102 henrik h. sørensen
manifestation of Vajrapāṇi, became extremely important with his own
cult in the mature Zhenyan tradition of the second half of the Tang.^34
During and after the Yuan, the traditional Zhenyan representation
of Vajrapāṇi was transformed into a wrathful protector-deity due to
influence from Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. Vajrapāṇi is included in
the group of Eight Great Bodhisattvas, a primary constellation of dei-
ties in Esoteric Buddhist literature.
Vajrasattva is an exclusively Esoteric Buddhist divinity whose rai-
son d’etre is closely associated with the formation and systematization
of the esoteric tradition during the sixth–seventh centuries in Central
and Eastern India (figure 6).
This bodhisattva represents “great bliss” (mahāsukha).^35 The Vajras-
attva cult, in its mature Esoteric Buddhist form, was introduced to
China by Amoghavajra in conjunction with the various texts related to
the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha, and more specifically the so-called
Nayāprajñā paramitā (Jpn. Rishukyō ), translated by Vajrabodhi.^36
Vajrasattva’s importance in Amoghavajra’s new formulation of Esoteric
Buddhism is also testified to in his Boruo boluomiduo liqu jing dale bukong
sanmei zhenshi Jin’gangsaduo pusa deng yishiqi sheng da manchaluo
yishu
(Abbreviated Meaning of the Prajñāparamitā Scrip-
ture and the Great Blissful Amoghasamādhi of True Reality of Vajrasat-
tva Bodhisattva and the Other Seventeen Holy and Great Mandalas),
a commentary on the Nayā prajñāpāramitā.^37 With the later introduc-
tion to China of the Indo-Tibetan form of Tantric Buddhism during
the Yuan dynasty, Vajrasattva retained his preeminent position in the
Esoteric Buddhist pantheon.
The bodhisattva Akāśagarbha, originally a hero of mainstream
Mahāyāna Buddhism, was only later incorporated into the Esoteric
Buddhist pantheon, mainly through the efforts of Śubhākarasiṃha and
primarily through his Xukongzang pusa nengman zhuyuan zuisheng
(^34) Primary scriptures are T. 1129, 1130 etc. See Orzech, “Esoteric Buddhism in the
Tang,” and on Japanese transformations as Fudō, Dolce, “Taimitsu, the Esoteric Bud-
dhism of the Tendai School,” and Sekimori, ” Shugendō and Its Relationship with the
Japanese Esoteric Sects,” in this volume.
(^35) See Astley 1994b.
(^36) For a study of this important text, see Astley-Kristensen 1991. A discussion of
the cult of Vajrasattva can be found in Astley 1988. 37
T. 1004. See Astley 1994a.