The Dharani “Essence of Immeasurable Longevity and Wisdom”

The Dharani “Essence of Immeasurable Longevity and Wisdom” (Skt. Aparimitāyurjñānahṛdayadhāraṇī; Tib. ཚེ་དང་ཡེ་ཤེས་དཔག་ཏུ་མེད་པའི་སྙིང་པོའི་གཟུངས།, Wyl. tshe dang ye shes dpag tu med pa’i snying po’i gzungs) opens at a pool by the Ganges, where Shakyamuni Buddha is seated with five hundred monks and a great sangha of bodhisattvas. The Buddha begins with a short set of verses on the Buddha Aparimitayus, who dwells in the realm of Sukhavati, telling the gathering that anyone who recites Aparimitayus’ name will be reborn in that buddha’s realm. He then provides a unique description of Sukhavati, followed by instructions for two practices, related to the text’s dharani, that can grant rebirth in Sukhavati in the next life.

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The Tibetan translation of this text can be found in the Compendium of Dharanis Section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 850

• English translation: The Dhāraṇī “Essence of Immeasurable Longevity and Wisdom”