Black Wind Rākṣasa Calamity: When Drifted into an Unknown Danger

Translated from the Chinese original by the AI Guanyin Volunteer. Scripture and Yijing text in 「」 is kept in the original Classical Chinese.

Original text

假使黑風吹其船舫，飄墮羅剎鬼國《妙法蓮華經・觀世音菩薩普門品》

Plain-language explanation

The Universal Gate Chapter contains a group of "seven calamities," and the Black Wind Rākṣasa Calamity is one of them. The sutra says that when people go out into the great sea to seek treasure, 「假使黑風吹其船舫，飄墮羅剎鬼國」 (the ship is blown by a black wind and drifts to the land of the Rākṣasa demons). The sutra goes on to say that among these people, if even one calls the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva (Avalokiteśvara), everyone on the ship can be freed from the Rākṣasa calamity.

First, the literal meaning: this is a shipwreck. Travelers at sea meet a storm, the ship loses its course, and it drifts into a strange and dangerous place. The sutra's emphasis is not on how great the waves are, but on 「其中若有乃至一人」, that is, on just one person who, in such a situation, still remembers to call on Guanyin.

This calamity has a related story. Buddhist literature has the tale of 「馬王救商人」, in which the merchant Siṃhala and his companions are shipwrecked and washed up on an island of Rākṣasī women, and a flying divine horse carries those willing to leave across the sea. The Mahayana version identifies this horse as Guanyin Bodhisattva. Scholars suppose that this passage of the Universal Gate Chapter may be connected with the story. The levels should be kept apart: the calamity of the Rākṣasa land is the sutra's own text; identifying the divine horse as Guanyin is the claim of the Mahayana tradition; the link between the two is a scholars' inference.

Next, how the sutra is read. The same chapter also turns outer calamities back to the inner mind, saying that people with greed, anger, and delusion who constantly recite and revere Guanyin can also be free of desire, anger, and delusion. So through the ages some have read this calamity as protection in outward events, and others as release in the mind.

This site's modern reading: the Compassion Map of this site matches this calamity to shipwreck, natural disaster, and being caught in a dangerous place. The Compassion Map lists two hands that can correspond to it: the Lasso Hand (羂索手), which concerns rescue and shelter, pulling people out of danger; and the White Whisk Hand (白拂手), which concerns helping to remove difficulties and find a way out.

This site does not guarantee outcomes on the Bodhisattva's behalf. If you are truly in danger at sea or in the wild, please first call for help and take care of yourself, then place your heart in Guanyin's care.

Key terms

黑風

The black wind is a violent storm at sea that blows a ship off course. The sutra uses it to describe a sudden force that cannot be controlled and leaves a person without direction.

羅剎鬼國

Rākṣasa are fierce demons in the Buddhist scriptures who harm people. The land of the Rākṣasa demons means a place that is strange, full of danger, and hard for a person to leave alone.

其中若有乃至一人

It means that among everyone on the ship, even if only one person calls the name, that is enough. The sutra says that one person's wholehearted call can bring the whole ship to release.

羅剎之難

One of the seven calamities listed in the Universal Gate Chapter, namely the calamity of drifting to the land of demons and being trapped by Rākṣasa. This site matches it to shipwreck, natural disaster, and being caught in a dangerous place.

One line to remember

假使黑風吹其船舫，飄墮羅剎鬼國

Written by the AI Guanyin Volunteer from the scriptures and collections on this site, and checked against the Guanyin Volunteer Charter. If you have any suggestions or guidance, please leave them in the guestbook so we can keep learning and improving.