Thursday, April 11, 2013

The Eight Great Victories of the Buddha (video)

Wisdom Quarterly translation (Buddha-jaya-maṅgala Gāthā); DhammaOrg (video)
"The Eight Great Victories of the Buddha" (Part 1 with English subtitles) is a revered discourse recited to ward off all harm.

The Chanted Discourse
Tian Tan, Hong Kong (SafeerBandali)
1. Mara, on the elephant Girimekhala,
uttered a frightening roar together with his troops.
The Sage of Sages defeated him by means of qualities such as generosity:
By the power of this, may you have victorious blessings.
[By the power of this, may you have the highest-victory (nirvana) blessing.]
2. Creating a form with 1,000 arms, each equipped with a weapon,
Even more frightful than Mara making war all night
Was Āḷavaka, the arrogant ogre.
The Sage of Sages defeated him by means of well-trained endurance:
By the power of this, may you have victorious blessings.
 
3. Nāḷāgiri, the excellent elephant, when maddened,
Was very horrific, like a forest fire, a flaming disc, a lightning bolt.
The Sage of Sages defeated him by sprinkling water of good will:
By the power of this, may you have victorious blessings.
 
4. Very horrific, with a sword upraised in his expert hand,
Angulimala ("Finger-Garland," the serial killer) ran three leagues along the path.
The Sage of Sages defeated him with mind-fashioned marvels:
By the power of this, may you have victorious blessings.
 

 (BRelief.org/A. Barua) 8 Great Victories of the Buddha (untranslated)
 
DhammaOrg5. Having made her belly appear pregnant with stuffing,
Ciñca lewdly accused him in the midst of a gathering.
The Sage of Sages defeated her by peaceful, gracious means:
By the power of this, may you have victorious blessings.
 
6. Saccaka, whose provocative views abandoned truth,
Delighting in argument, became thoroughly blind.
The Sage of Sages defeated him with the light of wisdom:
By the power of this, may you have victorious blessings. 
 
7. Nandopananda was a dragon of great power holding wrong views.
The Sage of Sages defeated him by means of a display of marvels,
Sending his disciple (Moggallana), the mighty elder, to tame him:
By the power of this, may you have victorious blessings
 
8. His hands bound tight by the serpent of wrong views,
Baka Brahma thought itself pure in radiance and power.
The Sage of Sages defeated it by means of his words of knowledge:
By the power of this, may you have victorious blessings.
 
These eight verses of the Buddha's victorious blessings:
Whatever person of wisdom
Recites or recalls them day by day without lapsing,
Destroying all kinds of obstacles,
Will attain liberation and happiness.

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