The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

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Zhen Li
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The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

Post by Zhen Li »

Please find a link to this new translation on my website here: https://sites.google.com/view/shingans- ... anslations

This short sūtra translation was requested by another user. It includes an interlinear annotated translation and an unnannotated translation.

It is a Pure Land sūtra which details three ways in which to be born in Sukhāvatī, one of which is by a dhāraṇī called the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum.

It might be interesting to discuss here, so please feel free to do so. Please let me know if you spot any issues.
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Inedible
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Re: The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

Post by Inedible »

The first issue to come to mind with it is that Google says I need to request access to the file. I thought it would be interesting to read.
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Zhen Li
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Re: The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

Post by Zhen Li »

Inedible wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:41 am The first issue to come to mind with it is that Google says I need to request access to the file. I thought it would be interesting to read.
Ah, apologies. I updated and forgot to change the permissions. You should be able to see it now.

Here's the direct link:
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Re: The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

Post by Konchog Thogme Jampa »

Zhen Li wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 9:55 am
Inedible wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:41 am The first issue to come to mind with it is that Google says I need to request access to the file. I thought it would be interesting to read.
Ah, apologies. I updated and forgot to change the permissions. You should be able to see it now.

Here's the direct link:
Congratulations on accomplishing that I’ve never heard of this Dharani what school does it belong to?
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Re: The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

Post by GrapeLover »

Blooming brilliant and wonderful. There is a translation of the Tibetan as well here: https://read.84000.co/translation/toh676.html

Aside from the noted lack of a reference to "Purity and Peace", the most significant difference seems to be that there is no mention of attaining birth through upholding the name (just the benefits regarding dangers).
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Zhen Li
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Re: The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

Post by Zhen Li »

GrapeLover wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 3:26 pm Blooming brilliant and wonderful. There is a translation of the Tibetan as well here: https://read.84000.co/translation/toh676.html

Aside from the noted lack of a reference to "Purity and Peace", the most significant difference seems to be that there is no mention of attaining birth through upholding the name (just the benefits regarding dangers).
Thanks for pointing that out. I should have searched 84000, they are translating so many things so quickly so it's hard to keep up. But it's probably for the better that I didn't read it and bias my interpretation. It's remarkable that the Tibetan translators didn't consult the Chinese. A few issues that they ran into might have been resolved or at least have been nuanced by consulting it. For instance, the name of the pond gang gA tas in Chinese, 伽伽靈池, is transliterated "gagara," i.e. Gargarā (Pāli = Gaggarā). You can find this pond's name in the Pali Proper Names entry on Campā. I'll write to the editors.

Yes, you're right that the Tibetan doesn't have the name Purity and Peace. I noted this in a footnote. It also gives a name for his wife and palace and the mantra has differences. Another thing to note is that the Tibetan specifies that no women are born there—which still makes the "Purity and Peace" paragraph stand out because it gives Amitābha/Aparamitāyus a wife and mother.

I suspect that they're using different source manuscripts, but frankly the Chinese version makes more sense since it distinguishes Purity and Peace from Sukhāvatī and has the passage about recitation of the name which brings the sūtra into consistency with the other Sukhāvatī sūtras.
Konchog Thogme Jampa wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 2:20 pm Congratulations on accomplishing that I’ve never heard of this Dharani what school does it belong to?
Thank you. In the Tibetan canon it's in the Tantra and Dhāraṇī sections of the Kangyur.

It's not particularly "tantric" and is more general Mahāyāna, so in the Taishō canon it's in the Ratnakūṭa and Nirvāṇa Section (Vol. 12) which includes most of the Sukhāvatī sūtras.
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Re: The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

Post by FiveSkandhas »

This is one of those special Dharma Wheel moments...to actually have a member translate a full Sutra for another member. Brilliant thread and sparkling achievement!
:applause: :bow:
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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Zhen Li
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Re: The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

Post by Zhen Li »

FiveSkandhas wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 4:43 am This is one of those special Dharma Wheel moments...to actually have a member translate a full Sutra for another member. Brilliant thread and sparkling achievement!
:applause: :bow:
Thank you for your kind comments Five Skandhas. I have only been translating from Chinese for a little bit of time, so any issues or mistakes are entirely my own. Your posts referring to Japanese articles have been very helpful and hopefully we can continue to open up materials that are not widely available in English.
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Re: The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the King of the Sound of Amitābha's Drum (T370)

Post by 明安 Myoan »

:thanks:
Namu Amida Butsu
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