Buddha-on-the-Crown Hand: Buddhas of the Ten Directions Extend Their Hands

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

Original text

若為十方諸佛速來授手者。 當於數珠手。《千手千眼觀世音菩薩廣大圓滿無礙大悲心陀羅尼經》 (Great Compassion Dharani Sutra of the Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Guanshiyin Bodhisattva; translated by Bhagavaddharma of the Tang, T1060)

Plain-language explanation

The original text for this lesson is only two lines: 「若為十方諸佛速來授手者。當於數珠手。」 The text is short, and its structure is clear: the first line states what is sought, and the second line names the hand that corresponds to it.

First, look at where this line stands. This lesson's title is the Buddha-on-the-Crown Hand (頂上化佛手), but the hand named at the end of this passage is the Rosary Hand (數珠手). This site has other material that lists the Buddha-on-the-Crown Hand as the thirty-ninth hand, with the scripture line 「若為十方諸佛速來摩頂授記者」. The wording differs between the two places. All that can be said here is that the hand named in this passage is the Rosary Hand, and for the content of the Buddha-on-the-Crown Hand one should look at the entry compiled elsewhere on this site.

Next, see how another sutra speaks of this hand. The 《千光眼觀自在菩薩祕密法經》 says: 「若人欲得一切如來灌頂授記者，應修頂上化佛法。」 The form shown in the painted image is 「唯二手拳頂上安置化佛」. This means that this Bodhisattva's two hands are clenched in fists and place a transformation Buddha on the crown of the head. The 《千光眼觀自在菩薩祕密法經》 lists this hand under the Karma division, in the method of summoning. These are the sutra's own statements.

The Japanese scholar Hamada Mizumi has written on the Buddha-on-the-Crown Hand in the Thousand-Armed Guanyin images of Dunhuang, where the image shows two hands raised high above the head, holding up a transformation Buddha. This site has only checked the bibliographic details and has not read the full text, so all that can be said here is that such a study exists; its details cannot be relayed.

What follows is this site's modern reading, not the original meaning of the scripture. This site lists the Buddha-on-the-Crown Hand as "affirmation and encouragement; letting people be seen." Linking the picture of a Buddha held up above the head to being affirmed is this site's own interpretation. A county government honoring caregivers and volunteers in long-term care, or a community honoring people who have quietly done good for many years, is this kind of making good deeds seen.

In short, the two lines of original text for this lesson speak of asking the Buddhas of the ten directions to extend their hands, and the hand that corresponds is the Rosary Hand. As for the Buddha-on-the-Crown Hand, the sutra's painted image places a transformation Buddha on the crown of the head, and the modern link is this site's own compilation.

Key terms

十方諸佛

The ones addressed by 「速來授手」 in the original text. The ten directions are the four sides plus up and down, meaning Buddhas in every place.

數珠手

The hand named in this passage. The text says only 「當於數珠手」 and gives no further description of its form.

授手

A term from the original text; literally, to reach out a hand. Here the preceding line reads 「速來授手」, and the next line goes on to the Rosary Hand.

頂上化佛手

The hand named in this lesson's title. The 《千光眼觀自在菩薩祕密法經》 (Secret Dharma Sutra of the Thousand-Radiance-Eyed Avalokiteśvara) says it is 「二手拳頂上安置化佛」, and lists it under the Karma division, in the method of summoning.

One line to remember

若為十方諸佛速來授手者。

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.