Ye Dharma Hetu

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Stone statue of Buddha from Sultanganj with Ye Dharma Hetu inscribed on the lotus base (magnify to see), 500-700 AD

Ye dharmā hetu, also referred to as the Dependent Origination Dhāraṇī, is a famous Buddhist dhāraṇī widely used in ancient times, and is often found carved on chaityas, images, or placed within chaityas.[1][2] It is used in Sanskrit as well as Pali. It is found in Mahavagga section of Vinaya Pitaka of the Pali Canon.

These words were used by the Arahat Assaji (Skt: Aśvajit) when asked about the teaching of the Buddha. On the spot Sariputta (Skt: Śāriputra) attained the first Path (Sotāpatti) and later told them to his friend Moggallāna (Skt: Maudgalyayana) who also attained. They then went to the Buddha, along with 500 of their disciples, and asked to become his disciples.[3]

Original text[]

Sanskrit[]

The Dependent Origination Dhāraṇī in Ranjana and Tibetan scripts

ये धर्मा हेतु-प्रभवा हेतुं तेषां तथागतो ह्यवदत्
तेषां च यो निरोध एवंवादी महाश्रमणः

In Roman transliteration this dhāraṇī is variously transliterated, depending on the language it was written in. In Sanskrit it appears as:

ye dharmā hetuprabhavā hetuṃ teṣāṃ tathāgato hyavadat,
teṣāṃ ca yo nirodha evaṃvādī mahāśramaṇaḥ

Pali[]