般若佛姆心咒

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Jayarava
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般若佛姆心咒

Post by Jayarava »

Does anyone have any information about this text 般若佛姆心咒 which is found tacked onto the end of Xuanzang's translation of Prajñāpāramitā texts T220? It has the Heart Sutra dhāraṇī presented as a mantra (beginning with oṃ). It strikes me as anachronistic, if only because it includes oṃ , a feature of Tantric Buddhism that post-dates the death of Xuanzang by about a century.

I can't find any scholarly discussion of this text and that's main what I want. Or is there evidence of oṃ in use before the 8th Century? Can anyone point to any articles or books that discuss this text?

Thanks
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Caoimhghín
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Caoimhghín »

Jayarava wrote: Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:57 am oṃ , a feature of Tantric Buddhism that post-dates the death of Xuanzang by about a century.
Is this well-established?

Buddhists didn't invent oṃ. Anyone could have included it in an addition of the text if they were familiar with the practice.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
Jayarava
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Jayarava »

Coëmgenu wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 4:17 pm
Jayarava wrote: Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:57 am oṃ , a feature of Tantric Buddhism that post-dates the death of Xuanzang by about a century.
Is this well-established?

Buddhists didn't invent oṃ. Anyone could have included it in an addition of the text if they were familiar with the practice.
Any solid information on earlier use of oṃ in Buddhist texts would be gratefully received. As would any solid information on the subject of this thread, i.e. about the mantras at the end of T220. Thanks, J.
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Caoimhghín
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Caoimhghín »

Jayarava wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 5:43 pm
Coëmgenu wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 4:17 pm
Jayarava wrote: Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:57 am oṃ , a feature of Tantric Buddhism that post-dates the death of Xuanzang by about a century.
Is this well-established?

Buddhists didn't invent oṃ. Anyone could have included it in an addition of the text if they were familiar with the practice.
Any solid information on earlier use of oṃ in Buddhist texts would be gratefully received. As would any solid information on the subject of this thread, i.e. about the mantras at the end of T220. Thanks, J.
Does Ven Kumārajīva count as early enough?

Look at the very end of his Diamond Sutra:

那謨婆伽跋帝缽喇壤波羅弭多曳唵伊利底伊室利輸盧馱毘舍耶毘舍耶莎婆訶
namo bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāyai oṃ īriti īṣiri śruta viṣaya viṣaya svāhā

But this is only a little tag at the end, much like in the text your OP is on.

Anything else I'm sure you could find on your own.

http://21dzk.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/SAT/satdb2015.php?lang=en

From a search for oṃ there:

菩薩本縁經 (0153) 0061c02-0061x01: 値無人即盜粳米滿口而唵未咽之頃家人即至是人慚愧復不得咽惜不吐 [show] (1 match)
菩薩本縁經 (0153) 0061x08-0061x08: Fn 唵=齚<三> [show] (1 match)
大乘本生心地觀經 (0159) 0328a28-0328a28: 唵一室佗二波羅二合底丁以反三吠憚四迦盧弭五 [show] (1 match)
大乘本生心地觀經 (0159) 0329a02-0329a03: 唵一菩地二室多三牟致波二合四陀邪五弭六 [show] (1 match)
大乘本生心地觀經 (0159) 0329b20-0329b20: 唵一地室多二合二婆爾羅二合三) [show] (1 match)
方廣大莊嚴經 (0187) 0560a01-0560b06: 唱懊字時出皆化生聲唱唵字時出一切物皆無我我 [show] (1 match)
方廣大莊嚴經 (0187) 0560x04-0560x04: Fn 唵=&MT00140;<三> [show] (1 match)
方廣大莊嚴經 (0187) 0581a01-0581a26: 板杵之上以求解脱或作唵聲婆娑聲蘇陀聲娑婆訶聲受持呪術諷誦韋陀 [show] (1 match)
百喩經 (0209) 0553b15-0553b18: 爲二婦故喪其兩目喩 唵米決口喩 詐言馬死喩 [show] (1 match)
百喩經 (0209) 0554b13-0554b13: (七二)唵米決口喩 [show] (1 match)
百喩經 (0209) 0554b14-0554b24: 見其擣米便往其所偸米唵之婦來見夫欲共其語滿 [show] (1 match)
大般若波羅蜜多經 (0220) 1110a26-1110a29: dya耶thA他oM唵ga伽te帝ga伽t [show] (1 match)
大般若波羅蜜多經 (0220) 1110b02-1110b04: oM唵pra鉢囉jJA娘pra鉢囉jJA娘 [show] (1 match)
聖八千頌般若波羅蜜多一百八名眞實圓義陀羅尼經 (0230) 0685a28-0685b09: 803;切身他引一句唵引鉢囉二合倪引鉢囉二合倪引二摩賀引鉢囉 [show] (1 match)
金剛般若波羅蜜經 (0235) 0752c05-0752c05: 跋帝鉢喇壞波羅弭多曳唵 [show] (1 match)
實相般若波羅蜜經 (0240) 0776b25-0776b25: 唵長呼 [show] (1 match)
實相般若波羅蜜經 (0240) 0777b19-0777b19: 唵長呼 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0780a24-0780a24: 唵 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a15-0781a15: 唵娜麼薩婆沒䭾母地薩埵喃 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a16-0781a16: 唵歩地質多跋折嚟二合 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a17-0781a17: 唵三曼多跋陀羅二合者利耶 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a18-0781a18: 唵眞多麼抳埵 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a19-0781a19: 唵過儞嚧提陀 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a20-0781a20: 唵 若引底尾&MT02123;帝空 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a21-0781a21: 唵麼訶囉伽達&T048396; [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a22-0781a22: 唵寐引哩耶迦嚩制王 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a23-0781a23: 唵薩婆伽弭儞 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a24-0781a24: 唵跋折羅二合儞哩茶迦嚩折坻吽 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a25-0781a25: 唵薩婆怛他&T008862;帝藏 [show] (1 match)
金剛頂瑜伽理趣般若經 (0241) 0781a26-0781a26: 唵婆嚩婆去聲引嚩秫提光 [show] (1 match)
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
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Caoimhghín
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Caoimhghín »

Don't bother searching those Jātaka tales though, I already did and the oṃ character is being used for some sort of transcription (of a name?) it looks like.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
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Caoimhghín
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Caoimhghín »

Alternatively you have the Aparimitāyunāmamahāyānasūtra

om namo bhagavate aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorājāya tathāgatāyārhate samyaksaṃbuddhāya, tadyathā, oṃ puṇyamahāpuṇya aparimitapuṇya aparimitāyupuṇyajñānasaṃbhāropacite, oṃ sarvasaṃskārapariśuddhadharmate gagaṇasamudgate svabhāvapariśuddhe mahānayaparivāre svāhā|

It looks like a Pure Land Sūtra, but I wouldn't know how to find out how old it is.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
Jayarava
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Jayarava »

Coëmgenu wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 6:20 pm Look at the very end of his Diamond Sutra:

那謨婆伽跋帝缽喇壤波羅弭多曳唵伊利底伊室利輸盧馱毘舍耶毘舍耶莎婆訶
namo bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāyai oṃ īriti īṣiri śruta viṣaya viṣaya svāhā
This is much more obviously an anachronism. Kumārajīva worked mainly in the early 5th Century, long before Tantric buddhism was invented. The salutation namo bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāyai is definitely associated with Tantra (and not early Tantra either) and this form may well even originate in Tibet. We know that none of the contemporary Sanskrit manuscripts use this kind of maṅgala. Prajñāpāramitā texts will sometimes have a maṇgala like namaḥ sarvajñāya (cf the Hōryūji Heart Sutra) or Schopen

So when I see this I don't think, "Oh Kumārajīva used oṃ", I think "Oh, someone has edited this text at least three centuries after Kumārajīva died". The burden of proof in such cases is to show that this was contemporary with Kumārajīva. And if you could, then you would rewrite the history of Buddhism and become famous!

What I meant by "solid information" is a manuscript or an inscription that could be positively dated to an earlier period. Something that has been properly examined, not simply plucked out of the literature in a naive way and does not take into account the established body of knowledge. Or, perhaps a peer-reviewed article which treated the subject in depth. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but the evidential bar is set very much higher in my world. I thought perhaps some other scholars might still be involved in this forum. Seems not. Or perhaps the theme is too obscure - I can find nothing published in English on the subject.

Best Wishes
Jayarava
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Grigoris »

Jayarava wrote: Sat Apr 28, 2018 12:04 pmSo when I see this I don't think, "Oh Kumārajīva used oṃ", I think "Oh, someone has edited this text at least three centuries after Kumārajīva died". The burden of proof in such cases is to show that this was contemporary with Kumārajīva. And if you could, then you would rewrite the history of Buddhism and become famous!
You a re making a hypothesis (ie that the OM was added later), the burden of proof is on you.
The salutation namo bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāyai is definitely associated with Tantra (and not early Tantra either)...
Do you have any proof to back this assertion/opinion?
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Caoimhghín
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Caoimhghín »

Grigoris wrote: Sat Apr 28, 2018 12:39 pm
Jayarava wrote: Sat Apr 28, 2018 12:04 pmSo when I see this I don't think, "Oh Kumārajīva used oṃ", I think "Oh, someone has edited this text at least three centuries after Kumārajīva died". The burden of proof in such cases is to show that this was contemporary with Kumārajīva. And if you could, then you would rewrite the history of Buddhism and become famous!
You are making a hypothesis (ie that the OM was added later), the burden of proof is on you.
The salutation namo bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāyai is definitely associated with Tantra (and not early Tantra either)...
Do you have any proof to back this assertion/opinion?
Indeed. Most academics opinions and beliefs are largely ad hoc. I used to spend my time claiming that I knew similar things in a similarly absolutist manner.

I actually suggested moderators delete my additions here as I realized it was a mistake to post.

Still, you asked me for resources. Beggars can't me choosers.

It is quite possible the OP meant to link us to this, of his, which would have been more helpful than a simply assertion, but forgot to:
http://jayarava.blogspot.ca/2009/12/om- ... ammar.html

But even that link has this rather wild statement in it:
the post-Buddhist early Upaniṣads
which is hardly anything proven, and just an opinion.

Its also possible the OP thinks he is in the Academic subforum.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:

These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?

The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
Antiochus
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Antiochus »

Jayarava wrote: Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:57 am Or is there evidence of oṃ in use before the 8th Century? Can anyone point to any articles or books that discuss this text?

Thanks
There are quite a couple of tantric texts in the Chinese canon that features Om and are dated well earlier than 700 A.D. For example, the earliest dated text (c.563 or 564 A.D.) regarding the Eleven Faced Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva from Yasogupta in T.1070 has one syllable of Om hidden in the mantra:

http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/BDLM/sut ... 0n1070.pdf
南無薩婆哆他伽帝毘耶 阿羅訶陀毘耶 三藐三佛提毘耶 多姪他 陀羅陀羅地
利地利 豆樓豆樓 壹知 跋知 遮離 遮離 鉢遮離 鉢遮離 鳩蘇咩鳩蘇摩婆離
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Antiochus »

Jayarava wrote: Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:57 am Does anyone have any information about this text 般若佛姆心咒 which is found tacked onto the end of Xuanzang's translation of Prajñāpāramitā texts T220? It has the Heart Sutra dhāraṇī presented as a mantra (beginning with oṃ). It strikes me as anachronistic, if only because it includes oṃ , a feature of Tantric Buddhism that post-dates the death of Xuanzang by about a century.
Wait, how is that even possible? Xuanzang died c. 664 A.D., while Subhakarasimha and Vajrabodhi were translating their scriptures filled with "Om"'s in the 720's to 730's A.D., well less than a century after Xuanzang's death. Any logical dating of those early Chinese tantric texts containing "Om"'s would acknowledge an absolute latest composition date of c.650 to 700 A.D.. Your statement makes no chronological sense.
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Re: 般若佛姆心咒

Post by Antiochus »

It's interesting OP has not yet replied despite asking for the forum's help in the first place
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