. homa 137
appears in the sixth century Avalokiteśvaraikādaśamukhadhāraṇī
(sūtra) of Yaśogupta (Shiyimian guanshiyin shenzhou jing
, T. 1070) dating from 561–578. A more substantial descrip-
tion appears in Atikūta’s Tuoluoni ji jing or Collection
of Coded Instructions (Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha sūtra, T. 901) of 654.^6 Here
Agni functions as the messenger of the rite, first enthroned in the
hearth and transmitting offerings to buddhas, bodhisattvas, Vajra
beings, and devas.^7 Less than half a century later, Bodhiruci’s trans-
lation of the Scripture of the Cakravartin of the Single Word of the
Buddha’s Crown (Ekāksara-uṣ ṇ̣īṣa-cakravartin; Yizi foding lunwang
jing , T. 951 709 C.E. contains a long segment
titled “Homa altar” (humo tan; goma dan ), which forms the
final section of this extensive compendium.^8 This is the first text
that gives extensive instruction on performance and accoutrements
and classifies homa into three types with differently shaped altars:
śāntika for pacification (anyin fa T. 951.19:262a13), pauṣṭika
for prosperity (qiu dafeng rao zhu cheng shan fa
T. 951.19:262b3), and abhicāraka for subjugation (zhoufu ta fa
T. 951.19:262b21).^9 This makes clear that by the very beginning of
the eighth century homa had become a highly developed, semiotically
sophisticated ritual system and had taken on the form that was to be
carried throughout East Asia.
Not more than a decade later the same system was evident in even
greater detail in new translations by Śubhākarasiṃha. The translation of
the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi sūtra (Da Piluzhe’na cheng fo shenbian
jiachi jing , T. 848, hereafter MVS) in 724
and the production of its massive Commentary (Da Piluzhe’na cheng
fo jing shu , T. 1796) with the aid of Yixing, and
the 726 translation of the Susiddhikāramahātantra-saddhanopāyikā-
patalạ (Suxidi jieluo jing , T. 893) describing the
same three types of homa and with encyclopedic information
(^6) For more on this text, see Orzech, “Esoteric Buddhism in the Tang: From Atikūta ̣
to Amoghavajra (651–780),” in this volume.
(^7) T. 901.18:879c25–880a6.
(^8) T. 951.19:261c16–263b3. This is the first appearance of the term humo ,
though it also calls the rite 9 huotan fa.
Details of an abhicāraka rite (apizhelujia fa , T. 952.19:272c6),
including a triangular altar, the officiant facing south in a hostile crouch, etc., in what
would become classical marks of the rite, are found in Bodhiruci’s Wu foding san
mei tuoluoni jing ( T. 952.19:272c11–12), translated sometime
between 693 and 706.