160 henrik h. sørensenMahāyāna.^6 One of the earliest sūtras of this class (where the concept
of spells or dhāraṇīs can be found) is the Aṣtasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā ̣
sūtra (T. 226) dating from the first century B.C.E. In this early mate-
rial we see the concept of the sūtra itself as spell or dhāraṇī. Another
example can be found in the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā
sūtra (T. 222).^7 Moksala’s translation of the ̣ Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-
prajñāpāramitā sūtra from 291 C.E. (T. 221) contains references to
“dhāraṇī doors (tuoluoni men )” as prajñāpāramitā^8 and
“dhāraṇī accomplishment” (tuoluoni chengjiu ).^9 It is clear
from the context that the primary understanding of “dhāraṇī” is not
of it as a spell per se but rather a device for maintaining or “holding”
the teaching.
An interesting passage found in the latter recension actually warns
bodhisattvas against “studying the spell arts (zhoushu ) and talis-
manic books (fushu ).”^10 Although this warning occurs in the text
as part of a general admonition against the use of magic and prognos-
tication as practiced by non-Buddhists, it may indicate that a dichot-
omy existed between the way dhāraṇīs and spells were perceived and
used in early Mahāyāna. A similarly negative attitude toward spells
can be seen in an early version of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa sūtra (T. 474)
translated by Zhiqian from 223–228 C.E. Here the text mentions
the use of “prohibited spell words (jin zhouyu ).”^11 Spells, how-
ever, were to become an important element in Mahāyāna Buddhism,
as amply documented in the scriptures translated into Chinese during
the second and third centuries.
(^6) For a general survey of this literature, see Conze 1960, a classic, if now slightly
outdated, study. 7
It is interesting to observe that the earlier Chinese translation of this sūtra done
by Lokakṣema in 179 C.E. under the Eastern Han has no references to spells. Cf.
T. 224. This may indicate that spells and concepts of the text as a spell appeared in
the Prajñāpāramitā literature some time after the earliest scriptures of this class of
Mahāyāna texts were composed.
(^8) Cf. T. 221.8:44a, 116a.
(^9) T. 221.8:44a.
(^10) T. 221.8:88b. In the Śūraṅgama-samādhī sūtra, another important early Mahāyāna
scripture, the spell arts are counted among the worldly sciences alongside literature
and medicine, which may be seen as an indication that the use of spells was not origi-
nally perceived in early Mahāyāna as a spiritual device but more as a secular tool. Cf.
T. 642.15:632b. 11
T. 474.14:530b. A similar injunction can be found in the Akṣobhyatathāgata-
syavyūha sūtra. Cf. T. 313.11:758c.