Dharani of Great Compassion

The opening phonetic transcription expresses homage to the Three Treasures—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—and to the honored one. ‘Namu’ expresses wholehearted refuge.

There follow sounds invoking Kanjizai, that is, Kanzeon Bodhisattva, and corresponding to bodhisattva.

‘Makasatta’ refers to a great bodhisattva; ‘makakarunika’ is an invocation associated with great compassion. The final ‘on’ is a mantra sound.

Prayer phrases transmitted phonetically continue. They include ‘namu’ and invocations of Kannon’s name, but are not turned into a sentence by joining the Chinese characters’ meanings.

The homage word ‘namu’ and traditional phonetic phrases continue. A word-for-word translation of this entire line cannot be established from the published source alone.

This is a further phonetically transmitted phrase. Individual wishes or effects have not been assigned from the appearance of its characters.

The phrase includes sounds corresponding to the mantra formulas ‘tadyatha’ and ‘om.’ Subsequent sounds are not translated as ordinary Classical Chinese.

It includes an invocation of ‘maha bodhisattva,’ a great bodhisattva. The entire line’s meaning has not been fixed as one translation.

This phonetic phrase repeats short sounds. The repetitions are preserved as units of the original sound.

The phonetic prayer continues. The adopted text provides no basis for declaring a particular protection or wish from this phrase alone.

This passage repeats the same sounds. Replacing each character with its dictionary meaning would create content different from the original sounds.

The sound-transmitted prayer continues. No definitive word-for-word translation corresponding to this line is presented.

The phonetic transcription continues. Because reconstructions of the original language differ, a conjectural sentence has not been presented as an established translation.

This phrase repeats sounds such as ‘huru.’ It is transmitted as a sequence of dharani sounds, rather than an ordinary sentence.

It includes a sound corresponding to ‘bodhi,’ awakening. That word’s presence does not justify freely composing a translation of the whole line.

A phonetic phrase is followed by the closing ‘娑婆訶’ (sowaka).

‘悉陀’ is read as a sound associated with accomplishment. This phrase repeats the closing sowaka, without adding a specific wish that will be fulfilled.

This passage closes a phonetic phrase with sowaka. The published characters alone do not establish its complete literal meaning.

This passage closes a recurring invocation with sowaka. Respecting the transmitted sounds, no independent spell has been composed from the characters’ meanings.

This is a phonetic phrase with the closing sowaka. Separate effects or recipients have not been assigned to each phrase without confirmation.

It includes ‘悉陀,’ a sound associated with accomplishment. No independent promise of a particular outcome has been added.

This phrase closes the sequence of prayer sounds with sowaka. It is presented as phonetic transcription, not a literal translation of the whole.

Sound-transmitted invocations continue with sowaka. Read them separately from the ordinary meanings of the Chinese characters.

This phonetic invocation closes with sowaka. The repeated closing is itself part of the transmitted dharani’s structure.

This phonetic prayer closes with sowaka. A definite translation of this line alone has not been confirmed in the adopted materials.

At the close, sounds of homage to the Three Treasures—Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—are recited again.

An invocation of homage to the honored Kanjizai, that is, Kanzeon Bodhisattva, follows.

The invocation to Kanjizai from the previous line continues, ending with sowaka.