Imperially Sanctioned Translation (988)
by the Minister and Śramaṇa Dharmadeva (Fatian),
Trepiṭaka and Master of the Transmission of the Teaching,
Bestowed with the Purple Robe,
from the Nālandā Monastery in Māgadha, Central India

Translated into English by Shaku Shingan (22.4.2026)

The Assembly and the Buddha's Proclamation

Thus have I heard: 

At one time the Bhagavān was in Śrāvastī, at the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada's park, together with a great assembly of one thousand two hundred and fifty bhikṣus. They had all exhausted their effluents; their minds were liberated; they had no further afflictions; they had attained their own benefit; and their minds were well-liberated, being great arhats known and recognised by the assembly. There were also venerable bodhisattva mahāsattvas possessing vast wisdom and merit, fully endowed with majestic deportment, who had all come and gathered to hear the Dharma. Within the assembly, the great, wise Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Mañjuśrī was foremost.

At that time, Śākyamuni Buddha, out of compassion for all short-lived sentient beings in future ages, to cause them to increase their lifespans and attain great benefit, spoke the inconceivable, secret, profound, and wonderfully excellent Dharma.

The Bhagavān addressed the great wise Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Mañjuśrī, saying, "You and the others should listen attentively. From this southern Jambudvīpa, passing westward through limitless buddha-lands, there is a world named Limitless Merit Treasury. The land is majestic and beautiful, decorated with myriad jewels. It is pure, excellent, peaceful, and happy. It surpasses the ten directions, being most wonderful and unsurpassed. Within that world of the Limitless Merit Treasury, there is a buddha named Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, of unexcelled, completely awakened bodhi. He currently resides in that world. He arouses great compassion and expounds wondrous Dharma for all sentient beings, causing them to attain excellent benefit, peace, and happiness."

The Benefits of the Sūtra and the Dhāraṇī

The Buddha further addressed the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, saying: 

"Currently, the lifespan of people in this Jambudvīpa world is one hundred years, yet among them, many create various unwholesome karmas and die prematurely. Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī! If there are sentient beings who are able to see the excellent merit of this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja and hear his name, and if they either write it out themselves or instruct others to finish writing this sūtra, and if they uphold, read, recite, revere, and pay homage to it—whether in their own residences, in high towers, or installed within the halls of a vihāra—making offerings to the Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja with various wondrous flowers, burning incense, powdered incense, paste incense, flower garlands, and the like, such short-lived persons, if they are able to earnestly write out, uphold, read, recite, make offerings to, and pay homage to it, will have their lifespans increased to a full one hundred years.

"Furthermore, Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī! If there are sentient beings who hear the name of this Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, and if they can earnestly recite it one hundred and eight times, such short-lived sentient beings will also have their lifespans increased. Or, if they merely hear his name and earnestly believe, receive, revere, and honour it, these persons will also obtain an increase in their lifespans.

"Furthermore, Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī! If there are sons of good family and daughters of good family who constantly, without momentary abandonment in their minds, earnestly contemplate and seek the wondrous Dharma, you should listen attentively. I shall now proclaim for you the dhāraṇī of the one hundred and eight names of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, saying:

"namo bhagavate aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorājāya tathāgatāyārhate samyaksambuddhāya. Tadyathā: oṃ sarvasaṃskārapariśuddhadharmate gaganasamudgate svabhāvaviśuddhe mahānayaparivāre svāhā!"

"Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī! Regarding this dhāraṇī of the one hundred and eight names of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, if there are people who personally write it out or instruct others to write this dhāraṇī, and place it in a pure location atop a high tower or within a hall, properly adorning it and making various offerings according to the Dharma, short-lived persons will obtain long life, fulfilling one hundred years. When such persons later reach the end of their lives in this place, they will attain rebirth within the world Limitless Merit Treasury, the buddha-kṣetra of that Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja."

The Assembly of Buddhas Proclaiming the Sūtra

When the Buddha Śākyamuni spoke this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, there were ninety-nine koṭis of buddhas who, with one mind and from different mouths with the same voice, also spoke this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja.

At that time, there were further eighty-four koṭis of buddhas who, with one mind and from different mouths with the same voice, also spoke this sūtra.

At that time, there were further seventy-seven koṭis of buddhas who, with one mind and from different mouths with the same voice, also spoke this sūtra.

At that time, there were further sixty-six koṭis of buddhas who, with one mind and from different mouths with the same voice, also spoke this sūtra.

At that time, there were a further fifty-five koṭis of buddhas who, with one mind and from different mouths with the same voice, also spoke this sūtra.

At that time, there were a further forty-four koṭis of buddhas who, with one mind and from different mouths with the same voice, also spoke this sūtra.

At that time, there were a further thirty-six koṭis of buddhas who, with one mind and from different mouths with the same voice, also spoke this sūtra.

At that time, there were a further twenty-five koṭis of buddhas who, with one mind and from different mouths with the same voice, also spoke this sūtra.

At that time, there were further buddhas as numerous as the sands of ten Gaṅgā rivers who, each with an undifferentiated mind and from different mouths with the same voice, also all spoke this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja.

The Merit of Copying and Upholding the Sūtra

"Regarding this dhāraṇī sūtra, if there are people who either write it themselves or instruct others to write it, such persons will subsequently not fall into the hells, will not fall into the realm of hungry ghosts, will not fall into the realm of animals, and will not fall into the karmic realms [of retribution] and netherworld magistrates of the realm of King Yama, never enduring unwholesome retributions in these unwholesome realms. Such persons, due to the power of the merit of writing out this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, will obtain the knowledge of past lives in all subsequent places of birth, life after life.

"Regarding this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, if one writes it oneself or instructs others to write it, such a person obtains merit identical to that of writing out the eighty-four thousand Dharma treasuries, without any difference. Furthermore, such persons obtain merit identical to that of constructing eighty-four thousand jewelled stupas, without any difference. Even if such a person has the karma of the five uninterrupted hells, due to the power of this merit, that karma will be entirely eradicated.

"Such a person will not fall among Māra and Māra's retinue, will not fall into the realms of yakṣas and rākṣasas, and will not fall into untimely or violent death, never enduring these unwholesome fruits and retributions. When such a person approaches the end of life, ninety-nine koṭis of buddhas will manifest before them, coming to welcome this person to be reborn within that buddha-land; you and the others must not give rise to doubt. Moreover, such a person will never again receive the body of a woman in the future. They will constantly be secretly followed and protected by the Heavenly King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the lord of the gandharvas in the East; the Heavenly King Virūḍhaka, the lord of the kumbhāṇḍas in the South; the Heavenly King Virūpākṣa, the lord of the great nāgas in the West; and the Heavenly King Vaiśravaṇa, the lord of the great yakṣas in the North.

"If there are people who can give even a small portion of wealth and jewels as alms for the sake of this sūtra, these persons are identical to those who take gold, silver, beryl, tridacna, agate, coral, and amber—filling the cosmos of three thousand great thousand worlds with these seven jewels—and give them all as alms. If there are people who make offerings to this sūtra, they are identical to those who make offerings to all the genuine Dharma treasuries.

"If there are people who can uphold the supremely wondrous seven jewels to make offerings to the tathāgata, arhat, samyak-saṃbuddhas Vipaśyin, Śikhin, Viśvabhū, Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kāśyapa, and Śākyamuni, the merit they obtain cannot be measured or its quantity known; if there are people who make offerings to this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, the merit they obtain likewise cannot be measured or its limits known. Furthermore, just as the four great ocean waters fill their bounds and the number of each and every drop cannot be known, if there are people who write out, make offerings to, uphold, read, and recite this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, the merit they obtain likewise cannot be measured or its limits known.

"If there are people who write out this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, the place and location where it is kept becomes a jewelled stupa of the true bodily relics of all buddhas, and one should revere and pay homage to it. If there are sentient beings whose ears hear this dhāraṇī, these sentient beings will never again receive the bodies of flying birds, quadrupeds, or multipeds, and in the future they will swiftly attain irreversible, unexcelled, completely awakened bodhi.

"If there are people who accumulate gold, silver, beryl, tridacna, agate, coral, and amber—these seven jewels—to the size of the wondrous Mount Sumeru, the king of mountains, and can give them all as alms, the merit they obtain cannot be measured or its quantity known; if there are people who can give alms for the sake of this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, the merit they obtain likewise cannot be measured or its limits known. If there are people who write out this Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Tathāgata Aparimitāyurjñānasuviniścitatejorāja, and who pay homage and make offerings to it, such persons are identical to those who pay homage and make offerings to all tathāgatas in the buddha-kṣetras of the ten directions, without any difference."

The Verse of the Six Pāramitās

At that time, the Bhagavān Śākyamuni spoke these gāthās, saying:

"Achieving the power of giving alms,
One attains buddhahood by this power.
Entering the shrine of great compassion,
Briefly hearing this dhāraṇī by ear,
Even if giving is not yet complete,
They swiftly prove the teacher of devas.

“Achieving the power of pure precepts,
One attains buddhahood by this power.
Entering the shrine of great compassion,
Briefly hearing this dhāraṇī by ear,
Even if precepts are not yet complete,
They swiftly prove the teacher of devas.

“Achieving the power of pure patience,
One attains buddhahood by this power.
Entering the shrine of great compassion,
Briefly hearing this dhāraṇī by ear,
Even if patience is not yet complete,
They swiftly prove the teacher of devas.

“Achieving the power of pure vigour,
One attains buddhahood by this power.
Entering the shrine of great compassion,
Briefly hearing this dhāraṇī by ear,
Even if vigour is not yet complete,
They swiftly prove the teacher of devas.

“Achieving the power of pure dhyāna,
One attains buddhahood by this power.
Entering the shrine of great compassion,
Briefly hearing this dhāraṇī by ear,
Even if dhyāna is not yet complete,
They swiftly prove the teacher of devas.

“Achieving the power of pure wisdom,
One attains buddhahood by this power.
Entering the shrine of great compassion,
Briefly hearing this dhāraṇī by ear,
Even if wisdom is not yet complete,
They swiftly prove the teacher of devas."

Conclusion

When the Buddha had finished speaking this sūtra, the great assembly of bhikṣus and the bodhisattvas, along with all the devas, humans, asuras, gandharvas, and others in the world, having heard what the Buddha proclaimed, rejoiced greatly. They faithfully received and respectfully practised it.

Translator's Introduction

The text presented here, commonly known in modern scholarship as the Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (The Sutra of the Tathāgata of Limitless Life and Knowledge), is a fascinating convergence of Mahāyāna doctrinal frameworks and esoteric dhāraṇī practice. It serves as a vital primary source for understanding how longevity, merit-making, and textual reproduction were conceptualised and ritualised in medieval Buddhist civilisations. The other translation of this sūtra is Taishō no. 936, translated by Facheng.

Academic interest in the Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra has been robust for over a century, driven largely by the sheer volume of its surviving manuscript witnesses. Following archaeological expeditions to Dunhuang, Turfan, and the broader Tarim Basin, scholars quickly realised that this sutra was among the most widely circulated and mechanically reproduced texts in the Buddhist world. Research by specialists in Central Asian and Tibetan manuscript cultures demonstrates that the copying of this sutra was often a highly systematised, state-sponsored enterprise. During the Tibetan occupation of Dunhuang (8th–9th centuries), for example, the mass production of the Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra was heavily regimented to generate merit for the longevity of the Tibetan emperors.

As the text itself explicitly states, the mere act of writing, commissioning, or venerating this sutra generates unquantifiable merit. It was frequently commissioned by royals, monastics, and laypeople alike to avert premature death or secure a prosperous rebirth. Interestingly, while titled a sūtra, the text's reliance on a long dhāraṇī and its ritualistic promises of longevity have led modern bibliographers to classify it functionally as a Kriyātantra (Action Tantra), and it is included in the esoteric section of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

The sūtra is a paramount example of self-referential passages relevant to book worship in Mahāyāna Buddhism. As I have extensively documented, early Mahāyāna movements often equated the physical presence of sutras with the genuine bodily relics (śarīra) of the buddhas, thus transforming the manuscript itself into an object of veneration and a sacred locus of power.

While apparently rooted in the Pure Land orientation towards the Buddha of Limitless Life, the text operates mechanically like an esoteric ritual manual for an entirely different Buddha. The inclusion of the Sanskrit dhāraṇī as the active agent of salvation represents a synthesis of exoteric devotion and esoteric technology.

The Chinese rendition of this text (Taishō Tripiṭaka no. 937) was produced by the Indian monk Fātiān (法天; Sanskrit: Dharmadeva, d. 1001 CE). Fātiān was a prominent monk hailing from the great monastic university of Nālandā in Magadha, Central India. He arrived in China during the early Northern Song dynasty, a period marked by Emperor Taizong's ambitious programme to revive state-sponsored Buddhist translations after a hiatus of over two centuries. In 982 CE, the Emperor established the Institute for the Translation of Sutras (傳法院) in the capital, Kaifeng. Fātiān, alongside other eminent Indian masters such as Dānapāla and Tianxizai, became a leading figure in this bureau. His title, Tripiṭaka Master and Master of the Transmission of the Teaching, Bestowed with the Purple Robe, reflects the highest degree of imperial patronage and recognises his pivotal role in introducing late-Indian tantric and scholastic traditions to the Chinese Buddhist landscape.

Sources

Jan Nattier. "The Names of Amitābha/Amitāyus in Early Chinese Buddhist Translations (1)." Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 9 (2006): 183–199.

Jan Nattier. “The names of Amitābha/ Amitāyus in early Chinese Buddhist translations (2).” Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 10 (2007): pp. 359–94.

Alexander James O’Neill, “Self-Referential Passages as a Characteristic of Mahāyāna Sūtras, Pacific World, 4(1) 41-57, 2020.

Richard K. Payne, "Aparimitāyus: 'Tantra' and 'Pure Land' in Medieval Indian Buddhism?" Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Third Series, no. 9 (2007): 273–308.

Peter Alan Roberts, The Sūtra of the Tathāgata of Limitless Life and Knowledge (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021), Introduction.

Rulu, trans. “Buddha Pronounces the Mahāyāna Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of Infinite-Life Resolute Radiance King Tathāgata,” in Teachings of the Buddha (Bloomington: Author House 2012), 66-70.

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Fatian - Tsadra Commons. Tsadra Commons. https://commons.tsadra.org/index.php/Fatian.