra above, each syllable golden in color, rotating to the right. These four contemplations are to be performed simultaneously, while peacefully reciting the mudra mantra seven times, reciting the wrathful king mantra seven times, and reciting the secret heart and small heart mantras each one hundred and eight times, with the samadhi seal of the enlightenment mind wheel.

One who practices in this way is accompanied by samadhi, achieving great accomplishment with little effort. Except when attending to major or minor needs or resting, one should always sit quietly and upright within the practice area, truly contemplating the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss: ground of lapis lazuli, palaces of the seven treasures, towers, railings, jeweled banners, canopies, jeweled ponds, jeweled banks, water of eight merits, jeweled trees, all treasure stores, jeweled lion thrones. Amitabha Buddha and all thus-come ones manifest inconceivable, countless, boundless, immeasurable supernatural powers, light, and all auspicious signs, with Guanyin, Mahasthamaprapta, and all great bodhisattvas surrounding and making offerings. All this is seen, whether in dreams or while awake, and one sees it clearly.

One sees Amitabha Buddha reach out his hand, touch one's head, and say: "Excellent, excellent! Great virtuous man! The spiritual transformation mantra of the unfailing king heart mudra, the secret altar seal samaya of great liberation, both worldly and transcendent, that you have cultivated—all are accomplished. After this body, you will not again undergo birth from womb, egg, moisture, or transformation; you will be born from a lotus. From one buddha-land to another, until enlightenment, you will never again fall."

One who attains this sign will have all past and present deeds of the ten evils, five heinous crimes, and four grave offenses completely eradicated. Body, speech, and mind karma will all be purified. The painted image of Guanyin Bodhisattva will emit great light, or Guanyin may transform into a pure-practicing great brahmin and come before the practitioner. All wishes of the heart will be fulfilled, and one will attain an immeasurable, hundred thousand kotis, inconceivable accumulation of merit. Kings, ministers, all people will love, delight in, draw near, make offerings to, and respect such a person.

This method is called the most supreme accomplishment method in the world. Those who cultivate this method should, on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight, according to their ability, invite monks, brahmins, and others, hold a great offering assembly, and make offerings. The mantra holder may then eat themselves. If one wishes to constantly see Amitabha Buddha, all buddhas, all great bodhisattvas, and all heavenly beings, one should daily recite the invocation mantra, empower the king of incense, burn it, and make offerings to all buddhas, bodhisattvas, and heavenly beings. Let the incense smoke be uninterrupted. Perform the activities and recite the mantras thus, without omission at the proper times.

Constantly, in dreams, one will see all buddhas and sages. One will see all one's own good and bad deeds, and also see the deeds of others, and be able to report: this one's life will be short, this one's long; this one may stay, this one may not; this one may come, this one may not; this one has great good fortune, this one has great misfortune. Whatever the mind contemplates, one will immediately see it.

One who attains this sign should diligently cultivate the method and keep it secret, not divulging it. One's lifespan will be long.

The secret, subtle, and true mantra says:

This true mantra should be recited properly, as taught.