The Mantra of Bodhisattva Cundi

Translated during Tang Dynasty by Tripitaka Master Divakara from India

Once, the Buddha was dwelling near Shravasti, at the Anathapindada Garden in the Jeta Forest. At that time the World-Honoured One was contemplating and observing the sentient beings of the future. Out of great compassion for them, the Buddha decided to expound on the Dharani of Cundi, the heart of the mother of seven kotis of buddhas. Thus, the Buddha revealed the mantra:

NAMO SAPTANAM SAMYAKSAMBUDDHA KOTINAM. TADYATHA: OM! CALE, CULE, CUNDI SVAHA!

If any bhiksu(monk), bhisuni(nun), upasaka (layman), or upasika (laywoman) upholds and recites this dharani 800,000 times, all his or her deadly karmic transgressions created since beginningless time shall be eliminated. The individual shall earn the opportunity to meet all buddhas and bodhisattvas wherever he or she is born, and shall be endowed with all accumulations of merit as the individual wishes. The individual shall gain the opportunity to renounce worldly existence in every lifetime, maintaining all the precepts and vows of a bodhisattva. The individual will always be born in the human and heavenly realms and avoid encountering rebirth in the evil paths, and will always be protected by heavenly beings. If any layperson should uphold and recite this dharani or mantra, his or her household shall be free from affliction and harm of calamity and illness. Everything the person does shall be auspicious; his or her words shall gain the trust and acceptance of others. If one completes a recitation of this mantra 200,000 times, he will dream of the buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas and sravakas, and see a black substance being vomited out of one's mouth. Should an individual commit a heavy karmic transgression, upon reciting the mantra 200,000 times he or she shall dream of the buddhas and bodhisattvas and will also, in his or her dreams, vomit a black substance.

If the individual has committed one of the five deadly transgressions, and is unable to receive this auspicious dream, it is advisable that he or she recite the mantra 700,000 times. After this, the individual shall receive the auspicious dream and signs. When the individual dreams of vomiting a white substance such as a thick paste of rice, it clearly indicates that he or she has gained the pure sign of karmic purification.