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'''Dharani''' (Skt. ''dhāraṇī''; Tib. [[གཟུངས་]], ''zung''; [[Wyl.]] ''gzungs'') — long [[mantra]]s, which are placed inside sacred statues and [[stupa]]s.
'''Dharani''' (Skt. ''dhāraṇī''; Tib. [[གཟུངས་]], ''zung''; [[Wyl.]] ''gzungs'') — long [[mantra]]s, which are placed inside sacred statues and [[stupa]]s.
 
==The difference between a Mantra and a Dharani==
All Dharanis are Mantras, but not all Mantras are Dharanis. A Dharani is usually longer than a Mantra. A Dharani consists of a homage and/or invocation of the deity, followed by a request to act. Thus, Dharanis contain words such as bandha, bandha, bind, bind. These words show the request to act. In this case requesting the deity to bind x. Mantras on the other hand just consist of mantric syllables and possibly the name of the deity, without words of homage or request to act.


==Further Reading==
==Further Reading==

Revision as of 10:31, 24 September 2016

Dharani (Skt. dhāraṇī; Tib. གཟུངས་, zung; Wyl. gzungs) — long mantras, which are placed inside sacred statues and stupas.

The difference between a Mantra and a Dharani

All Dharanis are Mantras, but not all Mantras are Dharanis. A Dharani is usually longer than a Mantra. A Dharani consists of a homage and/or invocation of the deity, followed by a request to act. Thus, Dharanis contain words such as bandha, bandha, bind, bind. These words show the request to act. In this case requesting the deity to bind x. Mantras on the other hand just consist of mantric syllables and possibly the name of the deity, without words of homage or request to act.

Further Reading

In Tibetan

In English

  • Janet Gyatso, 'Letter Magic: A Peircean Perspective on the Semiotics of Rdo Grub-chen's Dhāraṇī Memory' in J. Gyatso, In the Mirror of Memory: Reflections on Mindfulness and Remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, SUNY, 1992
  • Yael Bentor, 'On the Indian Origins of the Tibetan Practice of Depositing Relics and Dhāraṇīs in Stūpas and Images', Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 115, No. 2, pp. 248-261

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