Mantras & Sacred Scriptures
Discover the essential mantras, dharanis, and sacred scriptures of Taiwanese Buddhism and Taoism -- their origins, meanings, and methods of practice.
The Great Compassion Mantra (Dabeizhou)
Before dawn in the temple hall the wooden fish begins to knock, and eighty-four lines of Sanskrit flow out one after another -- this is the Great Compassion Mantra (Dabeizhou), born of the vow-power of the Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara. It is the long dharani Taiwanese Buddhists recite most in their morning and evening services, and many lean on it to steady the mind, dissolve misfortune, and pray for blessings.
The Heart Sutra (Bore Boluomiduo Xingjing)
Two hundred and sixty characters. The people who have copied it, chanted it, and worn it engraved on a gold pendant span the whole island -- this is the Heart Sutra, the shortest of Buddhist scriptures yet the one that has sunk deepest into the culture. Almost everyone has heard its line, "form is emptiness."
The Six-Syllable Mantra (Om Mani Padme Hum)
Recite it while you walk, while you wait for the bus, before you fall asleep -- six syllables, "Om Mani Padme Hum," the root heart mantra of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and the most widely recited Buddhist mantra in the world. Anytime, anywhere, you can open your mouth and begin.
The Green Tara Mantra
"Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha" -- Tibetan Buddhism holds that the moment you recite this line with sincerity, Green Tara, famed for her "swift rescue," appears before you. She is the most beloved female bodhisattva of all, come precisely to clear away fear and remove obstacles.
The Cundi Dharani (Zhunti Zhou)
Mother of seventy million Buddhas -- Cundi Buddha Mother, eighteen arms each holding a ritual implement, a third eye open on her brow. Her mantra, known as the "Wish-Fulfilling Mantra," may be recited by anyone, monastic or lay, pure or impure, and in Taiwan it is famous for answering every prayer.
The Medicine Buddha Mantra
When illness comes, many Taiwanese think of him -- the Medicine Master of Lapis Lazuli Light Tathagata, teacher of the Eastern Pure Lapis Lazuli World, who made twelve great vows for the one purpose of lifting the suffering of the sick. To recite the Medicine Buddha Mantra is to pray for health, for illness eased, for calamity averted and life extended.
The Rebirth Mantra (Wangsheng Zhou)
When someone close dies, the first thing many Taiwanese do is recite this mantra for them -- the Rebirth Mantra, in full the "Dharani for Pulling Out the Roots of All Karmic Obstacles and Gaining Rebirth in the Pure Land," which clears away the departed's karmic obstacles and guides them toward the Western Pure Land.
The Shurangama Mantra (Lengyan Zhou)
Over two thousand characters, 427 lines -- the longest mantra in Buddhism, the Shurangama Mantra, revered as the "King of Mantras." It is said that for as long as it circulates in the world, the True Dharma abides in the world, and in Chan temples the monastics recite it every dawn.
The Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness (Qingjing Jing)
Just about four hundred characters, yet it is the basic text of morning and evening service in Taiwan's Taoist temples -- the Qingjing Jing, in full "The Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness as Spoken by the Supreme Lord Lao." It teaches the way of clarity, stillness, and effortless action (wu wei), and many recite it at dawn and dusk to settle the mind.
Treatise on Response and Retribution (Taishang Ganying Pian)
"Calamity and fortune have no gate; they are summoned by people themselves. The retribution of good and evil follows like a shadow." With those opening lines, the Treatise on Response and Retribution -- hailed as "the world's foremost book of virtue" -- lays out cause and effect in some 1,700 characters and has shaped, to its depths, the Taiwanese folk sense of reward and retribution.