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Great Compassion Mantra 大悲咒

One of the most widely used and most efficacious of all Buddhist mantras, the Great Compassion Mantra is a Dharma taught by the Bodhisattva Who Regards the World's Sounds (AVALOKITEŚVARA (BODHISATTVA)). The teachings on the Great Compassion Mantra are found in the DHĀRAṆĪ SUTRA. [The text of the mantra can be found in the Dhāraṇī Sutra, pp. 40-43, and in the City of Ten [[Thousand Buddhas]] Recitation Handbook]], pp. 30-33.]

The Bodhisattva Who Regards the World's Sounds again addressed the Buddha, saying, “World Honored One, if humans and gods recite and hold the phrases of the Great Compassion Mantra, then when they approach the end of life, all the Buddhas of the ten [[directions]] will come to take them by the hand to rebirth in whatever Buddhaland they wish according to their desire.”

He further said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, should any living being who recites and holds the spiritual mantra of Great Compassion fall into the three evil paths, I vow not to realize the Right Enlightenment]]. Should any living being who recites and holds the Spiritual Mantra of Great Compassion not be reborn in any Buddhaland, I vow not to realize the Right Enlightenment]]. Should any living being who recites and holds the Spiritual Mantra of Great Compassion not obtain unlimited samadhis and eloquence, I vow not to realize the Right Enlightenment]]. Should any living being who recites and holds the Spiritual Mantra of Great Compassion not obtain the fruits of whatever is sought in this very life, then he cannot have been making proper use of the Dhāraṇī of the Great Compassion Heart.” (DS 30-31)

SEE ALSO: Dhāraṇī Sutra, mantra, dhāraṇī, Avalokiteśvara (Bodhisattva)

Snippet from Wikipedia: Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī

The Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī, also known as the Mahākaruṇā(-citta) Dhāraṇī, Mahākaruṇika Dhāraṇī or Great Compassion Dhāraṇī / Mantra (Chinese: 大悲咒, Dàbēi zhòu; Japanese: 大悲心陀羅尼, Daihishin darani or 大悲呪, Daihi shu; Vietnamese: Chú đại bi or Đại bi tâm đà la ni; Korean: 신묘장구대다라니 (Hanja: 神妙章句大陀羅尼), Sinmyo janggu daedarani), is a Mahayana Buddhist dhāraṇī associated with the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.

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 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 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 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.

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Snippet from Wikipedia: Dharani

Dharanis (IAST: dhāraṇī), also known as (Skt.) vidyās and paritas or (Pal.) parittas, are lengthier Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskrit while Pali dharanis also exist. Believed to generate protection and the power to generate merit for the Buddhist practitioner, they constitute a major part of historic Buddhist literature. Most dharanis are in Sanskrit written in scripts such as Siddhaṃ as can be transliterated into Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Sinhala, Thai and other regional scripts. They are similar to and reflect a continuity of the Vedic chants and mantras.

Dharanis are found in the ancient texts of all major traditions of Buddhism. They are a major part of the Pali canon preserved by the Theravada tradition. Mahayana sutras such as the Lotus Sutra and the Heart Sutra include or conclude with dharani. Some Buddhist texts, such as Pancarakṣa found in the homes of many Buddhist tantra tradition followers, are entirely dedicated to dharani. They are a part of the regular ritual prayers as well as considered to be an amulet and charm in themselves, whose recitation believed to allay bad luck, diseases or other calamity. They were an essential part of the monastic training in Buddhism's history in East Asia. In some Buddhist regions, they served as texts upon which the Buddhist witness would swear to tell the truth.

The dharani-genre of literature became popular in East Asia in the first millennium CE, with Chinese records suggesting their profusion by the early centuries of the common era. These migrated from China to Korea and Japan. The demand for printed dharani among the Buddhist lay devotees may have led to the development of textual printing innovations. The dharani records of East Asia are the oldest known "authenticated printed texts in the world", state Robert Sewell and other scholars. The early-eighth-century dharani texts discovered in the Bulguksa of Gyeongju, Korea are considered as the oldest known printed texts in the world.

Dharani recitation for the purposes of healing and protection is referred to as Paritta in some Buddhist regions, particularly in Theravada communities. The dharani-genre ideas also inspired Buddhist chanting practices such as the Nianfo (Chinese: 念佛; Pinyin: niànfó; Rōmaji: nenbutsu; RR: yeombul; Vietnamese: niệm Phật), the Daimoku, as well as the Koshiki texts in Japan. They are a significant part of the historic Chinese dazangjing (scriptures of the great repository) and the Korean daejanggyeong – the East Asian compilations of the Buddhist canon between the 5th and 10th centuries.

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Fair Use Sources:

• Buddhism A to Z - A Buddhist Encyclopedia
• 84,000 Dharma Doors - A Comprehensive Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Buddhism