Noose-Rope Hand (羂索手): Pulling People Out of 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

若為種種不安求安隱者。當於罥索手。Great Compassion Heart Dharani Sutra of the Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara's Vast, Perfect and Unobstructed Great Compassion (《千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經》), translated by Bhagavaddharma of the Tang dynasty (T1060)

Plain-language explanation

This lesson's passage is a single line: 「若為種種不安求安隱者。當於罥索手。」 It means that a person who has all kinds of unease in the heart and wishes to find safety and stability can turn to the Noose-Rope Hand. 「罥索」 means a rope. The sutra writes 「罥索」, and this site's compilation writes 「羂索」.

First, the origin of this hand. According to this site's compilation, the Noose-Rope Hand belongs to the Buddha division and is classed as a practice for ending calamity; its principal deity is Avalokiteśvara Holding the Rope. The Thousand-Light-Eyed Avalokiteśvara Secret Dharma Sutra (《千光眼觀自在菩薩祕密法經》), when it speaks of this hand, opens with a very similar line: 「若人欲得安隱者，當修羂索法。」 There the image is described as one hand clenched into a fist and placed at the waist, the other arm bent and holding the noose-rope, and it is called the Lotus Rope, able to fulfill all wishes. These are the sutra's descriptions of the image and the ritual; this lesson does not cover mudras or mantras.

Next, the words 「不安」 (unease). The sutra does not list which kinds of unease; it says only 「種種」 (all kinds), a very wide range. The image of the rope is direct: if a person has fallen in, pull them up; if a person is drifting away, tie them fast.

Now this site's modern reading. This site relates the Noose-Rope Hand to “rescue and resettlement; pulling people out of danger” and marks it as a “direct” correspondence, meaning that the sutra's wording and the modern action lie very close together. In this site's Compassion Map, the hardship matched with the Noose-Rope Hand is the Calamity of the Black Wind and Rakshasa (黑風羅剎難). The sutra's line is 「假使黑風吹其船舫，飄墮羅剎鬼國」, which this site reads as disasters at sea, natural calamities, and being trapped in a dangerous place. This is this site's own compilation, not the sutra's own explanation.

Read this way, the Noose-Rope Hand is not about a magical power but about two very concrete actions: first get the person out, then settle the person safely. If you only rescue without resettling, the person soon falls back in; if you only comfort without rescuing, the person is still in the water. Only the two together make “seeking safety and stability”.

What this lesson leaves with the reader is this: the sutra places “safety and stability” within the function of the hand, while the image of the rope has to be completed by someone in real life who reaches out a hand.

Key terms

種種不安

The sutra does not list which kinds of unease are meant. It sums them up with the single word “all kinds”, so the range is very wide. This site relates it to the situation of being trapped in a dangerous place and needing to be rescued and resettled.

安隱

It means safe, secure and settled. The sutra treats “seeking safety and stability” as the need this hand responds to.

罥索手

This is how the Great Compassion Heart Dharani Sutra (《大悲心陀羅尼經》) writes it; this site standardizes it as “羂索手”. 罥索 means a rope or noose; the hand holds a rope, and its image is that of holding a person fast.

One line to remember

若為種種不安求安隱者

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.