Publication: Karandavyuha Sutra (Selections)

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Chaturbhuja Religious Content

Karandavyuha Sutra:

There are possibly as many as four different forms of the Buddhist figure of Avalokiteshvara mentioned in the Karandavyuha sutra, section one and section two.
- Eleven Faces & One Thousand Arms (section 1)
- Shristhikantha (section 1)
- Chaturbhuja (section 2)
- Khasarpana (section 2)
- Chunda (section 2)

Videos:
- Karandavyuha Sutra Iconography
- Avalokiteshvara: Eleven Faces
- Shristhikantha Avalokita
- Chaturbhuja Lokeshvara: Four Armed
- Khasarpana Lokeshvara

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84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

Toh 116. The Basket’s Display ཟ་མ་ཏོག་བཀོད་པ། · za ma tog bkod pa. Kāraṇḍa­vyūha.

1.16
...who has a hundred thousand arms; who has a hundred thousand times ten million eyes; who has eleven heads;

1.22
Bodhisattva Sarva­nīvaraṇa­viṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “What were the qualities of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara that you heard the tathāgata describe?

The Bhagavat said, “Āditya and Candra came from his eyes, Maheśvara came from his forehead, Brahmā came from his shoulders, Nārāyaṇa came from his heart, Devi Sarasvatī came from his canines, Vāyu came from his mouth, Dharaṇī came from his feet, and Varuṇa came from his stomach.

1.­23
When those deities had come from Avalokiteśvara’s body, that bhagavat told the deity Maheśvara, ‘Maheśvara, in the kaliyuga, when beings have bad natures, you will be declared to be the primal deity who is the creator, the maker. All those beings will be excluded from the path to enlightenment. They will say to ordinary beings:

1.­24
It is said: the sky is his liṅga,
The earth is his seat.
He is the foundation of all beings.
The liṅga is so called because they dissolve into it. 91

1.27
In the vicinity of the monastery the seven jewels of a cakravartin appear‍—the precious wheel, the precious horse, the precious elephant, the precious jewel,93 the precious wife, the precious householder, and the precious counselor‍—and the ground appears to be made of gold.

1.35
...and teaches the Dharma in whatever form a being can be taught through. ... He teaches the Dharma in the form of Maheśvara to beings who are to be taught by Maheśvara. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Nārāyaṇa to beings who are to be taught by Nārāyaṇa. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Brahmā to beings who are to be taught by Brahmā. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Śakra to beings who are to be taught by Śakra. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Āditya to beings who are to be taught by Āditya. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Candra to beings who are to be taught by Candra. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Agni to beings who are to be taught by Agni. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Varuṇa to beings who are to be taught by Varuṇa. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Vāyu to beings who are to be taught by Vāyu. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a nāga to beings who are to be taught by a nāga. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Vighnapati to beings who are to be taught by Vighnapati. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a yakṣa to beings who are to be taught by a yakṣa. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Vaiśravaṇa to beings who are to be taught by Vaiśravaṇa.101 He teaches the Dharma in the form of a king to beings who are to be taught by a king. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a paṇḍita to beings who are to be taught by a paṇḍita. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a king’s soldier to beings who are to be taught by a king’s soldier. [F.211.a] He teaches the Dharma in the form of parents to beings who are to be taught by their parents. He teaches the Dharma in whatever particular form a being should be taught through.

2.24
Sarva­nīvaraṇa­viṣkambhin, noble son, this bodhisattva is taught to be illusory, unattainable, and subtle. This bodhisattva is described as being unstained; as being with form, a vast form, a hundred thousand arms, a trillion eyes, and eleven heads; as being a great yogin, a sublime yogin; as residing on the level of nirvāṇa; as having an excellent mind; as having great wisdom; as liberated from existence; as being from the good family; as being imperceptible; and as being wise; and therefore he casts no shadow in the midst of all phenomena.

2.34
“Thus, noble son, it is difficult to find Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, [F.229.b] who is the father and mother of all beings, who brings freedom from fear to all beings, who reveals the path to all beings, who is a kalyāṇamitra for all beings. Noble son, this is what Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara is like.

“Noble son, it is difficult to obtain his name. Those who remember the name that is the six-syllable vidyāmantra will be reborn in those pores.

2.36
“If someone traveled throughout this realm of beings, there would be found a few226 who know the six-syllable mahāvidyā. Those beings who continually possess the six-syllable mahāvidyā and are dedicated to repeating it are meritorious.

2.37
“ ‘Noble son, those who wear this six-syllable mahāvidyā on their body or on their throat230 will be known to have a body that is a vajra body, will be known to be a stūpa containing relics, and will be known to be the wisdom of ten million tathāgatas.’

2.52 ‘Then Bhagavat Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara said, [F.233.b] “It should not be given to one who has not seen the maṇḍala. How would one apprehend the Bhagavat’s lotus-hook hand gesture? How would one know the Maṇidhara hand gesture? How would one know the lord-of-all-kings hand gesture? How would one know the correct maṇḍala?

2.­53
These are the features of the maṇḍala: It should be square with a circumference of five cubits.

Draw Amitābha in the center of the maṇḍala. To create the body of Tathāgata Amitābha, sprinkle powder made from precious sapphire powder, emerald powder, ruby powder, crystal powder, and powdered silver and gold.

On his right create Bodhisattva Mahāmaṇidhara. On his left draw Ṣaḍakṣarī Mahāvidyā, who has four arms and is white like the autumn moon. She is adorned with various adornments and holds a lotus in her left hand. Draw a jewel upon that lotus. Draw a jewel rosary in her left hand. Portray the palms of two hands being placed together in the gesture named the lord-of-all-kings.

2.­54
Draw a vidyādhara beneath the legs of Ṣaḍakṣarī Mahāvidyā. Draw him holding a smoking stick of incense in his right hand and a basket filled with various adornments in his left hand.

Draw the four mahārājas at the four doors260 of the maṇḍala. Draw them holding their individual offerings.

Place vases filled with various precious jewels at the four corners of the maṇḍala.

2.­55
A noble son or noble daughter who wishes to enter that maṇḍala should write the names of the entire lineage of his or her family and first of all cast those names into the maṇḍala. They will then all be freed from every human suffering [F.234.a] and will become bodhisattvas in their last life. They will also quickly attain the highest complete enlightenment, which is complete buddhahood.

The ācārya should not give it to those who are inappropriate. It should be bestowed upon those who aspire for it with faith, or bestowed upon those who aspire for it with faith in the Mahāyāna. It should not be given to tīrthikas.

2.­56
Then the Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Amitābha said to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, “Noble son, what if the noble son or noble daughter is poor and cannot use precious sapphire jewel powder, emerald powder, or gold or silver powder?

Bhagavat, he should use powder dyed with various colors and use various flowers and various incenses.

Noble son, what if, because he has gone to another land and lacks the facilities, he cannot even obtain those?

Then the ācārya should imagine the maṇḍala in his mind, and the ācārya should teach the nature of the mantras and gestures.

2.­57
Then the Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama said to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, ‘Noble son, give the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās to me. I will liberate many millions of trillions of beings from saṃsāra so that they will quickly attain complete buddhahood with the highest complete enlightenment.

Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara gave the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama:

Oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ. [F.234.b] [B4]

2.­58
When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara gave the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās to the tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama, everywhere from the four continents to the deva realms shook like plantain leaves. The four great oceans shook. All vighnas and vināyakas, yakṣas and rākṣasas, together with the companies of mahākālas, and mātṛs, fled.

2.75
“This bodhisattva has undergone many hardships. Give him the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās!”

The dharmabhāṇaka looked up into the sky and saw someone who had a body white as the autumn moon, a crown of coiled hair, an omniscient buddha296 upon his head, and a beautiful lotus in his hand, and was adorned with the splendor of lotuses.

2.76
Oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ.

2.79
Seventy-seven times ten million samyaksaṃbuddhas gathered there, and those tathāgatas recited this dhāraṇī:

Namaḥ saptanām saṃyak­saṃbuddha­koṭinām tadyathā Oṁ cale cule cunde svāhā.

[The homage by seven times ten million samyaksaṃbuddhas is like this: Oṁ cale cule cunde svāhā.]

That was the dhāraṇī recited by seventy-seven times ten million samyaksaṃbuddhas.

HAR Team [added 8-2021]

(The Images below are only a selection of examples).