“Intensely Pleasurable,” the paradise of Akṣobhya.
See “accomplishment.”
See “five acts of immediate retribution.”
The name of a city on Mount Sumeru, and the main palace in that city.
A unit of weight equal to seven or eight pounds.
Another name of Sūrya, the god of the sun, or the sun personified.
The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (moha). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.
Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.
The god of fire.
The elephant of Indra (also called Airāvata).
Literally “goat devourer,” ajagara is the name of a mythical snake or the Sanskrit term for a boa constrictor.
The highest of the heavens.
The tathāgata who dwells in the eastern realm of Abhirati.
The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.
Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.
A celestial tathāgata closely connected with and often regarded as identical with Amitābha. The two, however, have a different iconographic form.
This seems to be a short form of Amoghapāśa, or perhaps an epithet of Avalokiteśvara emphasizing the “unfailing” aspect of his activity.
The quality of being unfailing, and also the unfailing quality of Avalokiteśvara and the deities related to him, such as Amoghapāśa; in the latter sense, the term can appear before nouns in much the same way as “vajra,” when used adjectivally or adverbially.
Another name for the wrathful aspect of Amoghapāśa, usually referred to simply as Krodharāja.
Seems to be an elaboration of the name Krodhāṅkuśa.
The name of a dhāraṇī, referring to the deity Amoghapāśa. When amogha and pāśa are separated by maṇipadma, the phrase evokes the image of Avalokiteśvara holding a jeweled rosary and a lotus.
The name of a lotus king.
One of the goddesses associated with Amoghapāśa.
“Unfailing Lotus Uṣṇīṣa,” this seems to be a highly esoteric emanation of Amoghapāśa. Here he is also called Padmoṣṇīṣa.
Amoghapadmoṣṇīṣapāśa seems to be another variant of the name Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa.
Amoghapāśakrodha is another paraphrase of the name of Krodharāja as the wrathful form of Amoghapāśa (Amoghapāśa-Krodharāja). When the name refers specifically to the deity’s mantra, it has been translated as “Wrathful Amoghapāśa.”
The longer version of the name Amoghāṅkuśa.
Possibly refers to Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇisa.
Another paraphrase of the name Amoghakrodharāja, usually referred to simply as Krodharāja.
Another paraphrase of the name Amoghakrodharāja, usually referred to simply as Krodharāja.
Amoghakṣānti (“Unfailing Forbearance”) seems to be here another epithet of Amoghapāśa.
The name of one of the emanations (“Unfailing Goad”) of Avalokiteśvara. Also, the name of a dhāraṇī mantra that is referred to in the text as “the heart dhāraṇī of precious amogha offerings.”
Seems to be an elaboration of the name Krodhāṅkuśa.
A goddess associated with Amoghapāśa.
One of the goddesses associated with Amoghapāśa.
This seems to be another name for Amoghapāśa. However, it is often impossible to determine whether amoghapadma should be taken as a proper name or in its literal meaning of “amogha lotus.”
This seems to be another name of Amoghatārā.
“Unfailing Noose,” an emanation of Avalokiteśvara.
“Unfailing King” is used as an epithet of Amoghapāśa and any of his forms and is also used for some of his mantras. Arguably, it can also refer to the text of the Amoghapāśakalparāja as a whole, especially in the opening paragraphs where this text is introduced.
“Unfailing Success” seems to be an epithet applied to some emanations of Avalokiteśvara, especially to Amoghapāśa.
Amoghaśīla (“Unfailing Morality”) seems to be a context-specific epithet of Amoghapāśa.
“Unfailing Savioress” seems to be the name of the female counterpart of Amoghapāśa and of her vidyā mantra.
Another name of Amoghapāśa, associated with a particular mantra, whose meaning implies that it is his gaze that constitutes the “unfailing” noose.
“Unfailing Gaze” seems to be a short form of Amoghavilokitapāśa.
A paraphrase of the name Amoghāvalokitapāśa. It is also the name of a mantra. The name translates literally as “Unfailing-Gaze-Noose,” a phrase too vague to venture a definitive interpretation.
“Unfailing Vastness.” Seems to be here an epithet of Avalokiteśvara/Amoghapāśa.
A goddess associated with Amoghapāśa; a goddess with the same name is also found in the Śaiva Western Kaula tradition, associated with the goddess Kubjikā.
Amoghoṣṇīṣa must be a short form of Amoghapāśa-Padmoṣṇīṣa.
A deity, one of the five kings of vidyās (vidyārāja).
One of the goddesses.
A gesture of salutation in which the palms are joined together.
It is not clear who Aṅkuśarāja is; this could be a name variant of Amoghāṅkuśa.
Kimura, Takayasu, ed. (1979). “Āryāmoghapāśanāmahṛdayaṃ Mahāyānasūtram.” Taisho Daigaku Sogo Bukkyo Kenkyujo Kiyo 1 (1979): 1–15.
Manuscript no. 69 in the Catalogue of Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Manuscripts Preserved in the China Library of Nationalities. Beijing.
Kimura, Takayasu et al., eds. (1998–2011). “Transcribed Sanskrit Text of the Amoghapāśakalparāja.” Taishō Daigaku Sōgō Bukkyō Kenkyūjo Nenpō (大正大學綜合佛教研究所年報) [parts 1–7:] 20 (1998): 1–58; 21 (1999): 81–128; 22 (2000): 1–64; 26 (2004): 120–83; 32 (2010): 170–207; (2011): 32–64.
Kimura, Takayasu et al., eds. (2015–17). “Amoghapāśakalparāja: A Preliminary Edition and Annotated Japanese Translation.” Taishō Daigaku Sōgō Bukkyō Kenkyūjo Nenpō (大正大學綜合佛教研究所年報) [parts 1–3:] 37 (2015): 41–68; 38 (2016): 95–126; 39 (2017): 79–97.
不空羂索神變眞言經 (Bukong juansuo shenbian zhenyan jing). [Facsimile edition of the manuscript owned by the China Library of Nationalities, Beijing.] Tokyo: Taisho University, 1997.
don yod pa’i zhags pa’i cho ga zhib mo’i rgyal po (Amoghapāśakalparāja). Toh 686, Degé Kangyur vol. 92 (rgyud, ma), folios 1.b–316.a; vol. 93 (rgyud, tsa), folios 1.b–57.b.
don yod pa’i zhags pa’i cho ga zhib mo’i rgyal po. bka’ ’gyur (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. 92, pp. 3–928.
don yod zhags pa’i snying po (Amoghapāśahṛdayasūtra). Toh 682, Degé Kangyur vol. 106 (rgyud, ba), folios 1.b–515.b.
’jam dpal gyi rtsa ba’i rgyud (Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa). Toh 543, Degé Kangyur vol. 88 (rgyud ’bum, na), folios 88.a–334.a (in 1737 par phud printing); 105.a–351.a (in later printings). English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2020.
ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po (Samādhirāja). Toh 127, Degé Kangyur vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1.b–170.b. English translation in Roberts 2018.
sdong po bkod pa (Gaṇḍavyūha). Toh 44, ch. 45, Degé Kangyur vol. 37 (phal chen, ga), folios 274.b–336.a; vol. 38 (phal chen, a), folios 1.b–363.a. English translation in Roberts 2021.
mdzangs blun gyi mdo (Damamūkasūtra). Toh 341, Degé Kangyur vol. 74 (mdo sde, a), folios 129.a–298.a.
Barua, Ankur, and M. A. Basilio. Amoghapāśa: The Bodhisattva of Compassion. Riga: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2010.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī (Toh 543, Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Meisezahl, R. O., ed. and trans. “The Amoghapasahrdaya-Dharani. The Early Sanskrit Manuscript of the Reiunji Critically Edited and Translated.” Monumenta Nipponica 17, no. 1/4 (1962): 265–328.
Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
Otsuka, Nobuo et al. 『不空羂索神変真言経楚文写本影印版』序 [Introduction to the Facsimile Edition of the Amoghapāśakalparāja Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Manuscript]. Includes a summary in English. Tokyo: The Institute for Comprehensive Studies of Buddhism, Taisho University, 1997.
Pal, Pratapaditya. “The Iconography of Amoghapāśa Lokeśvara.” Oriental Art 7, no. 4 (1966): 234–39.
Reis-Habito, Maria. “The Amoghapāśa Kalparāja Sūtra: A Historical and Analytical Study.” Studies in Central and East Asian Religions 11 (1999): 39–67.
Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. (2018). The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Toh 127, Samādhirājasūtra). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. (2021). The Stem Array (Toh 44-45, Gaṇḍavyūha). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Sāṅkṛtyāyana, Rāhula. “Second Search of Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Mss. in Tibet.” Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society 23, no. 1 (1937): 1–57.
Shinohara, Koichi. Spells, Images, and Maṇḍalas: Tracing the Evolution of Esoteric Buddhist Rituals. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014.