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करण्डव्यूहसूत्र
Karaṇḍavyūhasūtra
འཕགས་པ་ཟ་མ་ཏོག་བཀོད་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ
'phags pa za ma tog bkod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra "The Basket's Display" (84000)
Text
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Description
The Basket's Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha) is the source of the most prevalent mantra of Tibetan Buddhism: oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ. It marks a significant stage in the growing importance of Avalokiteśvara within Indian Buddhism in the early centuries of the first millennium. In a series of narratives within narratives, the sūtra describes Avalokiteśvara's activities in various realms and the realms contained within the pores of his skin. It culminates in a description of the extreme rarity of his mantra, which, on the Buddha's instructions, Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin obtains from someone in Vārāṇasī who has broken his monastic vows. This sūtra provided a basis and source of quotations for the teachings and practices of the eleventh-century Maṇi Kabum, which itself served as a foundation for the rich tradition of Tibetan Avalokiteśvara practice. (Source: 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha)
Reference
karaṇḍavyūhasūtra [करण्डव्यूहसूत्र]. 'phags pa za ma tog bkod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo [འཕགས་པ་ཟ་མ་ཏོག་བཀོད་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ]. [The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra "The Basket's Display" (84000)]. Kangyur, RKTSK 116 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=116&typ=1.
Interconnections
2 Scholarship
This compact volume (222 pp.) on a critical Indian Buddhist text (the Kāraṇḍhavyūha-sūtra) will be immediately accessible, and of great benefit, to both Tibetologists and Tibetophiles alike. It firmly anchors one of the most endemic and speculative discourses both on and of Tibetan Buddhism (exegesis and exposition of the ubiquitous maṇi mantra, Oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ) within explicit historical, cultural, and literary contexts. This accomplishment alone makes the study an invaluable tool for instructors seeking to add some meat to the mythos of mantra usage in Indian and Tibetan religion.
Read more here
Om Manipadme Hum, perhaps the most well-known of all Buddhist mantras, lies at the heart of the Tibetan system and is cherished by both layman and lama alike. This book documents the origins of the mantra, and presents a new interpretation of the meaning of Om Manipadme Hum, and includes a detailed, annotated precis of the Karandavyuha Sutra, opening up this important Mahayana Buddhist work to a wider audience.
The Karandavyuha— the earliest textual source for Om Manipadme Hum—which describes both the compassionate activity of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva whose power the mantra invokes, and the mythical tale of the search for and discovery of the mantra. Through a detailed analysis of this sutra, Studholme explores the historical and doctrinal forces behind the appearance of Om Manipadme Hum in India at around the middle of the first millennium C.E. He argues that the Karandavyuha has close affinities to non-Buddhist puranic literature, and that the conception of Avalokitesvara and his six-syllable mantra is informed by the conception of the Hindu deity Siva and his five-syllable mantra Nama? Sivaya. The sutra reflects an historical situation in which the Buddhist monastic establishment was coming into contact with Buddhist tantric practitioners, themselves influenced by Saivite practitioners. (Source Accessed Aug 18, 2026)
1 Scholarly presentations
The six-syllable mantra is ubiquitous in the Buddhist world, yet the ancient text that first introduced it remains virtually unknown. Join Bob Miller, research editor at 84000, as he "lifts the lid" on the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra (The Basket's Display), a 4th-century Sanskrit scripture that reveals the compassion of Avalokiteśvara.
Key Highlights:
The Bodhisattva’s Journey: Follow Avalokiteśvara (Chenrezig/Guanyin) through a "cosmic tour of compassion," rescuing beings from the deepest hells, the realms of hungry ghosts, and even insects in a cesspit.
The Mantra Decoded: A deep dive into the meaning of Om Mani Padme Hum—how its syllables symbolize body, speech, and mind, and its power to purify the six root afflictions and close the gates to the six realms of rebirth.
As the Tibetan master Patrul Rinpoche taught, these six syllables are the essence of all mantras.
Explore this profound scripture and dwell in the awakened mind of wisdom and compassion.
Read the full translation at https://84000.co/translation/toh1163 A topic of
The six-syllable mantra is ubiquitous in the Buddhist world, yet the ancient text that first introduced it remains virtually unknown. Join Bob Miller, research editor at 84000, as he "lifts the lid" on the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra (The Basket's Display), a 4th-century Sanskrit scripture that reveals the compassion of Avalokiteśvara.
Key Highlights:
The Bodhisattva’s Journey: Follow Avalokiteśvara (Chenrezig/Guanyin) through a "cosmic tour of compassion," rescuing beings from the deepest hells, the realms of hungry ghosts, and even insects in a cesspit.
The Mantra Decoded: A deep dive into the meaning of Om Mani Padme Hum—how its syllables symbolize body, speech, and mind, and its power to purify the six root afflictions and close the gates to the six realms of rebirth.
As the Tibetan master Patrul Rinpoche taught, these six syllables are the essence of all mantras.
Explore this profound scripture and dwell in the awakened mind of wisdom and compassion.
Read the full translation at https://84000.co/translation/toh116This compact volume (222 pp.) on a critical Indian Buddhist text (the Kāraṇḍhavyūha-sūtra) will be immediately accessible, and of great benefit, to both Tibetologists and Tibetophiles alike. It firmly anchors one of the most endemic and speculative discourses both on and of Tibetan Buddhism (exegesis and exposition of the ubiquitous maṇi mantra, Oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ) within explicit historical, cultural, and literary contexts. This accomplishment alone makes the study an invaluable tool for instructors seeking to add some meat to the mythos of mantra usage in Indian and Tibetan religion.
Read more here
Om Manipadme Hum, perhaps the most well-known of all Buddhist mantras, lies at the heart of the Tibetan system and is cherished by both layman and lama alike. This book documents the origins of the mantra, and presents a new interpretation of the meaning of Om Manipadme Hum, and includes a detailed, annotated precis of the Karandavyuha Sutra, opening up this important Mahayana Buddhist work to a wider audience.
The Karandavyuha— the earliest textual source for Om Manipadme Hum—which describes both the compassionate activity of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva whose power the mantra invokes, and the mythical tale of the search for and discovery of the mantra. Through a detailed analysis of this sutra, Studholme explores the historical and doctrinal forces behind the appearance of Om Manipadme Hum in India at around the middle of the first millennium C.E. He argues that the Karandavyuha has close affinities to non-Buddhist puranic literature, and that the conception of Avalokitesvara and his six-syllable mantra is informed by the conception of the Hindu deity Siva and his five-syllable mantra Nama? Sivaya. The sutra reflects an historical situation in which the Buddhist monastic establishment was coming into contact with Buddhist tantric practitioners, themselves influenced by Saivite practitioners. (Source Accessed Aug 18, 2026)
