What are the Six Gates in Buddhism? What Dharani when chanted three times each morning and three times each night purifies every poison, obstacle, demonic harm, and downfall with the ultimate goal of liberation from suffering? We answer these questions and recite the full Source Sutra of this powerful Dharani of the Six Gates in this short presentation.

This short but powerful sutra presents six ‘gates’ — six aspirational prayers — that transform how we relate to suffering, happiness, our own mistakes, and even the actions of others. The Buddha teaches these to an assembly of bodhisattvas, urging them to uphold the dhārani for the benefit of the entire world.

Video:

The 6 Gates Aspirational Prayers

What are the Six Gates? They are six essential practices that reorient the mind away from samsara’s causes, steering us back towards wisdom and compassion.

The Gate of Suffering

May I recognize that every pain I experience is no different from the pain of all beings. No separation.

The Gate of Worldly Happiness

May any success or joy I find be shared equally with others, as a basis for genuine understanding.

The Gate of Misdeeds

Whatever non-virtuous actions I have done, may I confess each one completely and without holding back.

The Gate of Demonic Actions

Whatever harm or obstruction has come to me, may I see it clearly for what it is, without fear or confusion.

The Gate of Virtue

May all my roots of virtue — ordinary and transcendent — become the wisdom that benefits every being.

The Gate of Liberation

May I liberate all sentient beings, without clinging to either samsara or nirvana.

The Dharani in Sanskrit

After reciting these six aspirational prayers, the Buddha gives the dhārani itself — a string of Sanskrit syllables that purifies all karmic obscurations. He instructs sincere practitioners to recite it three times by day and three times by night.

The Dharani is:

tadyathā oṃ kṣame kṣame kṣānte kṣānte dame dame dānte dānte bhadre bhadre subhadre subhadre chandre chandre suchandre suchandre chandrakiraṇe chandravati tejovati yaśovati dharmavati brahmavati sarva­kleśa­viśodhani sarvārtha­sādhani sarvānartha­praśamani paramārtha­sādhani kāyaviśodhani vāgviśodhan manaḥsaṃśodhani svāhā

The Meaning of the Dharani

The Dharani, although not meant to be chanted in any language other than Sanskrit. The gist of the Dharani can be understood in this way.

“This dhārani begins with patience and self-taming — the ground of all purification. Then it invokes the auspicious and the moon-like mind: cool, clear, and radiant.

The Dharani then calls on brilliance, glory, Dharma, and the sublime nature of our Buddha Nature— not as external powers, but as qualities already within you.

Then come the five great purifications.

First, we purify all kleśas such as anger, greed, delusion, jealousy, and ignorance.

Next, we purify by acomplishing all meaningful aims.

This is followed by purification through calming all that is meaningless or harmful.

This leads to accomplishing the ultimate goal or liberation.

Finally our body, speech, and mind is completely purified.

It ends with svāhā .

In short: from patience to purity, from the moon’s cool light to the fire of wisdom, this mantra cleanses every layer of your being and fulfills both worldly and transcendent aims — for yourself and all beings.”

Syllabic Translation (word-by-word essence)

Gist Summary 

This dhāraṇī begins with patience and self-taming — the ground of all purification. Then it invokes the auspicious and the moon-like mind: cool, clear, and radiant.
It calls on brilliance, glory, Dharma, and the sublime nature of Brahma — not as external powers, but as qualities already within you.
Then come the five great purifications:
— purifying all kleśas (anger, greed, delusion)
— accomplishing all meaningful aims
— calming all that is meaningless or harmful
— accomplishing the ultimate goal (liberation)
— and finally purifying body, speech, and mind completely.
It ends with svāhā — ‘offered perfectly.’

In short: from patience to purity, from the moon’s cool light to the fire of wisdom, this mantra cleanses every layer of your being and fulfills both worldly and transcendent aims — for yourself and all beings.

Pronunciation Key (English-friendly)

Line-by-line Summary

oṃ
Sacred syllable of body, speech, and mind

kṣame kṣame
Patience, patience / Forbearance, forbearance

kṣānte kṣānte
In patience, in patience

dame dame
Self-control, self-control / Taming, taming

dānte dānte
Well-tamed, well-tamed

bhadre bhadre
Auspicious one, auspicious one

subhadre subhadre
Very auspicious, very auspicious

candre candre
Moon, moon (cool clarity)

sucandre sucandre
Excellent moon, excellent moon

candrakiraṇe
Moon-ray (lunar radiance)

candravati
Possessing the moon (luminous mind)

tejovati
Possessing fiery energy / brilliance

yaśovati
Possessing glory / renown

dharmavati
Possessing the Dharma

brahmavati
Possessing Brahma’s sublime nature

sarva-kleśa-viśodhani
Purifier of all emotional afflictions (kleśas)

sarvārtha-sādhani
Accomplisher of all meaningful goals

sarvānartha-praśamani
Appeaser of all meaninglessness / harm

paramārtha-sādhani
Accomplisher of the ultimate goal

kāya-viśodhani
Purifier of body

vāg-viśodhani
Purifier of speech

manaḥ-saṃśodhani
Complete purifier of mind

svāhā
So be it — an offering / hail

Benefits of Dharani

Buddha taught that one who chants this Dharani three times in morning and evening with mindful contemplation, will purify every klesha, obstacle, and all negative karma, and remember their previous lives up to seven lifetimes and swiftly attain unsurpassed perfect buddhahood, and in this lifetime will be protected from harm.

Full Sutra: The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Six Gates

Praise to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was dwelling together with an assembly of innumerable bodhisattvas in a pavilion ornately decorated with the seven kinds of precious jewels that was located in the firmament of the sky above Śuddhāvāsa.

On that occasion, the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattvas, “Children of a noble family, may you uphold The Dhārani of the Six Gates for the benefit and well-being of the whole world. It is as follows:

“As I pass through life after life in saṃsāra, whatever suffering I experience, may it not be characterized by my not understanding that it is the same for all beings.

“Whatever happiness due to worldly success I experience, may I make use of it in common with all beings to bring about thorough understanding.

“Whatever misdeeds and non-virtuous action I have done, may I not fail to confess each one of them through unsurpassed confession.

“Whatever demonic actions have been done to me, may I not fail to thoroughly understand them through unsurpassed thorough understanding.

“Whatever roots of virtue I may have, both mundane and supramundane, endowed with the perfections, may they become the fruit of unsurpassable wisdom for all beings.

“Whatever liberation I may have, through it may all sentient beings be released. May I stay neither in saṃsāra nor in nirvāṇa.

tadyathā oṃ kṣame kṣame kṣānte kṣānte dame dame dānte dānte bhadre bhadre subhadre subhadre chandre chandre suchandre suchandre chandrakiraṇe chandravati tejovati yaśovati dharmavati brahmavati sarva­kleśa­viśodhani sarvārtha­sādhani sarvānartha­praśamani paramārtha­sādhani kāyaviśodhani vāgviśodhani manaḥsaṃśodhani svāhā

“Therefore, children of a noble family, if any sons or daughters of a noble family recite The Dhārani of the Six Gates three times by day and three times by night, then, having purified all their karmic obscurations, they will remember their previous lives up to seven lifetimes and will swiftly and fully awaken to unsurpassed perfect buddhahood.”

When the delighted Bhagavān had spoken these words, the assembly of bodhisattvas and the world with its devas, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced in what the Bhagavān had said.

Thus ends “The Noble Dhārani of the Six Gates.”

Dependent Arising Mantra

śubham astu sarvajagatām

ye dharmā hetuprabhavā hetuṃ teṣāṃ tathāgato hy avadat

teṣāṃ cha yo nirodha evaṃvādī mahāśramaṇaḥ

maṅgalaṃ bhavatu

Here ends our recitation of The Noble Dhārani of the Six Gates. May all beings benefit.