tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68756310790507049772024-03-05T17:20:26.369+00:00Visible Mantra BlogBuddhist calligraphy and epigraphy.
Mantra, Dhāraṇī, Sūtra. Languages: Sanskrit, Pāli, Tibetan. Scripts: Siddhaṃ aka Bonji (梵字), Tibetan (dbu-can/Uchen), Ranjana/Lantsa, Devanāgarī.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger167125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-62665198776432879672018-09-10T10:57:00.000+01:002018-09-10T10:57:23.595+01:00New Definition of "Mantra"<div style="border: 1px solid #cc0000; color: #cc0000; float: right; margin: 0 0 20px 10px; padding: 10px; text-align: center; width: 180px;">
<b><i>mantra</i> is a means of expressing thoughts of devotion or prayer.</b></div>
I've been revisiting my notes on mantra for my <i>Heart Sutra</i> book and made an interesting discovery.<br />
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The etymology of <i>mantra </i>has always puzzled me.
The ancient grammarians derived it from a root √<i>mantr</i>, "mantra" in this view is a simple verbal noun with the suffix -a (Cf. Apte's dictionary definition which gives the Pāṇinian code <i>mantr-aC</i>).<br />
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However, modern grammarians are almost unanimous in rejecting this. They consensus is that the root is √<i>man </i>which is usually said to mean "think".
This gave rise to the idea that <i>mantra </i>combined the root with an instrumental suffix <i>-tra</i> to mean something like "a tool for thinking". The trouble with this is that no one ever used a <i>mantra </i>as a tool for thinking. If anything the opposite is true, mantras are tools for avoiding thoughts. The first <i>mantras </i>were verses from the <i>Ṛgveda </i>used as liturgy in rituals. Like the the Gāyatrī mantra, from the <i>Ṛgveda </i>(ṚV 3.57.10)
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<i>tat savitur vareṇyaṃ
bhargo devasya dhīmahi
dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt</i> </blockquote>
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We meditate on the lovely
Glory of the god Savitṛ
That he may stimulate our minds. (<a href="https://amzn.to/2x82OBZ">Roebuck's translation</a>)</blockquote>
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Note the word for meditate here is <i>dhīmahi </i>which is related to the word <i>dhyāna </i>(<i>dhī + āna > dhyāna</i>)</div>
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Trying to find a better explanation, I returned to a book that I have long valued for its insights into the Vedic religious imagination, <a href="https://amzn.to/2wV0mOM">William K Mahony's <i>The Artful Universe</i></a> (he's an academic and high-level <i>haṭha </i>yoga teacher).
Mahony draws attention to an aspect of Sanskrit words from √<i>man </i>that I had previously overlooked, but which is confirmed by standard dictionaries. √<i>man </i>does mean "think", but more importantly the primary meaning is "the verbal expression of thought". The job of the <i>ṛṣi </i>or seer, was not simply to find meaning and significance in the mundane, but to give it <i>verbal expression</i> in order to make it accessible to everyone.<br />
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The <i>Ṛgveda </i>was an anthology of such verses, collated around 1500-1200 BCE, which are intended give meaning to life for Brahmins. And to some extent they still do, though more in theory than in practice.<br />
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So words like <i>mati</i> do mean "thinking, thought, mind" etc, but more importantly <i>mati</i> means "prayer, devotion". A <i>manman</i> is a verbal expression of a mental image. A <i>maniṣā </i>is a verbal insight.
So a mantra is not “tool for thinking”, but rather <i><b>mantra is a means of expressing thoughts of devotion or prayer</b></i>.<br />
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This is far more satisfying as a definition since this is how people actual use mantras, and it is still consistent with etymology and dictionaries.
Note that this also explains also the most important beliefs of Brahmanism are referred to as <i>śruti </i>"something heard" even though those who transmit such beliefs are called <i>ṛṣi </i>"seer". Like all priests, the <i>ṛṣi </i>plays a mediating role between the seen and the unseen worlds that people believed in.<br />
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One of the main ways the <i>ṛṣi</i> had their visions was <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268390774_The_Soma_Code_Parts_I-III_Luminous_Visions_in_the_RIG_VEDA_Soma%27s_Birth_Transmutation_into_Indra_Visions_Myths_Drugs_in_the_RIG_VEDA">to combine mediation with sleep deprivation brought on by the use of stimulants</a> (probably ephedra). This is quite a dangerous practice, which can induce seizures and/or psychosis, and can be fatal if prolonged by more than a few days. So don't try it lightly or without supervision. Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-40396804503709130212016-08-30T09:13:00.001+01:002016-08-30T09:13:11.973+01:00Tibetan Transliteration of Sanskrit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuZJmii4z2At7DefLxchC6_o-ZgtT3dmUKKp3TN-N9O8WyvYtOMov7kQX9aS6bj2yVvENsJ8PDjWd_2ZIQVUF_W4SB_HpNnOPnerW-qPS5AC5gBSyNjrAOsBVxOGQd5wlTaWr1m23pMFv/s1600/Indian_Scripts_in_Tibet_59a+copy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuZJmii4z2At7DefLxchC6_o-ZgtT3dmUKKp3TN-N9O8WyvYtOMov7kQX9aS6bj2yVvENsJ8PDjWd_2ZIQVUF_W4SB_HpNnOPnerW-qPS5AC5gBSyNjrAOsBVxOGQd5wlTaWr1m23pMFv/s400/Indian_Scripts_in_Tibet_59a+copy.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Professor Dorje Wangchuk has produced a very useful introduction to the way that Tibetans have dealt with Sanskrit loan words. </div>
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<a href="https://sudharmablog.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/first-blog-post/">Tibetan Transliteration System</a> </blockquote>
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"The purpose of this article is to make some preliminary remarks on the transliteration of Sanskrit texts into Tibetan scripts." </blockquote>
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Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-25808352794336758132015-10-31T09:00:00.000+00:002015-10-31T09:00:00.527+00:00Mūlamadhyamaka-Kārika 17.6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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tiṣṭhaty ā pākakālāc cet karma tan nityatām iyāt |</div>
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niruddhaṃ cen niruddhaṃ sat kiṃ phalaṃ janayiṣyati ||</div>
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If an action persists till the time of ripening, that would be permanence.</div>
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If it has ceased, then being ceased, what fruit will be produced?<br /></div>
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This verse from Nāgārjuna's Mulamadhyamaka-Kārikā (<span style="text-align: center;">MMK 17.6) </span>is important because it shows that the standard versions of <i>pratītyasamutpāda </i>and <i>karma </i>are mutually contradictory. <i>Pratītyasamutpāda </i>says the conditioned cannot persist after the condition has ceased (<i>asya nirodhād idam nirudhyate</i>) while karma <i>requires</i> the conditioned arise long after the condition has ceased. This problem, which I call <i>Action at a Temporal Distance</i>, drives a good deal of innovation the Abhidharma period and after as Buddhists realise the problem exists and try to invent ways around it. For some descriptions of this problem and the proposed solutions, see my collection of essays on <a href="http://jayarava.blogspot.co.uk/p/afterlife.html#KR">karma and rebirth</a>.</div>
Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-81956270657146608232015-10-28T18:18:00.000+00:002015-10-28T19:16:44.053+00:00Sanskrit Pratītyasamutpāda (Dependent Arising) Formula<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">yaduta asmin satīdaṃ bhavaty</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">asyotpadād idam utpadyate |</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">yaduta asmin asatīdaṃ na bhavaty</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">asya nirodhād idaṃ nirudhyate ||</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">यदुतास्मिन्सतीदं भवत्यस्योत्पदादिदमुत्पद्यते ।</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">यदुतास्मिनसतीदं न भवत्यास्य निरोधादिदं निरुध्यते ॥</span><br />
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Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-6967662539378698862015-10-26T17:07:00.000+00:002015-10-26T17:07:28.576+00:00Pratītyasamutpāda in Sanskrit<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="5" style="background: #FFF; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: -webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width: 99.375%; width: calc(100% - 2px);">
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/9TvuGSouio/" style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Siddham script calligraphy, dependent arising formula in Sanskrit.</a></div>
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A photo posted by jayarava (@jayarava) on <time datetime="2015-10-26T17:04:37+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Oct 26, 2015 at 10:04am PDT</time></div>
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<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-70019552729151039372015-10-17T13:31:00.003+01:002015-10-17T15:09:40.461+01:00dhiḥmma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/dhih.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsA7j6iK-MqKKt1q-mykCvtqfOT1PlmsnBKcvfEkxb2iPWXU7GVlfn7K9XwCg_ZPFd21IHfsMRj7PsS3Hc1il-IN_o1t4Gqo-rZ5nH4Vd6cub3IrCkdstTfVBMdU1fpZqWOHb7wr6A-c_/s1600/dhimma-short1.png" /></a></div>
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<b>dhiḥmma</b> </div>
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Seed syllable of the </div>
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<i>Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya</i> (Heart Sutra)</div>
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combines <i>dhiḥ </i>and <i>mma</i> </div>
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with short <i>i</i> as per modern </div>
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Shingon interpretations</div>
<br />Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-29364925516886772692015-09-27T18:00:00.001+01:002015-09-27T18:00:43.013+01:00The Heart Sūtra in Devanāgarī<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">॥</span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">न म स्स र्व ज्ञा य ॥</span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="BO" style="font-family: Tibetan_Machine_Uni, serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">࿓</span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">सि द्ध म स्रु ॥
आ र्या व लो </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">कि ते श्व रो बो धि स त्वो ग म्भी </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">रं प्र ज्ञ पा र मि ता च र्यां च </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">र मा णो व्य व लो क य ति स्म </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">प ञ्च स्क न्धां स्तां श्च श्व भा व शू </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">न्या न्प श्य ति स्म । इ ह शा रि </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">पु त्र रू पं शू न्य ता शू न्य तै </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">व रू पं रू पा न्न पृ थ क् श </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">न्य ता शू न्य ता या न पृ थ ग्रू </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">पं</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">।</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">ए</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">व</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">मे</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">व</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">वे</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">द</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">ना</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">सं</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">ज्ञ सं स्का रो वि ज्ञ नं । इ ह </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">शा रि पु त्र स र्व ध र्माः शू न्य </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">ता ल क्ष णा अ नु त्प न्ना अ नि </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">रु द्धा अ म ला अ वि म ला अ </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">नू ना अ प रि पू र्णाः । त स्मा </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">च्छा रि पु त्र शू न्य ता यां न रू </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">पं न वे द ना न सं ज्ञा न सं </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">स्का राः न वि ज्ञा नं । न च क्षु </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">र्न श्रो त्रं न घ्रा नं न जि ह्वा न </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">का</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">यो</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">न</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">म</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">नः</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">।</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">न</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">रू</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">पं</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">न</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">श ब्दो न ग न्दो न र सो न स्प्र </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">ष्ट व्य न ध र्मः । न च क्षू र्धा </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">तु र्या व न्न मा नो वि ज्ञ न धा </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">तुः । ना वि द्या ना वि द्या क्ष यो </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">या व न्न ज रा म र णं न ज </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">रा म र ण क्ष यो । न दुः खो </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">न स मु द यो न नि रो धो न </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">मा र्गः । न ज्ञ नं</span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">न प्रा प्तिः । </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">त स्मा च्छा रि पु तर अ प्रा प्ति त्वा </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">द्बो</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">धि</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">स</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">त्व</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">स्य</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">प्र</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">ज्ञा</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">पा</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">रा</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">मि</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">ता मा श्रि त्य वि ह र त्य चि त्ता </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">व र णः । चि त्ता व र ण ना </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">स्ति त्वा द त्र स्त्रो वि प र्या सा ति </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">क्रा न्तो नि र्वा ण प र्य व सा नं</span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">। त्र्य ध्व व्य च स्थि ताः स र्व बु </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">द्धाः प्र ज्ञ पा र मि ता मा श्रि त्य </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">अ नु त्त रां स म्य क्स म्बो धि म </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">भि स म्बु द्धाः । त स्मा ज् ज्ञ त </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">व्यं</span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">प्र ज्ञा पा र मि ता म हा वि </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">द्या</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">अ</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">नु</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">त्त</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">र</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">वि</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">द्या</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">ऽ</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">स</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;">म</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt; text-indent: 0mm;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">स म वि द्या स र्व दुः ख प्र श </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">म नः स म्य क्त्वा मि थ्या त्व त् । </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">प्र ज्ञ पा र मि ता या मु क्तो धा </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">र णी त द्य था । ग ते ग ते </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">पा र ग ते पा र सं ग ते बो </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">धि स्वा हा ॥ प्र ज्ञ पा र मि ता </span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">हृ द यं स मा प्तं</span><span style="font-family: xdvng; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span lang="SA" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">॥ </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 10pt;">]</span><span lang="SA"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> ॥</span></span><br /><br />[<a href="http://jayarava.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/a-new-sanskrit-heart-sutra.html">my modified text</a>]</span></div>
Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-35066115542384075572015-09-26T13:36:00.000+01:002015-09-26T13:36:11.584+01:00More page updates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">oṃ namo mahāguru vairocana vajra</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
A Sanskrit translation of the <i>hōgō </i>mantra of <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/kukai.html">Kūkai</a>. Also updated recently <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/vairocana.html">Vairocana</a>, <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/aksobhya.html">Akṣobhya</a>, <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/ratnasambhava.html">Ratnasambhava</a>, <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/amitabha.html">Amitābha</a>, <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/acala-fudo.html">Acala Vidyārāja - Fudō Myōō (不動明王)</a>.Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-53992122022491475112015-09-25T20:27:00.000+01:002015-09-25T20:27:03.216+01:00Article on Dhāraṇī<br />
Copp, Paul. (2008) Notes on the term Dhāraṇī in medieval Chinese Buddhist thought. <i>Bulletin of SOAS</i>, 71, 3 , 493–508. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/463410/Notes_on_the_term_Dh%C4%81ra%E1%B9%87%C4%AB_in_medieval_Chinese_Buddhist_thought">https://www.academia.edu/463410/Notes_on_the_term_Dh%C4%81ra%E1%B9%87%C4%AB_in_medieval_Chinese_Buddhist_thought</a><br />
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<b>Abstract</b></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
"<i>Dhāraṇī</i>", with its many cognates in Chinese and other languages, is one of the most complex terms in Buddhism. Particular shadings of the tradition’s notions of memory, meaning, and meditation, as well as specific kinds of incantations and mnemonic devices, all fall within what can seem a rather bewildering semantic range. However, the logic of the term is consistent over a wide range of sources, though Western treatments have often been misleading. It is usually claimed that the basic practical significance of "<i>dhāraṇī</i>" is either memory orientation. Yet Chinese sources make clear that each of these understandings overly privileges a narrow band of the term’s usage. Understanding that the basic practical sense of "<i>dhāraṇī</i>" was "grasp", not memory or spells, illuminates connections within a range of sources, from doctrinal treatments to injunctions to "hold" <i>dhāraṇī</i>-incantations in mind and, indeed, on the body encountered in texts of various kinds.</blockquote>
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Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-10229411694290751212015-09-24T08:42:00.003+01:002015-09-27T18:04:48.670+01:00akaro mantra<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6csBdtx4FWLwskNbZoqGtkK6kAMHzU60rp6grrp5ak-sMMzdyiXZhqHmHmU4RaSJ_KoOOsvPWmUlrhx__3vEzFz7Xf7zYgOvLFvC8aE1H6F9rhCZb0yIoMgLv_ze0elRr6tl0Q6P9sRBd/s1600/akaro-hevajra.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6csBdtx4FWLwskNbZoqGtkK6kAMHzU60rp6grrp5ak-sMMzdyiXZhqHmHmU4RaSJ_KoOOsvPWmUlrhx__3vEzFz7Xf7zYgOvLFvC8aE1H6F9rhCZb0yIoMgLv_ze0elRr6tl0Q6P9sRBd/s640/akaro-hevajra.png" width="528" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">oṃ akāro mukhaṃ sarvadharmāṇāṃ ādyanutpannatvāt āḥ hūṃ phaṭ svāhā</span></div>
<br /><br />This mantra has a fascinating history that ties into the <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/arapacana.html">Arapacana alphabet</a>. Without the magic bits it says <i>akāro mukhaṃ sarvadharmāṇāṃ ādyanutpannatvāt</i>.<br /><br />The letter "a" (<i>akāro</i>) is an opening (<i>mukhaṃ</i>) because of the originate state of non-arising (<i>ādyanutpannatvāt</i>) of all dharmas (<i>sarvadharmāṇāṃ</i>). <br /><br />In this case the letter "a" (<i>a-kāra</i>) reminds us of the word <i>anutpanna </i>'unarisen' (<i>an-ut-panna</i>). And the word itself is the focus for a reflection on the nature of dharmas from a Prajñāpāramitā point of view. Because dharmas are the objects of the <i>manas </i>(mind sense) they are neither existent (<i>astitā</i>) nor non-existent (<i>nāstitā</i>). They arise and pass away. In denying that anything arises when we experience something, the Prajñāpāramitā is following the early Mainstream Buddhist idea that dharmas lack substance (<i>anātman</i>). Nothing substantial arises when we have an experience. There is an experience, but nothing real arises in the process. <br /><br />The Prajñāpāramitā was written in an environment in which dharmas where considered to be really existent things (<i>dravya</i>). To counter this and bring the focus back to experience they used a negative rhetoric which denied the arising of dharmas entirely. In this they were also influenced by the experience of powerful meditative experiences variously called <i>śūnyatā-vimokṣa </i>or <i>nirodhasamāpatti </i>in which no dharmas arise. <br /><br />The alphabet provides a whole series of words to reflect on, e.g. 44 in the Larger Prajñāpāramitā text. Having reflected on each in turn, one then reflects how they all point to the same understanding. <br /><br />Later texts, particularly the <i>Sarvatathāgata-tattvasaṃgraha</i>, reduced this practice to just a reflection on the letter "a" and the word <i>anutpanna</i>. The phrase becomes a mantra in the <i>Hevajra Tantra</i>. <br />Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-81460093999769242732015-09-23T18:02:00.002+01:002015-09-23T18:02:50.616+01:00100 Syllable Vajrasatva Mantra<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9pGAd2eHKfY8PRyjTwqWjpwt-e1oR9aeGKL7oWRB208WxaodtD5ARZL3916XO_7X9gzD5f1ipCXp6HkPsXYqIaJk47MDLSD0bkzuFfOK_MzdtTmBELVNJomYssnI9KuE3To8LvUhs3G7/s1600/vajrasattva-100.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9pGAd2eHKfY8PRyjTwqWjpwt-e1oR9aeGKL7oWRB208WxaodtD5ARZL3916XO_7X9gzD5f1ipCXp6HkPsXYqIaJk47MDLSD0bkzuFfOK_MzdtTmBELVNJomYssnI9KuE3To8LvUhs3G7/s640/vajrasattva-100.png" width="460" /></a></div>
<br />Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-85198385533650218342015-09-21T17:14:00.001+01:002015-09-21T17:14:21.246+01:00Maṇḍala of 'a'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/a.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobk6XuHhJd05jT0Tfr_OLkk3bPtZ2ILbDHmOUDlusIW0Owiv4Hbc58qmChGvwbyjP-cWTwkzwvFVbfwucEHxOJVML78cAXu2AzTS4Bfkuipdeicgus78mDtxBsT_Uu9NCOS3lcjKwH5Cp/s400/a-mandala.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-91811533230810476502015-09-17T11:34:00.001+01:002015-09-17T11:34:55.001+01:00Page Update.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1NCLdAOEB6UJWCFI6uQJTuzZ2TyylkLis3hyZhL8cIgSufW03MTDmAcgMcZ-xSzB6yv6SYYlN1_hBedtkwsBCWrjr-caxTnL3CF-E3dyq-Oo14LjuoX7fbjmuwobEwovrQhSvsTjpmhz/s1600/haam2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1NCLdAOEB6UJWCFI6uQJTuzZ2TyylkLis3hyZhL8cIgSufW03MTDmAcgMcZ-xSzB6yv6SYYlN1_hBedtkwsBCWrjr-caxTnL3CF-E3dyq-Oo14LjuoX7fbjmuwobEwovrQhSvsTjpmhz/s200/haam2.png" width="200" /></a></div>
I updated the <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/acala-fudo.html">Acala Vidyārāja - Fudō Myōō (不動明王)</a> with improved calligraphy and an additional decorative <b><i>hāṃ</i></b> seed syllable (left)Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-42134921809928246162015-09-16T14:49:00.000+01:002015-09-16T16:14:06.943+01:00Page Updates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_nVTSNBYNIgqYgNMwF2G6_smEkwUVa2_mFzQVqpDgrmMXAv_5IGtrZ9MCK9NqNxYzz6-HP-L8hMnhoK33PzfEq2yQwFCenT6KeOoK9QFEdwE3JtL9vaKK_rGXE0L4pdDORnOW3GsRBCv/s1600/ka.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_nVTSNBYNIgqYgNMwF2G6_smEkwUVa2_mFzQVqpDgrmMXAv_5IGtrZ9MCK9NqNxYzz6-HP-L8hMnhoK33PzfEq2yQwFCenT6KeOoK9QFEdwE3JtL9vaKK_rGXE0L4pdDORnOW3GsRBCv/s1600/ka.png" /></a></div>
First page updates for a long while. I've added some better calligraphy of the <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/alphabet.html">basic alphabet</a> and to the <a href="http://www.visiblemantra.org/combining-vowels.html">combining vowels</a>.<br /><br />I have to add some more pics of conjuncts.<br />
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<br />Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-64975104887335134782014-01-25T10:25:00.002+00:002014-08-13T09:13:35.359+01:00Siddhaṃ and Maṅgala = Success and Luck.As we know, after a certain period Buddhist manuscripts begin with the word <i>siddhaṃ</i>. It is this practice which lead to the script that developed after the Gupta Empire to be called <i>Siddhaṃ</i> or <i>Siddhamātra</i>. In Patañjali's <i>Vyākaraṇamahābhāṣya</i> (<i>Great Commentary on Grammar) </i>composed about 150 BCE, he says explains why this word was emphasised:<br />
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<i>maṅgalārtham . māṅgalikaḥ ācāryaḥ mahataḥ śāstraughasya maṅgalārtham siddhaśabdam āditaḥ prayuṅkte . maṅgalādīni hi śāstrāṇi prathante vīrapuruṣakāṇi ca bhavanti āyuṣmatpuruṣakāṇi ca . adhyetāraḥ ca siddhārthāḥ yathā syuḥ iti </i>. (I.6.26 - 7.2)</blockquote>
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For the sake of good luck (<i>maṅgala</i>). A superstitious (<i>māṅgalika</i>) teacher begins his great, extensive treatise with the word "<i>siddhaṁ</i>" to bring good luck. For treatises with a lucky beginnings spread (far and wide) and produce men who are heroic (<i>vīra</i>) and long lived (<i>āyusmat</i>). And those who study [that treatise] will accordingly achieve their goals (<i>siddhārtha</i>). </blockquote>
In a Buddhist context the Buddha is said to have been critical of those who were <i>māṅgalika</i>, but was not beyond making accommodations with the customs of superstitious lay people. See my essay <a href="http://jayarava.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/gesundheit-making-accomodations-with.html">Gesundheit! Making Accommodations with Custom</a>.Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-78955577308064176222013-05-27T19:56:00.000+01:002013-05-28T11:53:02.016+01:00Mūlamadhyamaka-kārikā 1.1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrimWiu1CgvHTDftpNd7Etmfks8vA-R8NwDSFvPkvaQAjyn4HMYm5OiqWKDF1qFzPALzQhLMrD1sf2By2454ZSqyQBctIUELcVVStAKGvZnYyfvDNWjqutJgMX8Ur2VJj9l1OYjiD5g_QF/s1600/mmk+1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrimWiu1CgvHTDftpNd7Etmfks8vA-R8NwDSFvPkvaQAjyn4HMYm5OiqWKDF1qFzPALzQhLMrD1sf2By2454ZSqyQBctIUELcVVStAKGvZnYyfvDNWjqutJgMX8Ur2VJj9l1OYjiD5g_QF/s320/mmk+1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>na svato nāpi parato na </i></div>
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<i>dvābhyāṃ nāpy ahetutaḥ |</i></div>
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<i>utpannā jātu vidyante </i></div>
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<i>bhāvāḥ kva cana ke cana ||</i></div>
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Not from self, nor from other, nor from both, or for no reason;</div>
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Are any beings found to arise anywhere.</div>
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~ </div>
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<a href="http://middleway-verses.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/nothing-arises.html">Mūlamadhyamaka-kārikā 1.1</a></div>
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Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-3545678336942867592013-05-06T16:04:00.001+01:002013-05-06T16:04:36.998+01:00śūnyatā<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayarava/8713443197/" title="sunyata"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8264/8713443197_cffc62c106.jpg" alt="sunyata by jayarava" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayarava/8713443197/">sunyata</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayarava/">jayarava</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>Got my calligraphy pens out for the first time in ages to do some words for a new internet project.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-42422347403644646202013-03-24T17:34:00.000+00:002013-03-24T17:34:17.466+00:00Dhāraṇī vs Pidgin<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Words from early-stage pidgins consist largely of nouns, verbs, and adjectives, with few or no articles, auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, or pronouns. As for grammar, early-stage pidgin discourse typically consist of short strings of words with little phrase construction, no regularity in word order, no subordinate clauses, and no inflectional endings on words." Jared Diamond. <i>The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanazee</i> p.142. </blockquote>
Cf this <i>dhāraṇi </i>from the <i>Saddharmapuṇḍarikā Sūtra</i>:<br />
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Anye manye mane mamane citte carite same samita viśānte muke muktame same avishame samasame jaye kṣāye akṣāye akṣaīne śānte samite dhāraṇī ālokabhāshe pratyavekṣāṇi nidhiru abhyan taranivishṇe abhyantarapāriśuddhi utkule mutkule araṭe paraṭe sukāṅkṣaī asamasame buddhavilokite dharmaparīkṣaite saṃghanirghoshaṇi nirghoshanī bhayā-bhayaviśodhani mantre mantrākṣāyate rule rutakauśalye akṣāye akṣāyavanatāye vakkule valoda amanyanatāye svāhā.</blockquote>
Diamond's description of early-stage pidgins is a pretty good description of the strings of words found in <i>dhāraṇīs</i>. Make of that what you will.Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-42207326508420288062012-12-17T17:46:00.000+00:002012-12-17T17:46:54.466+00:00Yet Another Heart Sutra Ms.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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This is the <i>Heart Sutra</i> manuscript I'm currently working on: Cambridge Ms. No ADD 1680 - part of a large bundle of leaves. It's probably from the 13th century which makes it one of the oldest <i>Heart Sutra</i> ms. still extant. It's written in black ink which is faded in places, on a <i>talipot </i>palm leaf. The writing is one the Nepalese 'hooked' scripts (probably Bhujimol I think).<br />
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Unfortunately the first page is missing, but it is still an interesting specimen. It's been very difficult to decipher at times - one has to look for familiar landmarks like 'evaṃ' or 'prajñāpāramitā' and then deduce from there, though in the end I wasn't guessing most of the syllables. <br />
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This is not one of the basic mss. that Conze used in his 1948 Critical edition, but he does cite it in the 1967 versions - albeit somewhat speculatively at times. He refers to it as Nk.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-37343766129324611422012-12-12T16:40:00.001+00:002012-12-12T16:40:37.683+00:00Another Heart Sutra<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhaOmw5_SJ1yTMaL9aE0o-3J1JOvnHsAXJWd_15iMA_S-IKU_Kw2oOe5LD71o3fjG4ZLDhG9JQ_V5-wY-5o7mLAgH-T3wJOTB554JLuAdmyOd9RfbfYIb4OBHk9f_DnM4twWH3CtSPIBnN/s1600/ADD+1553+1+recto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhaOmw5_SJ1yTMaL9aE0o-3J1JOvnHsAXJWd_15iMA_S-IKU_Kw2oOe5LD71o3fjG4ZLDhG9JQ_V5-wY-5o7mLAgH-T3wJOTB554JLuAdmyOd9RfbfYIb4OBHk9f_DnM4twWH3CtSPIBnN/s400/ADD+1553+1+recto.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Another <i>Heart Sutra</i> - 20th century, Newāri script. Black in on paper, with red ink decorations. The image in the centre is a four-armed Prajñāpāramitā.<br />
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I'll be leading a day of study on the Heart Sutra on 30 Dec at the <i>Cambridge Buddhist Centre</i>. 10-4. All welcome.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-16617214371759622522012-12-06T17:37:00.001+00:002012-12-06T17:37:30.257+00:00Heart Sutra.<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayarava/8250539012/" title="ADD 1485 open. Heart Sutra."><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8344/8250539012_f057d3f7e5.jpg" alt="ADD 1485 open. Heart Sutra. by jayarava" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayarava/8250539012/">ADD 1485 open. Heart Sutra.</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayarava/">jayarava</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>I spent the day transcribing the Heart Sutra found in this manuscript. There really are more than one Heart Sutra - and more than the long and short text as well. This is a variant on the long text. <br /><br />Ca. 1677 CE. Gold ink on black. Ranjana script. Approx 24 x 7.6 cm. No title. Contains the Heart Sutra along with other dhāraṇī texts (which is where we mostly find the HS in these ms.s). This ms is unusual in that it expands the contractions we normally associate with the HS.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-61152541046524798052012-05-20T11:10:00.001+01:002015-09-17T11:56:30.685+01:00Mantra of a Living Buddha(?)<div style="font-family: inherit;">
Someone recently sent me a picture of a bracelet with a mantra on it, asking if I could translate it. The mantra seemed to transcribe as </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">ༀ ཨཱཿ ཧཱུྂ གུ རུ བྷྱཿ ཉ༔ ཨ༔ ཤ༔ ས༔ མ༔ ཧ༔ པཪྨ ས མ སེདྡྷེ ཧཱུྂ </span></div>
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<i> oṃ aḥ hūṃ guru bhyaḥ ña a śa sa ma ha parma sa ma siddhi hūṃ </i></div>
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There is a difference between <span style="font-family: Microsoft Himalaya;"> ཿ and ༔ </span>, the former (<i>visarga</i>) affects the sound, the latter (<i>gter tsheg</i>; treasure mark) seems to be decorative. The syllables decorated with the ༔ are a series of <i>bīja </i>or seed-syllables, some times called a <i>thödröl </i>(<i>thos grol</i>) <i></i>mantra. The symbol is used with <i>terma </i>(<i>gter ma</i>) or revealed teachings. There is a minor error here ཉ༔ should read འ༔ which would transcribe as <i>'a</i>. So the sequence in the middle is:
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<i>'a a śa sa ma ha</i></div>
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This is sometimes written as <i>a ah sha sa ma ha</i>. Some sources say that this mantra requires a special transmission before it can be used. The mantra seems to be associated with passing through the bardos. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The word </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">parma </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">might be a Tibetan word, or more likely a corruption of </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">padma </i><span style="font-family: Microsoft Himalaya;">པདྨ</span>. The more I look at it the more it seems that <i style="font-family: inherit;">padma </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">was what was intended. </span></div>
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In the word <span style="font-family: Microsoft Himalaya;">གུ རུ བྷྱཿ </span>(i.e. <i>gurubhyaḥ</i>) the last syllable is badly formed (the top should join up with the vertical stroke on the right), but it must be this. In Sanskrit is the dative plural from of <i>guru</i>, and means 'to or for the <i>gurus</i>'. In Tibetan salutations one sometimes sees </div>
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<i>namo gurubhyaḥ namo buddhāya namo dharmāya namo saṅghāya </i> </div>
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homage to the teachers, homage to the Buddha, homage to the Dharma,<br />
homage to the Saṅgha</div>
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So the mantra, with these minor corrections appears to read: </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">༄ༀ་ཨཱཿཧཱུྂ་གུ་རུ་ཉ༔ཨ༔ཤ༔ས༔མ༔ཧ༔པཪྨ་ས་མ་སེདྡྷེ་ཧཱུྂ།</span></div>
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<i>oṃ aḥ hūṃ gurubhyaḥ 'a a śa sa ma ha padma sama siddhi hūṃ</i> </div>
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With this in mind we start to see references to whose mantra this on the internet. It's the mantra of a self proclaimed Living Buddha, by the name of Lian Sheng, the founder of the True Buddha School. He's apparently popular in East Asia, though not uncontroversial. Lian Sheng seems to be a Chinese form of the name Padmasambhava and the mantra employs elements from the Vajra Guru mantra: <i>oṃ aḥ hūṃ vajra guru padma siddhi hūṃ</i>; plus the bardo mantra: <i>'a a śa sa ma ha</i>. </div>
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Though he is said to be a "Living Buddha" and have 5 million followers I had never heard of him before today. I'd suggest caution in taking him at face value.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">48VUPQ3F2G2W</span> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-70440591070143595882012-01-30T12:54:00.003+00:002012-01-30T13:11:29.758+00:00Sanskrit Manuscripts at Cambridge University<img style="float:left; margin: 0 20px 10px 0px; width:200px;" src="http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/newspublishing/pictures/india.jpg" />The University of Cambridge embarked on an exercise of 'linguistic archaeology' late last year, launching a project to survey their extensive collection of India and Nepalese Sanskrit manuscripts. Most of these are Buddhist. Some 2000 birch-bark, and palm-leaf manuscripts were collected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and not all have been properly catalogued. The manuscripts themselves date from as far back to the 9th century - making them amongst the oldest surviving India manuscripts. Because there has previously been no systematic survey of all the texts it is possible that some treasures may lie waiting to be discovered. <div><br /></div><div>The project includes plans to digitise some of the texts and make them available via Cambridge University's <a href="http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/">Digital Library</a>, which recently added images of Isaac Newton's papers. I think everyone is hoping for a renaissance of Sanskrit studies at Cambridge, and perhaps also for Buddhist studies (CU presently offers no separate courses in Buddhism). </div><div><br /></div><div>Last Friday I attended an informal talk by visiting scholar Harunaga Isaacson and saw pictures of some of the manuscripts. I felt privileged to be amongst such illustrious scholars (people who are fluent in Sanskrit and the many variations of the scripts). I will try to add updates about the project as it goes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Image and text borrowed from the University of Cambridge Website. Their account of the project is here: <a href="http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/newspublishing/detail.php?news=315">Powerful Words</a>.</div>Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-54073737684369676572012-01-17T20:38:00.002+00:002012-01-17T20:43:40.639+00:00New Siddhaṃ Calligrapher<div style="float:left; margin:0 20px 10px 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leventebakos/6471471535/" title="vāṃḥ in siddhaṃ script. by Levente Bakos, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6471471535_087ceb8680_m.jpg" width="171" height="240" alt="vāṃḥ in siddhaṃ script." /></a></div>There's a new Buddhist calligrapher on Flickr. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/leventebakos/sets/72157628320365421/detail/">Levente Bakos</a> does work in Siddhaṃ (left) and Tibetan scripts. Some beautiful work here, and with a distinctive style of his own. He does seals as well.Jayaravahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13783922534271559030noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6875631079050704977.post-1670418907804877402012-01-16T11:16:00.001+00:002012-01-16T11:16:37.010+00:00Buddhist Sutra Siddham<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/geraldford/6010533487/" title="Buddhist Sutra Siddham"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6135/6010533487_ab76138ea4.jpg" alt="Buddhist Sutra Siddham by geraldford" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/geraldford/6010533487/">Buddhist Sutra Siddham</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/geraldford/">geraldford</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>3rd line: <br /><br />* na maḥ sa rva jñā ya a ryā va lo ki te śva ra bo dhi sa ttva ga mbhī raṃ pra jña<br />* namaḥ sarvajñāya - homage to the all knowing<br />aryāvalokiteśvara bodhisattva gambhiraṃ prajña[pāramitā ca]<br /><br />4th line:<br /><br />ryāṃ ca ra mā ṇo vya va lo ka ya ti sma paṃ ca ska ndhaḥ tāṃ śca sva bhā va...<br />[ca]ryāṃ caramāno vyavalokayati sma pañca skandhaḥ tāṃś ca svabhāva [śūnyān paśyati sma]<br /><br />The Bodisattva Avalokiteśvara coursing in the course of perfect wisdom, beheld the five skandhas and saw them as empty of independent existence.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0