Thereupon Brave-In-Giving Bodhisattva said to the Buddha: … If he keeps these dhārānis, this teacher of the Dharma will not have his weak points taken advantage of by any yakṣa, rākṣasa, pūtana, kṛtya, kumbhāṇḍa or hungry spirit.”

Pūtana is an inauspicious demon [haunting the people] of the world. One, when afflicted by the disease caused by it, is bound to die. Kṛtya is a demon arising from a corpse.

The cause and conditions and calendrical numbers match with each other in the way a shadow [matches with a real object] and echo [matches with a real voice;] [this being the case], how can one escape luck or misfortune and calamities or happiness? Yet, profound speeches and preaching on li are cut off from the general mass [by the dimension that can be expressed only as] wondrous or mysterious, with the result that those with shallow knowledge become [tool weak-willed to receive and keep [the sūtra]. [The Buddha] wants them to rely on incantation in order to make sincere the collective sentiment of contemporary beings. The people of the other realms believe in and respect incantation. The method (fa) of incantation can ward off misfortune and invite luck and is applicable to every situation. The latter age will see lots of fearful things happening; nobody will be able to cultivate the good without the risk of being harmed. Thus, the Sage, having sympathy for their stupidity and darkness, preaches these methods for them, [so that] those who are ignorant of li but hope to unite therewith may quickly come to have faith. Thus, he borrows the incantation of names to record there the preaching of li. This way li can be preached anywhere, again achieving [the unity of] name and actuality. Furthermore, the advent of fortune or misfortune has to do with demons and Spirits. By using charms, one can order them not to do any harm. All those who are fearful of the bonds and are afraid of harm should cultivate [the cause of] the sūtra. Having reached [the stage of] cultivating [the cause of] the sūtra, naturally there is the need for secret words. As the comprehension of secret words become manifest, misfortune destroys itself. Now, the Dharma Blossom being the ultimate inward level, the Buddha resorts to incantation in preaching it. People are pleased with the benefits of incantations and like to take advantage of it. They become inclined to and immersed in it; they receive and keep it with great care.

Although the li of the incantation is one, the way the words are arranged is not identical. All have [the order of] right and left, which are solely entrusted to the Buddha. Therefore, again, because of this, the words are arranged in the order in which they were uttered by the Buddha. If any reversal [of the words] occurs later, O the sin would be grave. If it is a charm for one who keeps [the sūtra], that is called dhārāṇi. Charms, being the words of demons and spirits, are not translatable.

In a certain world, World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva takes the shape of a Buddha and expounds the Dharma to those who are to be saved by a Buddha.

The bodhisattva Fine Sound appeared in various bodies, in order to attain the samādhi of the body of all forms. Here also Avalokiteśvara preaches the Dharma, appearing in various forms, all for the sake of propagating the Dharma Blossom. Men are different, [but] the path (Tao) remains the same, which shows that [various] cultivations are certain to lead to attainment [of the One]

If many hundreds of thousands of billions of living beings hear [the name of] World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva and call his name with all their hearts when they are under various sufferings, World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva will immediately perceive their voices, and cause them to emancipate themselves [from the sufferings].

Those who, “suffering pain and torment, hear of the name of this bodhisattva He Who Observes the Sounds of the World (Avalokiteśvara) shall all gain deliverance.” [One may argue in the following way.] The Sage pushes [beings] in the beginning [of the process]. The underlying li is that he cannot lift up those without faculty; [in other words], if there is no religious mechanism (tao-chi) within [a man], the Sage will not respond. How [then] can one merely by invoking a name immediately gain deliverance (chieh-t’o/mokṣa)? Yet here [the Buddha] says so. Why? [I would answer in this way.] “Avalokiteśvara,” in speaking of its li, is the one who is capable of propagating [the sūtra or its doctrine] to all; and, in speaking of its implicit [meaning], is the one who [sets out] to save all. Beings, possessing the subtle triggering-mechanism (chi) of enlightenment, actively stimulate the Sage. The Sage is equipped with the Tao of all-embracing propagation. Now that the Tao of all-embracing propagation has been expounded, how can deliverance (mokṣa) be an empty [word]? Isn’t exhorting beings by glorifying a name also magnanimous?

The Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva

The Sage hangs the candle [of the Dharma], expediently leading [beings] in ever varying ways, sometimes through supernatural wonders, sometimes by resort to the method of [invoking] a name. Because the subtle triggering-mechanism is uneven [from one individual to another], the way they take and refuse [what is given to them by the Buddha] is not identical. The name of Avalokiteśvara is singled out and glorified to cause living beings to find refuge in, rely on, and feel for one [person], driving their feeling of respect to great intensities. If a man is capable of holding one [person] in high esteem, there is no one single [person] for whom he cannot do the same. [The Buddha’s] exhorting beings to [do] this should not be interpreted as his favoring one over another.

[The Buddha began] saving [beings] by resort to varied means, without leaving any out: it is referred to as everywhere (“universal”). Following enlightenment he has penetrated the supernatural: it is referred to as a gateway.