. on esoteric buddhism in china 163
tuoluoni jing (Buddha Speaks the Scripture
on the Dhāraṇī that Protects all Children; T. 1028A), the early recen-
sions of the Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñī (T. 986–87), and the Mātaṇgī
sūtra (T. 1300–1301). When looking more closely at the dhāraṇī sūtras
translated or produced in China between ca. 300–500 C.E., we may
also notice distinct changes within this corpus of spell literature.
In this period, the context in which the dhāraṇīs and spells func-
tion can be seen to have undergone new developments. Not only are
the dhāraṇīs and the various results to which they are imagined to
lead the central foci of these scriptures, the very setting in which they
are used gradually changed into new ritual forms; new functions; and,
perhaps most important, a new technical vocabulary.^20 Thus we find in
the early translation of the Suvarṇaprabhāsa sūtra (T. 663), from the
beginning of the fifth century, a spell referred to as an “abhiṣeka stanza
(guanding changju ).”^21 This is in itself a highly important
reference, as it indicates the rite of initiation and religious anointment,
later a chief feature of Esoteric Buddhism, in a relatively early Bud-
dhist context.^22
Another important aspect of development of the fourth to fifth cen-
turies is the increasing appearance of coopted Hindu divinities such
as Hārītī and Mārīcī, the Four Heavenly Kings, and a host of demonic
characters. Many of these no longer serve as secondary interlocutors
or subservient generic figures and now begin to appear as major, even
central, characters.^23
During the fifth and early sixth centuries a further “esotericiza-
tion” of Mahāyāna may be observed in the translated dhāraṇī lit-
erature, in which we now encounter an overwhelming appearance
of spirits and demons of all descriptions and the ritual remedies to
(^20) Actually we can observe several sets of terminologies, which depend, of course,
on who translated a given text and where. This is one of the exasperating features
of pre-sixth–century dhāraṇī literature in China. These texts are characterized by
an acute lack of standardization in both the transcription of Sanskrit and the use of
terminology. 21
Cf. T. 663.16:345b.
(^22) See Davidson, “Abhiseka,” this volume.̣
(^23) The continued development of this trend can be seen as having fully unfolded in
both the Tuoluoni zaji (T. 1336) and the Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha (T. 901), compiled during
the sixth and seventh centuries respectively. The earliest iconography depicting these
Hindu deities can be found among the sculptures at Yungang near Datong
(second half of the fourth century) and slightly later in the Mogao caves
of Dunhuang.