Great Compassion Dhāraṇī (Da Bei Zhou): Complete Guide to Practice, Benefits & Sources
Soh
Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin)

Great Compassion Dhāraṇī (Da Bei Zhou)

The Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara’s Great-Compassion Heart Dhāraṇī Sūtra (Taishō 20, no. 1060)

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Overview

This page gathers a reliable English translation, the canonical Chinese text, audio to chant along, and a concise practice guide for the Great Compassion Dhāraṇī Sūtra—formally 千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經 (T 1060). The English we point to is the widely circulated BTTS translation preserved by the Huntington Archive (see links below).

Quick-Start: How to Chant (per the sūtra)

  1. Set your intention: arouse great compassion for all beings and make vows to benefit them (Avalokiteśvara presents the mantra “for comforting and pleasing all living beings,” including healing, longevity, purification of heavy karma, overcoming obstacles, and producing merit). Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  2. Simple purity: clean body/robes/space; offer light/flowers/vegetarian food; settle the mind and recite single-mindedly. Witnessing deities (Sunlight & Moonlight Bodhisattvas, etc.) are said to “bear witness.” Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  3. Sequence: Recite Namo Avalokiteśvara, then Namo Amitābha, then chant the Great Compassion Dhāraṇī (at least 5x daily; 21x is common). Scriptural assurance says heavy sins from aeons are cleansed, and “at death, all Buddhas of the ten directions will come to receive” the holder, with rebirth according to one’s wish. Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  4. Dedication: dedicate merit toward awakening for all beings and, if you wish, rebirth in Amitābha’s Pure Land—explicitly endorsed in this text. Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.

Note: ritual directions & promises are scriptural claims; adapt respectfully under qualified guidance.

Scriptural Assurances (highlights)

  • End-of-life reception & Pure Land rebirth: “When they are about to die, all the Buddhas of the ten directions will come to receive them… and they will be reborn in whichever Buddha-world they wish”; the Buddha further says devotees who make offerings and recite Avalokiteśvara’s name “at the end of their lives will be reborn in the Pure Land of Amitābha.” Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  • Not falling into the three evil realms; gaining samādhis/eloquence; and obtaining what is sought in this life when virtuous and sincere. Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  • Fifteen “bad deaths” avoided (e.g., starvation, execution, battle, beasts, poison, drowning/burning, madness, landslides, spirits, constricting illnesses, suicide, etc.) and fifteen “good births” gained (good rulers/lands/times, wholesome friends, full faculties, mature bodhicitta, keeping precepts, harmony, abundance, respect, safety, wish-fulfillment, protection by gods/dragons, seeing Buddhas/hearing Dharma, awakening to profound meaning). Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  • Protection by vast retinues: Avalokiteśvara “commands” Vajra deities, Brahmā, Śakra, the Four Kings, dragon kings, yakṣas, etc., to guard holders “as their own eyes and lives,” with a long gāthā describing safety from beasts, storms, bandits, prison, poisons, fevers, malign spells, and inflamed desire. Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  • Ripple-benefits: Beings touched by a practitioner’s bath-water—or even the wind that has touched their robe—are said to have heavy obstructions cleansed; demons and spirits hear the holder’s speech as Dharma. Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  • 21-day “wish-fulfillment” guidance: Keep the abstinent precepts (vegetarian diet; one meal before noon; plus five precepts), then recite the dhāraṇī for 21 days—“then his wishes will certainly be fulfilled”; great purification between lifetimes is also promised. Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  • “Secure Boundary” & longevity rite: Create a boundary by 21 recitations over a knife/water/white mustard/incense ash/five-colored thread (or visualization), then recite 108 times over clothes, food, water, medicine; “all things will be achievable,” with long life. Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  • Five-colored knot-cord: Recite 5x, tie a five-colored cord with 21 knots while reciting 21x, and wear it (described as protective). Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.
  • Mudrās for specific aims: wish-fulfilling pearl (wealth/necessities), pāśa/lasso (stability), vajra/halberd (subjugation), bell (Brahmā-like voice), skull-staff (command spirits), prayer beads (Buddhas quickly receive you), lotus variants (rebirth in pure lands), etc. Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.

Primary Texts & Audio

How Practitioners Use It Today

  • Daily recitation: 5× as a baseline (many do 21×); keep bodily/mental purity and sincerity.
  • 21-day vow cycle: observe the abstinent precepts and recite daily for 21 days when praying for a specific wish (per the sūtra’s instructions).
  • Applications: consecrating water/medicine/food; establishing a Secure Boundary; five-colored knot-cord; using specific mudrās for aims like fearlessness, eloquence, harmony, and protection.
  • Dedication & aspiration: explicitly include aspiration for rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitābha if desired—this sūtra explicitly endorses it.

Health/medical lines in the scripture should be read devotionally and not as modern medical advice.

Follow the Dhāraṇī Text

For the full Chinese text, see CBETA: T 1060. For an English-romanized mantra (Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī) overview, see: here. The English PDF above also includes the setting and instructions around the dhāraṇī.

Names & Alternate Titles

The sūtra itself lists multiple titles for the dhāraṇī, including Vast, Perfect, Unimpeded Great Compassion, Relieving Sufferings, Lengthening Life, Extinguishing Evil Destinies, Breaking Evil Karma Hindrances, Wish-Fulfilling, Freedom in Accord with the Heart, and Quickly Exceeding the Upper Stages. Source: BTTS/Huntington PDF.

Also on ATR

(Note: Xabir = Soh.) Link-rot fixed; replaced with durable sources: BTTS/Huntington PDF, CBETA Chinese text, and DRBA/CTTB audio.

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