Auspicious Night

In Auspicious Night (Skt. Bhadrakarātrī; Tib. མཚན་མོ་བཟང་པོ།, Wyl. mtshan mo bzang po), the deity Chandana appears before a monk in Rajagriha and asks if he knows of the Buddha’s teaching called Auspicious Night. Since the monk has never heard of it, the deity encourages the monk to ask the Buddha himself, who is staying nearby. At the monk’s request, the Buddha teaches him how to cultivate a contemplative state of mind in relation to the three times: Do not think about the past, do not worry about the future, and do not become distracted by whatever arises in the present. The Buddha then teaches several mantras and incantations for the welfare of all sentient beings and explain the benefits of the instructions, such as having the power to avert evil influences and misfortune, and leading to liberation.

Text

The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Kangyur, Toh 313. It is also catalogued as Toh 617 in the Action Tantra section of the Tantra Collection, and Toh 974 in the Compendium of Dharanis of the Dharani collection.

• English translation: Auspicious Night