prayers

Fragment of an unidentified prayer. There may be two items here, if we read a break at1r.19.

dharani

TheUṣṇīṣavijaya-dhāraṇīspell, extracted from the widerUṣṇīṣavijaya-dhāraṇīsutra. Additional copies of the transcribed spell only appear atIOL Tib J 547,IOL Tib J 1134,IOL Tib J 1498,IOL Tib J 1771/1,72, and73. These differ in some respects from the spell found in the canonical version of the text (197: 222a.7-222b.7and198: 228a.6-228b.6), which suggests a comparison with the Tibetan translations of thedhāraṇīspell seen atIOL Tib J 322andIOL Tib J 348/3. For Dunhuang copies of the actual sutra, see6,54, and368.

References

prayers

This is a long prayer in three parts, each with its own subtitle: Thergyud chags dang po(2r.1-19), thergyud chags bar ma(2r.19-6r.15), and thergyud chags tha ma(6r.15-6r.21). Thus the middle part comprises the bulk of the item. Each part begins with an instruction on how it should be recited; the first and last parts should be recited without a melody and the middle part should be accompanied by a melody (2r.20 dbyangs dang sbyar ba). Ornamental punctuation is used throughout the item to mark verse and section breaks.

The first part contains a series of praises to each of the three jewels, followed by a poetic prayer to the three jewels as a whole, and finally a "dhāraṇīfor the clouds of offerings arising in all the buddha fields of the ten directions" (2r.16 phyogs bcu'I sangs rgyas kyI zhIng thams cad du/_/mchod pa'I
sprIn byung ba'I gzungs ). The source of thisdhāraṇīremains unidentified. The second part is a long series of praises which end with the refrain, "I pay homage, venerate, and make offerings" (phyag 'tshal bsnyen bkur mchod pa 'bul). In addition to many deities and Buddhist masters of the past (see5r.31), praises are offered to temple patrons (5r.9), "the teachers of our own Tibet" (6r.1 bdag cag bod khams kyI dge ba'I bshes nyen), who include the Tibetan kingKhri srong lde brtsan, and "the gods of Tibet" (6r.5 bod yul gyI lha rnams). Thus this section, and possibly the entire prayer, is likely of Tibetan origin. The final part is the shortest, and is essentially a closing dedication of the merits accrued through the preceding "praises, exhortations and offerings."

prayers

A complete copy of the popular prayer that often opensdhāraṇīcollections. This present item is unusual for appearing in the midst of a collection of other prayers rather than its usual place at the beginning of such collections. The prayer invites all sorts of deities, mundane and enlightened, to come forth. A detailed commentary on the prayer is found atIOL Tib J 711.

References

prayers

This is an extensive prayer in two parts. The first part is far shorter and consists of several dedication prayers. The second part, which spans the rest of the item (7r.7), repeats the refrain: "Please come to the aid of the afflicted." (nyon mongs ra mdar gshegs su gsol), invoking thedharmakāya, thepuṇyakāyaand thenirmāṇakāya, the bodhisattvas, theśrāvakas, and tantric deities includingHūṃkāraandMahābāla. Note that466mistook this item for part of thergyud chags, which appears in Item 2 of this same manuscript.

References

dharani

Beginning of an unidentifieddhāraṇīdedicated to the deityAvalokiteśvara. After the spell itself, various uses for the spell are discussed, including blessing waters and threads. Unfortunately, the page ends just as the ritual (Tib.cho ga; Skt.vidhi) section is beginning.