dhāranī. Able to lay hold of the good so that it cannot be lost, and likewise of the evil so that it cannot arise. Magical formulas, or mystic forms of prayer, or spells of Tantric order, often in Sanskrit, found in China as early as the third century A.D.; they form a potion of the dhāraṇīpitaka; made popular chiefly through the Yogācārya 瑜伽 or 密教esoteric school. Four divisions are　given, i.e. 法陀羅尼, 義陀羅尼, 咒陀羅尼 and 忍陀羅尼; the 咒, i.e. mantra or spell, is emphasized by the 眞言 Shingon sect. There are numerous treatises, e.g. 陀羅尼集經; 瑜伽師地論, attributed to Asanga, founder of the Buddhist Yoga school.

A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms, William Edward Soothill and Lewis Hodous