Palace Transformation Hand: The Wish Not to Be Born in a Womb

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

Original text

若為生生世世常在佛宮殿中。不處胎藏中受身者。當於化宮殿手。《千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經》 (Tang dynasty, translated by Bhagavaddharma, T1060)

Plain-language explanation

This lesson is about the thirty-sixth of the forty hands, the Palace Transformation Hand (化宮殿手). The line in the 《大悲心陀羅尼經》 reads: 「若為生生世世常在佛宮殿中。不處胎藏中受身者。當於化宮殿手。」

First, the original meaning of the text. This line speaks of a wish: to live, life after life, always in the Buddha's palace, and not to receive a body in a womb. 「不處胎藏」 means not being born through a mother's womb. The sutra gives only this wish and does not describe what the palace looks like.

Next, how the same hand is written in another sutra. The 《千光眼觀自在菩薩祕密法經》 calls this hand the Palace Hand (宮殿手) and says it is the Palace Transformation Hand of the 《大悲心陀羅尼經》. The line there is: 「若欲不處胞胎身者，須作宮殿法。」 In the image, the left hand holds the shape of a palace. This hand belongs to the Vajra Division, its category of practice is the subduing practice, and its principal deity is Mahasthamaprapta Avalokiteshvara (大勢觀自在菩薩). This site's compilation also places it under the Vajra Division and the subduing practice.

There is one more supporting passage, from the 《佛說觀自在菩薩如意心陀羅尼呪經》, which says that the place where the reciter is born is 「不入母胎。蓮華化生諸相具足」. This is how another sutra speaks of not entering a mother's womb, and it shows that a wish like 「不處胎藏」 appears more than once in the Guanyin scriptures.

Last, this site's modern reading. The sutra speaks of receiving a body between death and rebirth, which belongs to a practice vow. A wish of this kind cannot be taken directly as a social service for today. This site's correspondence is: the palace is a secure place to live, so the Palace Transformation Hand can correspond to “providing a place to settle,” that is, help with housing. This point is an interpretation, not the words of the sutra itself. Looking at it in daily life: only when a person has a place to settle do they have the strength to think about other things.

Key terms

化宮殿手

One of the forty hands in the 《大悲心陀羅尼經》, corresponding to the wish 「生生世世常在佛宮殿中」. Another sutra calls it the Palace Hand (宮殿手).

不處胎藏中受身

Not receiving a body through a mother's womb. The sutra gives only this wish and does not describe in detail how the body is received.

佛宮殿

The palace where the Buddha dwells. The sutra mentions only this place and does not describe its details.

One line to remember

若為生生世世常在佛宮殿中

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.