At that time the blessed Śākyamuni again directed his gaze at the realm of the Pure Abode and spoke to the divine youth Mañjuśrī as follows:

“Listen, Mañjuśrī, to your most esoteric and secret teaching on your mudrās and mantras. No followers of your mantra path should ever disclose this teaching to people who have no trust and no faith in the doctrine of the Tathāgata; to people who do not have the authorizing samaya or do not maintain the continuity of the lineage of the Three Jewels; to people who are in bad company; to people who do not desire religious merit; to people who interact and mix with evil companions or are surrounded by bad friends; to people who distance themselves from the Buddha’s teaching; to people who have not been instructed by their master and so this manual would bring no results for them; to people, divine youth, who have not been initiated into your supreme and most secret maṇḍala; or to people who do not observe their samaya or who have no connection to the family of the Tathāgata.

“One without faith in the Buddha’s teachings Is far from realization. One should not teach mudrās Nor explain the tantra to such a person.

“If someone stupefied by ignorance Should disclose them through carelessness, greed, and the like, The methods and mantras of such an errant reciter Will not be accomplished.

“One should practice the mudrās And the mantras in seclusion, Otherwise accomplishment will not come soon, And one’s body will decline.

“One can explain the art (tantra) of mudrās [Only] to those who are gentle, have faith, Are true to their samaya, And are advanced in the tantra and mantra.

“One can explain it to those who Worship the Three Jewels, Have faith in the doctrine of the victorious ones, And know how to apply the procedure.

“One can explain it to those Who are adorned with bodhicitta And, familiar with the methods of its generation, Always pursue the path to awakening.

“One can explain the mudrās to those who engage In the practice of the mantras and tantras, Who observe their samaya in regard to the relative and the absolute And are committed to the great realization.

“One can explain the mudrās to those who have faith In the sons of the victorious ones, In the śrāvakas and the solitary pratyeka­buddhas, And who understand the results of Dharma practice.

“One can explain the mudrās to those Who see phenomena without conceptual contrivance, Who have faith, are free from avarice, And know how to apply the Teacher’s instructions.

“These mudrā seals are themselves sealed. Their exact number is one hundred and eight— No fewer and no more than that Have been proclaimed by the buddhas.

“[The number of] mantras In Mañjuśrī’s manual is the same. One hundred and eight mantras Have been taught, As have one hundred and eight mudrās By the eminent sages in the past.

“This number is the standard For the mudrās and mantras found in this manual. It is a treasury of all the buddhas Referred to as a mantra treasury. Mudrās used in combination with mantras Accomplish activities swiftly.

“Just as a chariot would never roll on Without wheels, So also no mantra Will accomplish its activity without a mudrā. Mantras used in combination with mudrās Accomplish activities swiftly.

“They can summon everyone within The entire triple universe with its gods and asuras, Let alone accomplish other activities In the cultivated world of humans.

“When mudrās and mantras Are used together and are pure, The results will be seen in real life. They will manifest based on the applied procedure.

“They can summon spirits, As well as the eminent victors along and their sons. There are three accessories that make rites effective: Mantras, mudrās, and austere meditation.

“The reciter can obtain Any accomplishments as desired If the mantras are sealed with the mudrās, And the mudrās with the mantras.

“If no mantra is without a mudrā And no mudrā without a mantra, The mudrās thus employed along with the mantras Will accomplish every activity.

“Mutually they produce results, Which arise in mutual dependence. If the practitioner applies them in tandem, There is no activity that could not be accomplished.

“All mantras will succeed if used along with mudrās By those endowed with a physical form. The mantra should be employed according to procedure And sealed with a mudrā.

“Even if one were to cross all the worlds From the pinnacle of existence down to Avīci Hell, There is no such place from where a being Could not be successfully summoned,

“Nor a place where a being could not be controlled Even though they had not been summoned. Nor is there any being Able to resist [this ritual].

“Even bodhisattvas of great power can be summoned And induced to speak if the procedure is followed. They are unable to invalidate the protection procedure Or thwart the successful outcome of a rite, Even if they are established On the tenth level.

“Beings who rely on mantras and mudrās Are unassailable by any spirits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . When employed as part of the procedure Mudrās become a source of protection.

“They accompany all the mantras And can be seen [used] with each of them. So, too, each mudrā is accompanied by a mantra— They belong one with the other.

“If the procedures involving form and recitation Are employed in the rites of homa, They will be a source of accomplishment; The mudrās are assigned to the mantras.

“For someone who is constantly engaged in And always relies on the recitation of mantras, All the mantras will be effective. The words of the sages are not spoken in vain—

“Those who distort The teachings of all the buddhas Will never be able to apply The art of mantras correctly. Those who apply the teachings [correctly] Follow the procedure complete with the mantra and the mudrā.

“I say this, Mañjuśrī, divine youth, Again and again, that A mudrā, when complemented by a mantra, Is a source of benefit.

“I applaud the result derived from this king of manuals, Which is to ferry [beings] out of [saṃsāra]. The art of mudrās constitutes The most secret boon for the world.”

Then, smiling softly, The divine youth who is the origin of everything, Clever, glorious, and forbearing, With the form of a young boy, The bodhisattva of great courage Established on the tenth level, said,

“Please explain, O supreme of sages, The buddha Friend of the Sun, [Why it is] that you, O Blessed One, For the sake of mantras, teach in this world

“That which has already been taught to me By the fully realized buddhas in the past. Why is the Lion of the Śākyas Teaching it [again] now? This uncertainty is born [in me], So please explain [this], O supreme sage!”

The learned one with the sweet voice of a cuckoo That resembles the powerful voice of Brahmā Replied to the bodhisattva [Mañjuśrī], Who was established on the tenth level,

“Formerly, while wandering In saṃsāra over many eons, I obtained this king of manuals From the sage called Saṃkusuma.

“[Wandering] from place to place, I brought about much help for beings. Swayed by the power of compassion, I formed an aspiration then That I would become, during the debased eon, The supreme buddha.

“Having fulfilled the goal of teaching And having set the Dharma wheel rolling, In the final period Before I would pass into nirvāṇa on earth, I would teach this king of manuals In your presence.

“When I have departed into nirvāṇa And the world that is called Jambu is empty, When the Dharma basket of the Teacher Is difficult to find, during the lowest eon, This king of manuals would fulfill The purpose of instructing beings.

“This king of manuals, with its extensive contents, Is [now] entrusted to you in particular, So that it will be used, at that time, For the benefit of beings.

“At that terrible time, People will be without Dharma. Never following any rules, The kings will be full of ill will.

“Both humans and nonhuman beings Will all be hostile to the teaching. They will destroy the entire Dharma basket That I have taught.

“The mantra basket was taught In order to guide them. It was for you, O divine youth, that I made this aspiration Throughout inconceivable past eons:

“ ‘Whatever buddhas, friends of the world, have existed, Who are now in the state of nirvāṇa, I will strive to spread their doctrine Eon after eon.

“ ‘I will travel everywhere In the form of a young boy And guide beings In the form of the mantra, time after time.’

“This aspiration, O divine youth, I made in the past for you. This has now come to pass, O youth! This is my instruction to you:

“When the buddhafield is empty And people are without refuge, You should instruct them, as a young boy, In the form of the mantra.

“You will guide many beings, Granting them every good fortune. At that time, during the debased eon, You will grant boons to all beings.

“When I have departed from this world into nirvāṇa, And the land has become empty, You will carry on the Buddha’s work In the form of a young boy.

“At that time, I will enter nirvāṇa In the delightful wilderness Of the foothills of the Himalayas, On the bank of the Hiraṇyavatī.”