Sitātapatra (
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: "White Parasol") is a protector against supernatural danger in
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. She is venerated in both the
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
and
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
traditions. She is also known as Usnisasitatapatra or ''Uṣṇīṣa Sitātapatra''. It is believed that Sitātapatra is a powerful independent deity emanated by
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
from his
Uṣṇīṣa. Whoever practices her mantra will be reborn in
Amitābha
Amitābha ( sa, अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awarene ...
's
pure land
A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). Th ...
of
Sukhāvatī as well as gaining protection against supernatural danger and
witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
.
Name
Her name is composed of ''sita'' ("white") and ''ātapatrā'' ("parasol" or "
umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...
").
Forms
There are several different forms of Sitatapatra including:
with one face and two arms; with three faces and six arms; with three faces and eight arms; with three faces and ten arms; with five faces and ten arms; and, with 1000 faces, 1000 arms and 1000 legs.
Mantras
ཧཱུཾ་མ་མ་ཧཱུཾ་ནི་སྭཱཧཱ།
Hum ma ma hum ni svaha
The
Śūraṅgama Mantra of the ''
Śūraṅgama Sūtra
The ''Śūraṅgama Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: शूरङ्गम सूत्र; ) (Taisho 945) is a Mahayana Buddhist sutra that has been especially influential in Chan Buddhism. The general doctrinal outlook of the ''Śūraṅgama Sūtra'' is ...
'' is the most commonly practiced mantra invoking her. According to
Thubten Zopa Rinpoche
Thubten Zopa Rinpoche (; born Dawa Chötar) is a Nepali lama from Khumbu, the entryway to Mount Everest.
Biography
Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, also called Lama Zopa Rinpoche has an extensive biography of him in the book ''The Lawudo Lama'' by Jamyan ...
, the "Great White Umbrella" is a
sādhanā
''Sādhanā'' (; ; ) is an ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.
Sadhana is done for a ...
for healing illness, dispelling interferences and
spirit possession
Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and rel ...
, quelling disasters, and bringing
auspiciousness
Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at an ...
. To do practice in full requires a
kriyātantra abhiṣeka of Sitātapatrā for the vajrayana practitioners. The Sutra "ārya-tathāgatoṣṇīṣa-sitātapatrāparājita-mahāpratyaṅgirāparama-siddhā-nāma-dhāraṇī": "The Noble Dhāraṇī of Sitātapatrā Born from the Tathāgata’s Uṣṇīṣa, Great Dispeller of Invincible Might and Supreme Accomplishment" can be practiced and read by everybody.
Symbolism
Sitātapatrā is one of the most complex Vajrayana goddesses.
[The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs by Robert Beer (1999) p.23] According to
Miranda Shaw in the ''Buddhist Goddesses of India'', Sitātapatrā emerged from Buddha's uṣṇīṣa when he was in the
Trāyastriṃśa
The (Sanskrit; Pali ) heaven is an important world of the devas in the Buddhist cosmology. The word is an adjective formed from the numeral , "33" and can be translated in English as "belonging to the thirty-three evas. It is primarily t ...
heaven. The Buddha announced her role to "cut asunder completely all malignant demons, to cut asunder all the spells of others...to turn aside all enemies and dangers and hatred." Sitātapatrā's benign and beautiful form belies her ferocity as she is a "fierce, terrifying goddess, garlanded by flames, a pulverizer of enemies and demons."
In the
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
''
Sitatapatra Sutra'', she is called ''Aparājita'' "Undefeatable, Unconquerable" and is also identified as a form of goddess
Tārā
Tara may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Tara'' (1992 film), an Indian film directed by Bijaya Jena
* ''Tara'' (2001 film), an American film, also known as ''Hood Rat'', directed by Leslie Small
* ''Tara'' (2010 film), a ...
.
In other sutras, she is regarded as a female counterpart to
Avalokiteśvara
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, IPA: ) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmapāṇi (lotus bearer). He is variably depicted, ...
, the
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood.
In the Early Buddhist schools ...
of compassion. Like him, Sitātapatrā manifests in many elaborate forms: having a thousand faces, arms and legs, or simply as a feminine deity of great beauty. Known foremost for her "white parasol" she is most frequently attributed with the "golden wheel". The auspiciousness of the
turning of the dharma wheel is symbolic of Buddhism, both in its teachings and realizations.
See also
*
List of bodhisattvas
In Buddhist thought, a bodhisattva (Hindi, Devanagari: बोधिसत्व; Burmese: ဗောဓိသတ်;Sinhalese:බෝධිසත්ව ; ; Khmer:ពោធិសត្វ; Thai: โพธิสัตว์; ; Vietnamese: Bồ Tát ...
References
External links
Buddhist Deity: Sitatapatra- at Himalayan Art Resources
{{Bodhisattvas
Buddhist tantras
Buddhist mantras
Bodhisattvas
Yidams
Female buddhas and supernatural beings
Taras