The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.
A set of practices to be mastered by those on the bodhisattva path: (1) generosity, (2) discipline, (3) patience, (4) diligence, (5) meditative concentration, (6) wisdom, (7) skillful means, (8) strength, (9) aspirations, and (10) knowledge.
pha rol tu phyin pa bcu thob par ’gyur ba’i gzungs. Toh 581, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folio 203.b.
pha rol tu phyin pa bcu thob par ’gyur ba’i gzungs. Toh 937, Degé Kangyur vol. 100 (gzungs ’dus, e), folio 281.b.
pha rol tu phyin pa bcu thob par ’gyur ba’i gzungs. (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 90, pp. 657–58.
Meisezahl, Richard O. “Die tibetischen Handschriften und Drucke des Linden-Museums in Stuttgart.” Tribus 7 (1957): 1–166, 103–4 (item 71 607, Nr. 2).
Pagel, Ulrich. Mapping the Path: Vajrapadas in Mahāyāna Literature. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2007.