Ten Small Mantras

The Ten Small Mantras (Chinese: 十小咒; pinyin: Shíxiǎozhòu, Sanskrit: Daśa Cula Mantra), or the Ten Mantras (Chinese: 十咒, pinyin: Shízhòu, rōmaji: Jusshu, Vietnamese: Thập Chú), is a subgrouping of esoteric Buddhist mantras or dharanis in Chinese Buddhism, Japanese Ōbaku Zen Buddhism as well as Vietnamese Buddhism.

History and Practice

In China, the earliest extant appearance of this specific grouping is the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) Chinese Buddhist liturgical compilations, the Zhujing Risong Jiyao (諸經日誦集要, lit: "Compilation of Essentials for the Daily Chanting of Various Sūtras"), which was critically revised and edited by the Eighth Chinese Pure Land Patriarch, Yunqi Zhuhong (雲棲袾宏, 1655-1615), and later reprinted by the Ninth Chinese Pure Land Patriarch and Thirty-First Tiantai Patriarch, Ouyi Zhixu (蕅益智旭, 1599-1655). This grouping was subsequently frequently included in most subsequent influential Buddhist liturgical compilations for daily liturgical sessions that were collated during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) and Republican (1912-1949) eras, eventually becoming standardized as part of the common repertoire chanted by monks, nuns, and laity. Two examples of such liturgical compilations that include the mantras and which are still widely used in contemporary times are the Chanmen Risong (禪門日誦; lit: "Daily Chants of the Chan Gate") and the Fomen Bibei (佛門必備課誦本, lit: "Book of Essential Chants of the Buddhist Gate"). Influential traditional commentaries on the significance of each mantra during liturgical sessions have also been written by various eminent Chinese Buddhist figures, such as the Linji Chan monk (玉林通琇, 1614 – 1675), who was a teacher of the Qing dynasty Shunzhi Emperor (1638 – 1661), and the Tiantai monk Guanyue Xingci (觀月興慈, 1881 – 1950). In Vietnam, the grouping was transmitted some time during the Ming or Qing dynasty. The mantras are included as part of the repertoire for liturgical services in the Thiền Môn Nhật Tụng, which is the Vietnamese adaptation of the Chinese Chanmen Risong. In Japan, this grouping was transmitted during the end of the Ming dynasty by the eminent Ming dynasty monk Yinyuan Longqi (or Ingen Ryūki), who founded the Ōbaku Zen tradition of Japanese Buddhism. The mantras are included in the Zenrin Kajū (禅林課誦, lit: "Chants of the Zen Forest"), which is a standardized Buddhist liturgical compilations that is used for daily liturgical sessions by Ōbaku monastics.

In China, Taiwan and other overseas Chinese communities, the ten mantras are regularly chanted everyday in most contemporary Chinese Buddhist temples across multiple traditions like Chan, Pure Land and Tiantai as part of standard morning liturgical services through the performance of fanbai, alongside other mantras like the Śūraṅgama mantra as well as sūtras and gathas. In Vietnam, the ten mantras are also typically chanted as part of daily liturgical services in traditions like Thiền Buddhism. In Japan, the ten mantras are chanted through the performance of bonbai (the Japanese reading of fanbai) by contemporary monastics belonging to the Ōbaku Zen tradition. Unlike other Japanese Buddhist traditions, mantras in the Ōbaku tradition are chanted in the Tō-on reading, which is a pronunciation that approximates the Nanjing dialect of Mandarin during the Ming dynasty.

The Mantras

Cintāmani Cakravartin Dhāraṇī

Cintamaṇi Cakravartin Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 如意寶輪王陀羅尼, Pinyin: Rúyìbǎolúnwáng Tuóluóní; associated with Cintamanicakra):

The Mantra for Dispersing Calamities and Bringing Auspicious Good Will

Jvala Mahaugra Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 消災吉祥神咒, Pinyin: Xiāozāi Jíxiáng Shénzhòu):

Guna Ratna Sila Dhāraṇī

Guna Ratna Sila Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 功德寶山神咒, Pinyin: Gōngdé Bǎoshān Shénzhòu; The Meritorious Precious Mountain Dhāraṇī):

Mahācundi Dhāraṇī

Mahācundi Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 準提神咒, Pinyin: Zhǔntí Shénzhòu; associated with Cundi):

Dhāraṇī of the Holy Tathāgata of Immeasurable Lifespan, King of Determined Radiance

Aparimitāyur-jñāna-suviniścita-tejo-rājāya Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 大乘無量壽決定光明王陀羅尼, Pinyin: Dàchéng Wúliàngshòu Juédìng Guāngmíngwáng Tuóluóní; associated with Amitābha):

Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūrya Prabhasa Tathāgatā Abhisecani Dhāraṇī

Bhaiṣajyaguru Vaiḍūrya Prabhasa Tathāgatā Abhisecani Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 藥師灌頂真言, Pinyin: Yàoshī Guàndǐng Zhēnyán; associated with Bhaiṣajyaguru):

Āryavalokiteśvarā Bodhisattva Vikurvana Dhāraṇī

Āryavalokiteśvarā Bodhisattva Vikurvana Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 觀音靈感真言, Pinyin: Guānyīn Línggǎn Zhēnyán; The True Words to Bring a Response From Guanyin); contains the Oṃ maṇi padme hūm̐ mantra:

The Blame-Dispersing Words of the Seven Buddhas of the Past

Sapta Atītabuddha Karshaṇīya Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 七佛滅罪真言, Pinyin: Qīfó Mièzuì Zhēnyán; associated with The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity):

Sukhāvatī-vyūha Dhāraṇī

Sukhāvatī-vyūha Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 往生淨土神咒, Pinyin: Wǎngshēng Jìngtǔ Shénzhòu; associated with Amitabha and his Pure Land of Sukhāvatī):

Shrīdevī Dhāraṇī

Shrīdevī Dhāraṇī (Chinese: 大吉祥天女咒, Pinyin: Dà Jíxiáng Tiānnǚ Zhòu; associated with Śrīmahādevī):

See also

• Śūraṅgama Mantra
• NÄ«lakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī
• Oṃ maṇi padme hÅ«m̐

References

External links

• Audio recording of the NÄ«lakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī, the Ten Small Mantras and the Heart SÅ«tra by the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Choir, a Buddhist musical group that records traditional fanbai chants affiliated with Fo Guang Shan, a global Buddhist organization based in Taiwan. The Ten Small Mantras are chanted in order starting from 3:38 to 7:45.
• Audio recording of the Ten Small Mantras from Dharma Drum Mountain, another global Buddhist organization based in Taiwan, by Venerable Guo Xing (果醒法師).