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As for the dhāraṇī formula itself, being a supplication or a command with a message, a dhāraṇī tends to be longer than the average mantra. The sūtras and commentaries often describe the dhāraṇī power of retaining things in memory, but dhāraṇīs can also function as the gateway to innumerable other qualities, such as loving kindness, compassion, and so forth, and invoke any kind of awakened activity. Though not explicit in the literal meaning of the term, a dhāraṇī is always a vehicle for the blessing of the buddhas and the magical power sealed therein. Once it has been obtained, that person becomes “sealed” or “stamped” with whatever quality the dhāraṇī contains and subsequently has the power to activate this quality or invoke the corresponding buddha activity. The sense of containing could be applied to both the formula, which magically “contains” certain qualities, and the person who has obtained this dhāraṇī formula or seal. The word dhāraṇī derives from the Sanskrit verbal root √ dhṛ (“to hold,” “support,” “contain,” “retain,” or “remember”). Hence a dhāraṇī is often also called a dhāraṇī seal.

This is because, when realizing or “obtaining” a dhāraṇī, one becomes “sealed” by it. The difference is that while the samādhi comes and goes, the dhāraṇī never leaves those who have “obtained” it, following them like a shadow from life to life. 1 Just as a samādhi gateway allows access to any desired quality or magical power, so too can a dhāraṇī gateway. The Mahā­prajñā­pāramitā­śāstra explains the term by comparing a dhāraṇī gateway to a samādhi gateway. Just as those qualities are innumerable, so are the dhāraṇī gateways.

As a magical formula, a dhāraṇī constitutes a gateway to the infinite qualities of awakening, the awakened state itself, and the various forms of buddha activity. This is an important concept common to many Great Vehicle sūtras. The teaching itself commences when Anantavyūha requests from the Buddha a dhāraṇī gateway. The sūtra takes the form of a conversation between the Buddha and the bodhisattva Anantavyūha.