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Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Dharani

Mantra in Pure Land Buddhism

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The title itself encapsulates the dual function of the incantation: the "uprooting of the roots of all karmic obstacles" and "attaining rebirth in the Pure Land". This dhāraṇī is often associated with the Amitābhā sūtra and with Nagarjuna.

In East Asian Buddhism, reciting this dhāraṇī is believed to grant the reciter a peaceful and joyful life, and allow them to be reborn into the Buddha Amitabha's buddha-field of Ultimate Bliss, as well as to have a vision of Buddha Amitabha. It can also be recited to help the spirits of the animals that a person has killed in the past, including poultry, game, aquatic creatures, insects, etc. to ascend to a higher spiritual realm.

Overview

According to Chinese tradition, the Pure Land Rebirth Dhāraṇī was transmitted and transliterated by Guṇabhadra (Sanskrit; Chinese: 求那跋陀羅, 394–468) and by Narendrayasas (490–589). It was popularized by a certain Dharma Master Xiu of Tianping Monastery in the Northern Qi (550–577) capital of Ye (Hebei). The dhāraṇī was reproduced individually or appended to the end of the Amitābha Sūtra in some editions of the Chinese Buddhist Canon.

Chinese tradition associates the dhāraṇī with bodhisattva Nagarjuna, who is said to have received the dhāraṇī from Amitabha Buddha in a dream. Traditionally, Nagarjuna is also believed to have attained birth in the Pure Land through this dhāraṇī. The dhāraṇī may have been practiced by Pure Land patriarchs like Lushan Huiyuan, and it was also popularized by Amoghavajra at the Tang court.

According to two texts (possibly from the Six dynasties period), one should bathe and clean one's mouth, light incense before a Buddha image, kneel with palms together and recite the dhāraṇī thirty seven times. This is to be repeated for the six periods of day and night. While the dhāraṇī's name indicates that its main function is rebirth in the pure land of Sukhavati, reciting the dhāraṇī is also said to have many other positive benefits, such as the "pulling out the fundamental cause of karmic obstacles" and also protecting one from evil spirits and influences.

According to the dhāraṇī sutra attributed to Guṇabhadra:

If there is any good man or good woman who is able to recite this dhāraṇī, then Amitābha Buddha will constantly abide above their crown, protecting them day and night, never allowing hostile forces to find opportunity. In this present life they will constantly obtain peace and security. When the moment of death arrives, they will naturally and spontaneously attain rebirth [i.e. into the Pure Land].

This text also describes the benefits of reciting the dhāraṇī as follows:

the four grave transgressions, the five rebellious acts, the ten evil deeds, and even the sin of slandering the true Dharma—all will be eradicated. One will obtain all that one seeks in this life, and not be disturbed by malevolent spirits and demons. If one recites it up to 200,000 times, one will feel the emergence of the sprout of awakening (bodhi). If one reaches 300,000 recitations, one will behold Amitābha Buddha face to face.

Amoghavajra’s Wuliangshou rulai guanxing gongyang yigui (無量壽如來觀行供養儀軌 T. 930) contains the standard edition of the long dhāraṇī, known as the fundamental dhāraṇī of Amitāyus Tathāgata [無量壽如來根本陀羅尼]. This longer dharani appears in numerous other sources of Tang esoterica. The most common term in the dhāraṇī is the Sanskrit amṛta, which is the term for the nectar of immortality in the Ṛg Veda and symbolizes eternal life. The term is also a synonym for Amitāyus. It is also connected to the tantric Buddhist idea of great bliss (mahāsukha).

Aaron Proffit explains the benefits of the long version of the dhāraṇī according to Amoghavajra's tradition of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism as follows:

Chanting this dhāraṇī one thousand times is said to purify all past karma, bestow rebirth in the highest level of Sukhāvatī, and produce visions of Sukhāvatī, Amitāyus Buddha, and assemblies of bodhisattvas. From these honored ones, the practitioner will hear all of the sutras and, at the moment of death, attain rebirth in Sukhāvatī, emerging from a lotus blossom at the rank of a bodhisattva. At the end of life, one will certainly attain rebirth in Sukhāvatī, see the Buddha, hear the Dharma, and quickly attain the highest level of bodhi. As in some of the other texts discussed previously, this dhāraṇī text describes a seven-jeweled chariot that transports one to Sukhāvatī. The Sanskrit term amṛta appears several times in this dhāraṇī and others. In the Ṛg Veda this term refers to the elixir of eternal life. The iconography of and texts associated with Amitābha/Amitāyus often describe this buddha as one whose Dharma serves as the ambrosia that grants eternal life. This is also connected to great bliss (mahāsukha), which may refer in particular to the ultimate bliss attained through the practices found in the tantras.

In modern Chinese Buddhism, the dhāraṇī is usually recited 21, 27 or 49 times per day.

In one type of group practice, participants usually recite this dhāraṇī three times after reciting the Heart Sutra or the Amitabha Sutra.

Layman Lin Guangming wrote the extensive A Study of the Rebirth Mantra (往生咒研究 1997), which provides the most in-depth modern study of the Rebirth Mantra.

In modern Chinese Buddhism, several influential figures have taught and promoted the Rebirth Mantra (Wang Sheng Zhou). Pure Land figures such as Master Yinguang, and Master Chin Kung taught the mantra. Venerable Wu Gong and Master Hui Lü also highlighted its practical benefits in collected Dharma talks. Contemporary teachers like Venerable Ren Huan and Venerable Ci Fa have focused on the mantra’s power to remove karmic obstacles.

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