Chapter 26. Dharani
“Dharani” means “total retention” or “summary.” All eighty-four thousand Dharma gates can be called Dharani gates. In esoteric Buddhism, all mantras are generally called Dharani mantras; they signify holding the good and suppressing the evil. This chapter primarily features the Bodhisattvas in the assembly reciting mantras to protect the Dharma teachers who proclaim the Lotus Sutra.
What is a mantra? A mantra is a stream of sound flowing from the emptiness of the Buddhas. It can counteract and subdue our internal afflictions, habits, and desires, as well as conquer internal and external demons. They have specific vibrational frequencies. Some mantras have semantic meaning, while others do not. For example, some protector deities may simply utter sounds like “Hum” or “Phat”—these can be called one-word mantras, yet they carry the deity’s majestic power. Whether spoken by a Buddha or a protector, they carry authority. Certain external demons fear them greatly. This is called a mantra: it has the function of stopping evil and giving rise to good, subduing the demons of the mind and external obstacles, and counteracting our afflictions. All such vibrational streams of sound are called mantras.
The first to offer a mantra in this chapter is Medicine King Bodhisattva , who says: “World-Honored One, I shall now provide the Dharma teachers who preach the Lotus Sutra with a Dharani mantra to protect them.” He then recites the mantra. During our daily sutra copying sessions, the audio played every hour is the mantra from the Dharani Chapter. In this chapter, Medicine King Bodhisattva, Brave Giving Bodhisattva, Heavenly King Vaishravana, Heavenly King Dhritarashtra, and the Rakshasa daughters all provide mantras to protect the teachers of the Lotus Sutra. That is the essence of this chapter. We may now proceed to Chapter Twenty-Seven.