. on esoteric buddhism in china 157
The Premises for an “Esoteric Buddhism”
In the following discussion I trace the development of Esoteric Bud-
dhism back to its roots in Indian Mahāyāna and argue that it developed
from a special trend within Mahāyāna, that of ritualism and magic. I
question the view that Esoteric Buddhism did not develop until the
seventh century and I also reject the view that the Zhenyan or Shin-
gon Buddhism of the eighth–ninth centuries represented mainstream
Esoteric Buddhism in China. I argue that Esoteric Buddhism, which
I define as the form of Mahāyāna that centers on ritual magic and
which employed a variety of performative strategies and implements
(such as special altars, spells and dhāraṇīs, mudrās, mandalas, homa,
a highly developed iconography, and a distinct range of offerings to
effect divine response for its adherents) originated very early in the
development of Mahāyāna Buddhism, although I accept that only later
did it flower as Esoteric Buddhism.
According to this understanding, Esoteric Buddhism is a form of
Mahāyāna—not a separate school but a movement centering on attain-
ing its spiritual and worldly goals through ritual practices. Esoteric
Buddhism developed into a distinct form of Mahāyāna in tandem with
the rise of Mahāyāna, and we may therefore find embryonic “esoteric”
traces of what later became mainstream Esoteric Buddhist “building
blocks” in some of the earliest Mahāyāna scriptures. Central to my
argument, however, is that I reserve the term “Esoteric Buddhism” as
the most useful, if not perfect, way of designating this form of Bud-
dhism. For the early, undeveloped Esoteric Buddhist elements encoun-
tered in Mahāyāna literature, I use the term “esoteric Mahāyana” to
underscore that we are dealing with particular forms of belief and
practice. “Tantra” and “Tantric Buddhism” will be used exclusively
for the Esoteric Buddhist developments that took place in India (and
later in Tibet and China) during and after the seventh century.
General and unsystematic elements of Esoteric Buddhist practices
first occurred within the context of traditional Indian Mahāyāna Bud-
dhism, followed by an increasingly systematic development of these
practices, finally flowering into what may be termed “mature Eso-
teric Buddhism” some time during the sixth–seventh centuries. Eso-
teric Mahāyāna did not initially develop separately from mainstream
that existed under the Nanzhao kingdom (ca. 653–937), and of course later under the
Dali (ca. 937–1253).