Ye Dharma Hetu
Ye dharmā hetu (Sanskrit: ये धर्मा हेतु, is a famous Sanskrit mantra widely used in ancient times, and is often found carved on chaityas, images, or placed within chaityas.[1][2]
It is often used in Sanskrit, but is also found in Canonical Pali texts (Mahāvaggapāli PTS Vinaya Vol 1, pg 40).
It is referred to as the Dependent Origination Dhāraṇī.
These words were used by the Arahat Assajī (Skr: Aśvajit) when asked about the teaching of the Buddha. On the spot Sāriputta (Skt: Śāriputra) attained the first Path (Sotāpatti) and later told them to his friend Moggallāna (Skt: Maudgalyayana) who also attained. They then went to the Buddha, along with 500 of their disciples, and asked to become his disciples. [3]
Contents
Original Sanskrit text
ये धर्मा हेतु प्रभवा हेतुं
तेषां तथागतः ह्यवदत्
तेषां च यो निरोध
एवं वादी महाश्रमण
Transliterations
In Roman transliteration the mantra is variously transliterated, depending on the language it was written in. In Sanskrit it appears as:
ye dharmā hetu prabhavā hetun,
teṣāṃ tathāgato hyavadat,
teṣāṃ ca yo nirodha,
evaṃ vādī mahāśramaṇa
In Pāḷi:
Ye dhammā hetuppabhavā tesaṁ hetuṁ Tathāgato āha,
Tesañ-ca yo nirodho - evaṁvādī Mahāsamaṇo.
Meaning
The meaning is:
All phenomena arise from causes;
Those causes have been taught by the Tathāgata (Buddha),
And their cessation too has been proclaimed by the Great Śramaṇa.
The Pāḷi commentaries take the first line as pointing to suffering (dukkha), the second to its cause (samudaya) and the third to its cessation (nirodha).
When it is taken as a mantra (as in the Mahāyāna), we should bear in mind that mantras may be interpreted in many ways, or even as mere sequences of sound whose effects lie beyond strict meaning.
Miniature Chaityas
The mantra has been widely used. It has been used at Sarnath, Tirhut, Kanari Copperplate, Tagoung, Sherghatti, near Gaya, Allahabad column, Sanchi etc.
On Buddha images
The mantra was often also carved below the images of the Buddha. A Buddhist screen (parikara) and accompanying Buddha image is now preserved at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. While the objects were found in South India, the mantra is given in north Indian 8-9th century script, perhaps originating from the Pala region.[4]
Malaysia Inscriptions
The Bukit Meriam inscription in Kedah includes two additional lines. The inscription is now in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. Other similar inscriptions were found in the Kedah region. [5]
Ye dharmma hetuprabhavā hetun-teṣān-Tathāgata āha,
teṣān-ca yo nirodha evam-vādi Mahāśramaṇaḥ
Ajñānāc-cīyate karmma, janmanaḥ karmma kāraṇam
jñānān-na cīyate karmma, karmmābhāvān-na jāyate.
The additional lines can be translated as
Through ignorance karma is accumulated, the cause of birth is karma.
Through knowledge karma is not accumulated. Through absence of karma, one is not reborn.
See also
- Om Mani Padme Hum
- Ashtamangala
- Buddhism
- Great Compassion Mantra – Expanded Compassion of Om Mani Padma Hum
- Heart sutra
- Karandavyuha Sutra
- Mani stone
- Mantra
- Samsara
- Shurangama Mantra – Expanded Protective Power of Om Mani Padma Hum
References
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- ↑ On the miniature chaityas, Lieut.-Col. Sykes, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 16, By Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland,, University Press, 1856
- ↑ Text and Translation of their story: http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Texts-and-Translations/Mahakhandhako/41-Sariputta-Moggallana.htm
- ↑ Jan Fontein, A Buddhist Altarpiece from South India, MFA Bulletin, Vol. 78 (1980), pp. 4-21, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- ↑ The Malay Peninsula: Crossroads of the Maritime Silk-Road (100 Bc-1300 Ad), by Michel Jacq-Hergoualc’h, BRILL, 2002. p. 213
