TANTRIC BUDDHISM (INCLUDING CHINA AND JAPAN)measure the weight of the king of mountains, Mt. Meru; one can wear
out Mt. Rdo-rje-lcags by brushing it with a cloth of Benares cotton
once every hundred years; one can count every hair of the beings that
live on the four continents and every drop of rain that were to fall
unceasingly for a year. But one cannot grasp the amount of merit from
saying the six-syllable mantra a single time ...... Hence, all living persons, if you cease to lie, slander, prattle, use rough words
and engage in meaningless conversation, and if you strongly say the Mal)i, it is
the fulfillment of lotus-speech ...
These are the qualities that come from explaining the Mal)i to others: The siitras
says,
He who speaks the dharma of the Mal)i-dhiirmii is very rare. He who
speaks the dharma is like a Tathagatha. View him as though he were a
heap of all beings' virtue, a heap of gems; as speaking infallible truth,
as a wish-fulfilling jewel ofholy charity; as a ship that liberates beings.
This mantra is the sacred heart of ... A valokitesvara ...... Hence, all you kalyiinamitras! Try to listen and think about the dharma when
you are young; and when you are older, renounce the doctrine of prattle! Since
worldly practice diverts your attention, give up your burdens. If you count and
explain one word of the heart-mantra, you fix the three gates of the doctrine-
hearing, thought and meditation-in your understanding. You will obtain all
good things for your and others' benefit. Spread the MaQi-doctrine to the ten
directions of sarilsara.
The role of ma!Ji-pa was not necessarily in high regard during these early
years, especially by the sectarian "establishment." The eminent Sa-skya lama
'Phags-pa, for instance, sniffed that his rival at Qubilai's court, Karma Bakshi,
was a mere ma!Ji-pa, implying that he was ignorant of higher teachings and
more resembled an itinerant preacher who played on the credulity of the masses
(see Epstein 1968: 3-4) However, the tradition did remain strong and other mis-
sionizing clergy, great and small, did follow in Guru Chos-dbang's footsteps. As
special devotees of A valokitesvara, the mmJi-pa, by presenting a total, yet
simple, system of worship, were instrumental in spreading Buddhism amongst
the benighted. Typically, modem ma!Ji-pa-whether monastic specialists or
laypersons-travel about with thang-ka and other impedimentia, depicting such
things as the "Wheel of Life" and describing the sufferings characteristic of the
different realms of existence. They are also the principal tellers of 'das-log
biographies (see, e.g. Macdonald 1967: plate i).
There is also a pan-Buddhist tradition with which the 'das-log is connected.
Maudgalyayana, the disciple whos-:: life story emphasizes Buddhist "magical"