Subāhu paid respectful homage to the Lord of Yakṣas, Brilliant like a thousand suns And deeply immersed in compassion, Then asked him how to master the collections of vidyā and mantra.
“I have not seen anyone on earth Who has reached perfection through persistence In recitation, fasting, or restrictive austerities. Sole Father, do austerities not serve any purpose?
“Your Eminence, you are brilliant as sun-fire, Supreme among those who purify and destroy evil. If you spoke words of truth, Why have the mantras not borne fruit?
“People superior, middling, and inferior have practiced, But even still have found no results through mantra. If preparatory rites accomplish nothing at all, Accomplishment is only affliction, so what is the point?
“Out of compassion you explained Myriad mantras meant to heal beings. How could they not be accomplished, Through recitation, homa, the observances, and preparatory rites?
“Are the rites corrupt or devoid of power? Was the timing correct? Did evil interfere? Were the mantras altered? Were the offerings switched? May the Blessed One tell all, omitting nothing.”
After listening to the words of his child, The vajra holder reflected for a moment, Opened his long eyes, brandished a flaming vajra, And spoke these words:
“Wonderful that you ask these questions that serve beings, Moved by compassion radiant as moonlight. With such a pristine state of mind You will reach perfection among the Sugata’s children.
“Bodhisattvas are not attached to their own happiness, Nor are they crushed by their own sufferings. They suffer because others suffer, And find joy in others’ happiness.
“Child, because of your good nature You posed these questions to benefit beings. Quickly then, focus your attention and listen, As I will answer in accord with the scriptures of mantra.
“I will first explain the observances For the mantra recitations I previously taught. A practitioner should first arouse faith in the Sugata, And with that, arouse bodhicitta.
“They should cast aside greed, arrogance, and conceit, And faithfully serve the Three Jewels. They should delight in and have faith in me, And in what is widely known as the vajra clan.
“They should consistently forsake Harsh speech, slander, and useless talk, Visiting the woman of another, lying, stealing, Killing, doing harm, and using alcohol.
“A deluded person who gathers The merit of body, speech, and mind Will destroy it through their wrong views, And experience the ripening of unwanted results.
“Just as a burnt seed will never produce a sprout, Even if given soil, water, and time, A mind ruined by wrong views and ignorance Will not give rise to virtuous qualities.
“Devas, asuras, piśācas, and herukas And all the terrible creatures of the night Move through the world harming beings And distracting those intent on recitation.
“Because they are a countermeasure against them, When these beings see my collection of mantra and vidyā They grow anxious, thinking ‘This is terrifying,’ And distract the mind from recitation.
“In the maṇḍalas I have taught To crush harm-doers and enrich oneself, Reside devas and asuras who, according to samaya, Keep watch over meritorious deeds.
“Where the myriad types of grahas are present, There are maṇḍalas that employ various activities That are intended to crush these harmful beings. People should strive hard to enter them.
“They should use the maṇḍalas taught in the Vidyottama Tantra, As well as the maṇḍalas of wrathful deities. There I have explained the various samayas, So study them carefully to dispel evil.
“When they observe the recitation Of the main goddess of the vajra clan, Whom the host of dūtīs and the many vidyās serve, The obstructors will be ruined, filled with fear and rage.
“To the extent one beholds the maṇḍala, One serves the vajra clan. The merit of serving the host of vidyās Causes all their blessings to enter one’s body.
“Devas, nāgas, asuras, yakṣas, and siddhas Will flee in fear from those reciting, Upon seeing their invulnerable vajra nature, And believing the whole area to burn with vajra fire.
“Those of my children who observe samaya Will easily succeed in using mantras Taught by the mundane and transcendent; All obstructors will be brought to ruin.
“If they do not see the vidyā or observe samaya, If they lack compassion or do not arouse bodhicitta, If they lack faith in the Buddha and rely on other deities, Recitation of my mantras will bring them to ruin.
“If those unable to look upon any of these maṇḍalas Because they are disheartened and lack the means, Instead view just one among the maṇḍalas with faith While maintaining their observances,
“The host of yakṣas and creatures of the night, Nāgas, and all the grahas that float above the ground, Devas and the like, vighnas, and vināyakas Will find no chance to harm them.
“Just as any crop depends on its soil To grow up free from blight, It is in dependence on discipline That virtuous deeds grow, watered with compassion.
“From the complete Vinaya, the pure discipline of prātimokṣa, Taught with certainty by the Victor, A householder mantrin should abandon the outer signs and rites, And train in all the rest.
“Thus freed from nonvirtuous dharma, They are imbued with the Sugata’s eloquent Dharma, Which is pure and brings liberation. When weary of recitation, they should read scripture.
“To purify nonvirtue they should continuously erect, In a clean and secluded place, Caityas to the Sugata made of either sand or clay That contain the Essence of Dependent Arising.
“Before relic-filled caityas and statues They should sing praise and offer fragrances, garlands, and lamps. With deep faith they should perform worship, Using parasols, banners, flags, and music.
“A one-wheeled chariot will never move along a path Even when harnessed to a horse. Neither will a practitioner lacking an assistant Gain siddhi in this life.
“Such assistants are intelligent, attractive, and fastidiously clean. They hail from a venerable line and are inclined toward Dharma. They are eloquent, courageous, have tamed their senses, And are pleasant of speech, generous, and compassionate.
“Patient in the face of hunger, thirst, and emotions, They do not worship brahmins or other gods. They are enthusiastic, skilled in the arts, talented, And have faith in the Three Jewels.
“Someone with all these good qualities Is rare to find in this age of strife. A mantrin should thus rely on an assistant With half, a quarter, or even an eighth of these qualities.”
Subāhu paid respectful homage to the Lord of Yakṣas, Brilliant like a thousand suns And deeply immersed in compassion, Then asked him how to master the collections of vidyā and mantra.
“I have not seen anyone on earth Who has reached perfection through persistence In recitation, fasting, or restrictive austerities. Sole Father, do austerities not serve any purpose?
“Your Eminence, you are brilliant as sun-fire, Supreme among those who purify and destroy evil. If you spoke words of truth, Why have the mantras not borne fruit?
“People superior, middling, and inferior have practiced, But even still have found no results through mantra. If preparatory rites accomplish nothing at all, Accomplishment is only affliction, so what is the point?
“Out of compassion you explained Myriad mantras meant to heal beings. How could they not be accomplished, Through recitation, homa, the observances, and preparatory rites?
“Are the rites corrupt or devoid of power? Was the timing correct? Did evil interfere? Were the mantras altered? Were the offerings switched? May the Blessed One tell all, omitting nothing.”
After listening to the words of his child, The vajra holder reflected for a moment, Opened his long eyes, brandished a flaming vajra, And spoke these words:
“Wonderful that you ask these questions that serve beings, Moved by compassion radiant as moonlight. With such a pristine state of mind You will reach perfection among the Sugata’s children.
“Bodhisattvas are not attached to their own happiness, Nor are they crushed by their own sufferings. They suffer because others suffer, And find joy in others’ happiness.
“Child, because of your good nature You posed these questions to benefit beings. Quickly then, focus your attention and listen, As I will answer in accord with the scriptures of mantra.
“I will first explain the observances For the mantra recitations I previously taught. A practitioner should first arouse faith in the Sugata, And with that, arouse bodhicitta.
“They should cast aside greed, arrogance, and conceit, And faithfully serve the Three Jewels. They should delight in and have faith in me, And in what is widely known as the vajra clan.
“They should consistently forsake Harsh speech, slander, and useless talk, Visiting the woman of another, lying, stealing, Killing, doing harm, and using alcohol.
“A deluded person who gathers The merit of body, speech, and mind Will destroy it through their wrong views, And experience the ripening of unwanted results.
“Just as a burnt seed will never produce a sprout, Even if given soil, water, and time, A mind ruined by wrong views and ignorance Will not give rise to virtuous qualities.
“Devas, asuras, piśācas, and herukas And all the terrible creatures of the night Move through the world harming beings And distracting those intent on recitation.
“Because they are a countermeasure against them, When these beings see my collection of mantra and vidyā They grow anxious, thinking ‘This is terrifying,’ And distract the mind from recitation.
“In the maṇḍalas I have taught To crush harm-doers and enrich oneself, Reside devas and asuras who, according to samaya, Keep watch over meritorious deeds.
“Where the myriad types of grahas are present, There are maṇḍalas that employ various activities That are intended to crush these harmful beings. People should strive hard to enter them.
“They should use the maṇḍalas taught in the Vidyottama Tantra, As well as the maṇḍalas of wrathful deities. There I have explained the various samayas, So study them carefully to dispel evil.
“When they observe the recitation Of the main goddess of the vajra clan, Whom the host of dūtīs and the many vidyās serve, The obstructors will be ruined, filled with fear and rage.
“To the extent one beholds the maṇḍala, One serves the vajra clan. The merit of serving the host of vidyās Causes all their blessings to enter one’s body.
“Devas, nāgas, asuras, yakṣas, and siddhas Will flee in fear from those reciting, Upon seeing their invulnerable vajra nature, And believing the whole area to burn with vajra fire.
“Those of my children who observe samaya Will easily succeed in using mantras Taught by the mundane and transcendent; All obstructors will be brought to ruin.
“If they do not see the vidyā or observe samaya, If they lack compassion or do not arouse bodhicitta, If they lack faith in the Buddha and rely on other deities, Recitation of my mantras will bring them to ruin.
“If those unable to look upon any of these maṇḍalas Because they are disheartened and lack the means, Instead view just one among the maṇḍalas with faith While maintaining their observances,
“The host of yakṣas and creatures of the night, Nāgas, and all the grahas that float above the ground, Devas and the like, vighnas, and vināyakas Will find no chance to harm them.
“Just as any crop depends on its soil To grow up free from blight, It is in dependence on discipline That virtuous deeds grow, watered with compassion.
“From the complete Vinaya, the pure discipline of prātimokṣa, Taught with certainty by the Victor, A householder mantrin should abandon the outer signs and rites, And train in all the rest.
“Thus freed from nonvirtuous dharma, They are imbued with the Sugata’s eloquent Dharma, Which is pure and brings liberation. When weary of recitation, they should read scripture.
“To purify nonvirtue they should continuously erect, In a clean and secluded place, Caityas to the Sugata made of either sand or clay That contain the Essence of Dependent Arising.
“Before relic-filled caityas and statues They should sing praise and offer fragrances, garlands, and lamps. With deep faith they should perform worship, Using parasols, banners, flags, and music.
“A one-wheeled chariot will never move along a path Even when harnessed to a horse. Neither will a practitioner lacking an assistant Gain siddhi in this life.
“Such assistants are intelligent, attractive, and fastidiously clean. They hail from a venerable line and are inclined toward Dharma. They are eloquent, courageous, have tamed their senses, And are pleasant of speech, generous, and compassionate.
“Patient in the face of hunger, thirst, and emotions, They do not worship brahmins or other gods. They are enthusiastic, skilled in the arts, talented, And have faith in the Three Jewels.
“Someone with all these good qualities Is rare to find in this age of strife. A mantrin should thus rely on an assistant With half, a quarter, or even an eighth of these qualities.”
Sutraya