The DhÃÂraá¹Âë of Avalokiteà Âvara Ekadaà Âamukha Sà «tra (Eleven-Faced Avalokiteà Âvara Heart Dharani Sutra, Chinese: ä½Â說åÂÂä¸Âé¢è§Âä¸Âé³ç¥ÂÃ¥ÂÂ綠/ å£åÂÂä¸Âé¢è§Âèªå¨è©è¨根æÂŒÂÂ) is a DhÃÂraá¹Âë sutra (a sutra focused on specific magical chants, incantations, recitations called dhÃÂraá¹Âë) first translated from Sanskrit into Chinese on the 28th day of the third lunar month of 656 CE, by Xuanzang.
This sutra contains the dhÃÂraá¹Âë Heart-dhÃÂraá¹Âë of Avalokiteà Âvara-ekadaà Âamukha (Chinese:èÂÂÃ¥ÂÂä¸Âé¢è§Âèªå¨è©è©根æÂŒÂÂ). "Eleven faced Avalokiteà Âvara" is a form of Avalokiteà Âvara bodhisattva with eleven heads. In the text, the Buddha introduces, discussed how to practice the dhÃÂraá¹Âë and talks about the benefits and the incredible power of this dhÃÂraá¹Âë.
This is a popular chant throughout East Asia. There is a sung version of the dhÃÂraá¹Âë that is very popular among Asian Buddhists and is performed by famous religious or lay artists, which again is also mislabeled as the Great Compassion Mantra in Sanskrit.
The title of the sutras in different languages are:
There are several versions, which are often confused with each other. It is generally believed that this dhÃÂraá¹Âë has no direct relationship with the Great Compassion Mantra in Mahayana Buddhism. However, it is often falsely named as the Tibetan Great Compassion Mantra (èÂÂå³大æ²åÂÂ) or the Great Compassion Mantra in Sanskrit (梵é³大æ²åÂÂ) in Chinese-speaking regions and in Vietnam, many people unduly conflating the two texts.
We can refer to at least three sources to study this sutra, whose respective versions do not coincide exactly. The scholar Nalinaksha Dutt wrote in his book Gilgit manuscripts (1939):
It should be kept in mind that until the discovery of the Gilgit manuscripts in 1931, the Ekadaà Âamukha-sà «tra was known only from the Chinese and Tibetan versions, which in turn were retranslated into Sanskrit. This means that the original language text could only be studied from 1931. Unfortunately, the manuscripts found dating from the 5th or 6th century are deteriorated or incomplete, and it is often difficult to reconstruct the exact text.
Hence the differences mentioned (at best), or (at worst), the near impossibility of reconstructing the text in its entirety. The Indian scholar Nalinaksha Dutt carried out, between 1939 and 1943, a considerable work of reconstitution of the Sanskrit manuscripts, without however translating them into English.
The text introduces the heart dhÃÂraá¹Âë of the Bodhisattva, Avalokitesvara, as the following lines, translated by Prof. Abe indicate:
Later, the Bodhisattva states:
The sutra is used in various Buddhist ceremonies, including the famous Shuni-e ceremony at TÃ Âdai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. There is no full English translation.
The Heart-dhÃÂraá¹Âë of Avalokiteà Âvara-ekadaà Âamukha (Chinese:èÂÂÃ¥ÂÂä¸Âé¢è§Âèªå¨è©è©根æÂŒÂÂ/Ã¥ÂÂä¸Âé¢è§Âé³å¿ÂÃ¥ÂÂ) is the dhÃÂraá¹Âë introduced in Heart-dhÃÂraá¹Âë of Avalokiteà Âvara-ekadaà Âamukha Sà «tra. Below is the romanized Sanskrit from Indian monk Amoghavajra (around 750 AD) version, Taishà  T20n1069_001:
A third version must also be mentioned here. It differs slightly from that of Amoghavajra's quoted above. Here is the romanised version in Sanskrit IAST.
In fact, the Devanagari text is identical to that of Dutt, completed by the IAST transcription :
In the sutra, Avalokiteà Âvara bodhisattva explains the benefits which come from reciting the dhÃÂraá¹Âë.
Ten main benefits:
Four additional results in this life:
Furthermore, the sutra also promises the state of Avinivartaniya (non-retrogression on the path of the bodhisattva, meaning one will not fall back to an earlier state of spiritual development).
It is generally believed that this dhÃÂraá¹Âë has no direct relationship with the Great Compassion Mantra, or Nëlakantha dhÃÂranë in Mahayana Buddhism. However, it is often falsely named as Tibetan Great Compassion Mantra (èÂÂå³大æ²åÂÂ) or The Great Compassion Mantra in Sanskrit (梵é³大æ²åÂÂ).
In Chinese-speaking countries and in Vietnam, the Eleven-Faced Avalokiteà Âvara Heart dhÃÂraá¹Âë Sutra is as popular as the Nëlakaá¹Âá¹Âha DhÃÂraá¹Âë, so much so that they are often confused with each other. The confusion probably arises from the fact that the two dhÃÂraá¹Âë, though distinct, are also referred to by the same alternative title: Great Compassion Mantra. Their respective texts are very different, having only their reference to Avalokitesvara in common.
Some people believe that the dhÃÂraá¹Âë is told by the Eleven-Faced Avalokitesvara, an esoteric bodhisattva in Tibetan Buddhism, and that it is the equivalent Tibetan version of The Great Compassion Mantra in Mahayana Buddhism. This is why it is often being referred to as Tibetan Great Compassion Mantra, while the sung text currently discussed is in Sanskrit. However, this opinion is not accepted by most Mahayana Buddhists.
The title Eleven-Faced Avalokitesvara Heart Dharani Sutra is due to the Japanese historian Ryuichi Abe. The dhÃÂraá¹Âë is also known with the title Tibetan Great Compassion Mantra (èÂÂå³大æ²åÂÂ), which suggests a Tibetan.
The sung version presents several variants between the three known versions in Sanskrit, in Chinese and Tibetan, as already mentioned (see section "Several versions").
The text of the sung version of the dhÃÂraá¹Âë (only in Sanskrit) appears in N. Dutt's Gilgit Manuscripts, volume I p. 148 of the digitized version accessible via archive.org, the Chinese is that of Amoghavajra already mentioned, and the Tibetan is by an unidentified translator. The lyrics of this sung version are always interpreted in Sanskrit, regardless of the countries and interpreters.
There are several musical scores, whose tempo varies (slow or fast) depending on the performers. The chanting of this dhÃÂraá¹Âë is one of the most popular and famous piece of Buddhist music in Chinese-speaking countries and in Vietnam. Its popularity is probably due to the fact that it sung by famous Asian performers among Buddhists, such as the Nepalese-Tibetan bhikkhunë Ani Chöying Drölma, or the Malaysian-Chinese singer Imee Ooi.
However, many recordings of this chant is falsely named Tibetan Great Compassion Mantra (èÂÂå³大æ²åÂÂ) or The Great Compassion Mantra in Sanskrit (梵é³大æ²åÂÂ) by Chinese-language publishing brands.
Following the development of the internet in recent decades, the number of online postings by religious organisations is constantly increasing. Tens of thousands of sites offer the same interpretation, sometimes choreographed, some of which have several million views.
The fact that a dharani including in its title: Avalokiteà Âvara with eleven faces is the subject of a real craze to the point of being assimilated to the "Nëlakaá¹Âá¹Âha" can easily be understood. Indeed, the scholar Lokesh Chandra wrote:
Here is the English translation of the most popular sung text in Chinese speaking countries and in Vietnam, realized from the romanized Sanskrit (or IAST) Amogavajra's version. The numbers in brackets have been added, as the sentences (or verses) in the original are not numbered:
<br />