The Pratitya Essence Mantra

The Story of Assaji

One of the Buddha's first five disciples was the arhat Assaji (Skt: Asvajit). One day when Assaji
was begging alms, Shariputra, who was also a wandering ascetic, was struck by the power of
Assaji's presence and asked him what his master taught. Assaji replied (probably without the
OM and SVAHA):
OM YE DHARMA HETU-PRABHAVA HETUM TESHAM TATHAGATO HYAVADAT TESHAM CHA YO
NIRODHA EVAM VADI MAHASHRAMANAH SVAHA.
which translates into English as:
The One Gone to Suchness has proclaimed the cause and cessation of all phenomena
that arise from a cause. This is the teaching of the great mendicant.
Upon hearing these words, Shariputra attained the stage of a stream-winner (Pali: sotapanna),
the first stage of realization on the path of becoming an arhat. For a detailed version and canon-
ical sources see Nyanaponika Thera.
Translations
In Sanskrit: om ye dharma hetu-prabhava hetum tesham tathagato hyavadat tesham cha yo nirodha evam
vadi mahashramanah svaha.
In Tibetan: gang dag chos rnams rgyu las byung / rgyu de de bzhin gshegs pas gsungs / de la'ang gang
zhig 'gog pa ni / 'di skad gsung ba dge sbyong che/
The Sanskrit translates roughly as follows: whichever (ye) phenomena (dharma) arise (parabhava)
from a cause (hetu), their (tesham) cause (hetum) the tathagata (tathagato) proclaimed (hyavadat)
along with (cha yo) their (tesham) cessation (nirodha). Thus (evam) spoke (vadi) the great mendi-
cant (mahashramana).
History
Soon this phrase became regarded as a summary of the unique teaching of the Buddha and due
to its power it came to be regarded as a mantra or dharani. The Tibetans refer to it as the
“pratitya-essence mantra”, tendrel nyingpo (rten 'brel snying po), however its use is universal
wherever the buddhadharma has spread.

Its further use in history as a marker for the buddhist dharma

The use of the pratitya essence as a dharani

Specific use for stabilization of prolonged mantra
Tashi Tendrel
In the hinayana the pratitya-samutpada has a negative connotation in the sense that the condi-
tioned nature of dharmas is identical with their quality of being impermanent & suffering. In
the mahayana Nagarjuna equates pratitya-samutpada with emptiness (in both the relative &
ultimate truths), which gives it a different flavor. In the Shambhala context: the nexus of tashi
tendrel invoked in a positive way, rather than referring to the suffering of the conditioned
realm. expand from Glimpses of Abhidharma

For many centuries now, this pratitya-essence mantra has been used to stabilize the power of
blessings in one's mantra recitation, as well as to purify dharma practice, especially of any mis-
understandings of the view. The potency of this mantra is due to the power of the truth being
proclaimed.
Sources
Dutt: Buddhist Monks & Monasteries of India, 224-225.
Nyanaponika Thera & Hellmut Hecker: Great Disciples of the Buddha, pp.6ff. The Shariputra
chapter from this book previously appeared as The Wheel No.90 and is published
online as Nyanaponika Thera: The Life of Sariputta
Reginald Ray: Indestructible Truth, pp. ??