Protection from all Harm, Natural Disaster, Weather, Spirits, Evil, Ghosts, Demons, Obstacles: Golden Light Sutra: Chapter 14 – Buddha Weekly: Buddhist Practices, Mindfulness, Meditation

One of the most profoundly powerful protections, directly transmitted by Buddha, with Dharanis directly from Bodhisattvas and the Heavenly Kings, is Chapter 14 of the Golden Light Sutra. In this Sutra are four Dharanis of protection, one for each direction. By chanting these Dharanis, and adding the instruction of Buddha:

May this place where I, [say your name], dwell be free from all fear and terror, from all harm from suffering, and from all thunder, lightning, hailstorms, and sudden death. Svāhā 

NOTE: FULL CHAPTER 14 Translation with the four Dharanis below.

In context, thunder and lightning are all “obstacles” in the languge of the Golden Light Sutra. So, we basically create a circle of fierce protectors around us and the place we live.

These aren’t just deities—they’re forces of protection, summoned by the Buddha himself in the Golden Light Sutra. And their lightning? It doesn’t just strike—it shatters every obstacle to your practice…

The Four Lightning Kings of Protection

In Chapter 14, the four Dharanis of the Four Lightning Kings of Protection are transmitted. These are:

Glossary

[Note 1]

Āgata
a ga ta
ཨ་ག་ཏ།
āgata
阿揭多
A god who is the king of lightning in the eastern direction

Śateru
ཤ་ཏེ་རུ།
sha te ru
śateru
設羝嚕
Definition in this text:
A god who is the king of lightning in the southern direction.

Instantaneous Light
tsu te kwang
ཙུ་ཏེ་ཀྭང་།
主多光
A god who is the king of lightning in the western direction.

Satamapati
su ta ma ni
སུ་ཏ་མ་ནི།
satamapati
蘇多末尼
A god who is the king of lightning in the northern direction.

Chapter 14: The Precious Wish-Fulfilling Jewel Dhāraṇī

14.­1
Then the Bhagavat, in the midst of the great assembly, said to Venerable Ānanda,

“You should know this: the dhāraṇī called the precious wish-fulfilling jewel will cast all harm far away; it will prevent and dispel all harmful thunder and lightning.

That is the teaching of the bhagavat and samyaksaṃ buddhas of the past. Therefore, I also will teach it to you, this great assembly, in order to benefit devas and humans, to care for the world, so that all will be protected and attain happiness.”
14.­2
On hearing the Bhagavat’s words, Venerable Ānanda and everyone in the great assembly single-mindedly looked upon the Bhagavat’s face and listened to the vidyāmantra.
14.­3
The Bhagavat said, “You should listen well. In the eastern direction from here, there is Āgata, the king of lightning; to the south there is Śateru, the king of lightning; to the west there is Instantaneous Light, the king of lightning; and to the north there is Satamapati, the king of lightning.
14.­4
“If a noble man or noble woman hears the names of these kings of lightning and knows their directions, then that individual will be free from anything that terrifies or frightens, and all sudden harms will cease.
14.­5
“If the names of these kings of lightning in the four directions are written in the place where they are dwelling, then there will be no danger from lightning in that place where they dwell, and there will be no impediments from demons, obstacle makers, or calamities. All sudden, premature death will be cast far away.”
14.­6
Then the Bhagavat recited the dhāraṇī mantra:
14.­7

tadyathā | nimi nimi nimindhari indrestrai loka lokani śiriśolavati harakṣa harakṣa |

May this place where I, [say your name], dwell be free from all fear and terror, from all harm from suffering, and from all thunder, lightning, hailstorms, and sudden death. Svāhā |

14.­8
Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara rose from his seat within that great assembly and, baring one shoulder, reverently placed his palms together and said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I also, in the presence of the Bhagavat, will briefly teach a precious wish-fulfilling jewel dhāraṇī in order to benefit devas and humans, to care for the world, so that all will be protected and attain happiness, and so that they will have the strength of great might and their aspirations will be accomplished exactly as wished for.”
14.­9
He then spoke the dhāraṇī mantra:
14.­10

tadyathā | kate vikate nikate pratyarthike pratyamitre śuddhe mukte vimale prabhāsvare aṇḍare paṇḍare śvete paṇḍaravāsini harikaṇḍari piṅgala akṣi dadhi mukhi rakṣa rakṣa |

May this place where I, [your name], dwell be free from all fear and terror, from all harm from suffering, and from all thunder, lightning, hailstorms, and sudden death, May I never see any bad, sinful thing but always be looked upon by the bodhisattva Ārya Avalokiteśvara with the blessing of his great compassion and be completely protected! Svāhā |

14.­11
Then the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, the lord of secrets, rose from his seat, reverently placed his palms together, and said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat,  also will teach the dhāraṇī called invincible in order to greatly benefit devas and humans, to care for the world, so that all will be protected and attain the power of great resplendence, and so that their aspirations will be accomplished exactly as wished for.”
14.­12
He then spoke the dhāraṇī mantra:

14.­13
tadyathā | muni muni muni nadhari muni mati mati sumati mahāmati hā hā hā hā ma bhayantīti pāpa vajrapāṇi āha drāviḍa svāhā |

14.­14
“Bhagavat, I will guard day and night any man or woman who single-mindedly possesses this dhāraṇī mantra called invincible, writes it out, reads it, recites it, and remembers it without omission, so that all terror and fear, and so on, up to all sudden death will be cast far away.”
14.­15
Then Mahābrahmā, the lord of the Sahā trichiliocosm, rose from his seat, reverently placed his palms together, and said to the Bhagavat,  “Bhagavat, I also will teach the dhāraṇī that is a wonderful Dharma teaching in order to greatly benefit devas and humans, to protect the world from all harm, to attain the power of great magnificence, and so that their aspirations will be accomplished exactly as wished for.”
14.­16
He then spoke the dhāraṇī mantra:

14.­17

tadyathā | hili mili cili svāhā brahmapūre svāhā brahmasvare svāhā brahmabhisugarbhe puṣpasaṃstare svāhā |

14.­18
“Bhagavat, this dhāraṇī mantra is called Brahmā’s punishment, and I will guard those who possess this dhāraṇī, so that all harm from misery and all bad actions will be cast far away and all sudden death will be cast away.”
14.­19
Then Śakra, the lord of devas, rose from his seat, reverently placed his palms together, and said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I also will teach a great dhāraṇī vidyāmantra called vajraśani in order to dispel all fear and terror, demons, obstacle makers, and so on, up to casting far away all sudden death, and to save them from suffering, bestowing happiness and benefit856 upon devas and humans.
14.­20

tadyathā | nivarāni banddha mādantema titi titi gaurī gandhari caṇḍāli mātaṅgi pukkasi parṇale hinamadhyamadhariṇi malani dalamdade cakrāvākrī śavari śavari svāhā

14.­21
Then the deva king Vaiśravaṇa, the deva king Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the deva king Virūḍhaka, and the deva king Virūpākṣa rose from their seats, reverently placed their palms together, and said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat,  also will teach a dhāraṇī called the gift to beings of freedom from fear in order to always defend them from being afflicted by suffering, and to obtain happiness, to increase their lifespans, to have no illness, and so on, up to casting sudden death far away:

14.­22
tadyathā | puṣpe supuṣpe dhumaparihāre āryapraśaste śānti nirmukte maṅgalya862 hiraṇyagarbhe stute stavite svāhā |

14.­23
Then many nāga kings, such as the nāga king Sāgara, the nāga king Vidyutprabha, the nāga king Anavatapta, the nāga king Lightning Tongue, and the nāga king Śataraśmi, rose from their seats, reverently placed their palms together, and said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, we also have a dhāraṇī called the precious wish-fulfilling jewel that prevents harmful lightning, dispels all fear and terror, brings vast benefit to devas and humans, defends the entire beloved world, has the power of great magnificence, accomplishes aspirations as wished for, and so on, up to casting premature death far away. It neutralizes poisons and dispels all conjured spirits, mantras, and inauspicious things. We offer this dhāraṇī mantra to the Bhagavat and ask that you regard us kindly through your compassion. We pray that you accept it so that we may become freed from existence as nāgas and forever cast away the desires of miserliness.
14.­24
“Why is that? It is through this desire of miserliness that we experience many sufferings in saṃsāra. We wish to destroy the seed of the desire of miserliness, Bhagavat. We nāgas are miserly, and so our minds are encircled by miserliness.”
14.­25
They then recited the dhāraṇī mantra:

14.­26

tadyathā |  amare amṛte akṣaye abhiye puṇyai paryavate sarvapāpaṃ praśamāniye svāhā āryapuṇyasopākiye svāhā |

14.­27
“Bhagavat, if a noble man or noble woman recites this vidyāmantra  or writes it out and makes a text and carries it and possesses it, or reads and recites it, or reverently makes offerings to it, then lightning and thunderbolts will not fall. Fear, terror, the affliction of suffering, misery, illness, and so on, up to sudden death will all be cast far away. There will be no harm from poison, conjured spirits, or tigers, lions, wolves, or poisonous snakes that attack humans, nor from flies, mosquitoes, and so on.”
14.­28
The Bhagavat then said to the great assembly, “Well done! Well done! All of these dhāraṇī mantras have great power, so that all the things wished for in the minds of beings will be perfectly obtained, exactly as they wanted. They will bring a vast benefit as long as the mind is one-pointed. Do not have any doubt!”
14.­29
Then the large assembly, having heard the words of the Bhagavat, were overjoyed, had conviction, and correctly retained the teaching.
14.­30
This concludes “The Precious Wish-Fulfilling Jewel Dhāraṇī,” the fourteenth chapter of “The Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light.”

Notes

Note 1 – Glossary of translation of Chapter 14: The Precious Wish-Fulfilling Jewel Dhāraṇī