Śūraṅgama Mantra

The Śūraṅgama Mantra (Chinese: 楞嚴咒, Lèngyán zhòu; Japanese: 楞厳呪, Ryōgon shu; Vietnamese: Chú Lăng Nghiêm; Korean: 능엄주, Neung-eom ju), also known as the Sitātapatroṣṇīṣa Dhāraṇī, is a dhāraṇī or long mantra of Buddhist practice in East Asian Buddhism. Although relatively unknown in modern Tibet, there are several Śūraṅgama Mantra texts in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. It has strong associations with the Chinese Chan Buddhist tradition.

The mantra was, according to the opening chapter of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra (首楞嚴經, lit: "Sūtra of the Heroic March", T19n0945), historically transmitted by Gautama Buddha to Manjushri to protect Ananda before he had become an arhat. It was again spoken by the Buddha before an assembly of monastic and lay adherents. Like the popular six-syllable mantra "Om mani padme hum" and the Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī, the Śūraṅgama Mantra is synonymous with practices of Avalokiteśvara, an important Bodhisattva in both East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. The Śūraṅgama Mantra also extensively references Buddhist deities such as Sitātapatrā, Vajrapāṇi, Mahākāla, the Five Buddha Families headed by the Five Tathāgatas (such as Mahāvairocana), and Bhaiṣajyaguru. It is often used for protection or purification, as it is often recited as part of the daily morning session in monasteries.

The Śūraṅgama Mantra is well-known and popularly chanted during daily liturgical services in many East Asian Buddhist traditions, where it is very much related to the practice of the dhāraṇī of Sitātapatrā (Chinese: 大白傘蓋陀羅尼, pinyin: Dàbái sǎngài tuóluóní, lit: "White Parasol Dhāraṇī"). In Tibetan Buddhism, it is the "White Umbrella" (Wylie: gdugs dkar)..