. on esoteric buddhism in china 165
From this point onward, we are justified in speaking of the exis-
tence of an “Esoteric Buddhism,” a form of Mahāyāna with its own
ritual hermeneutics, moral codex, secret transmission, and self-under-
standing. Scriptures representative of this phase in the development
toward a full-fledged Esoteric Buddhism are the various versions of
the Mahāmegha sūtra. (T. 991–93), the Mahāmaṇivipulavimāna-
viśvasupratisṭ̣hita-guhyaparamarahasya kalparāja-dhāraṇī (T. 1007),
the Azhapoju guishen dajiang shang fo tuoluoni shenzhou jing
(Scripture on the Supreme Buddha,
Divine Spell Dhāraṇī of the Great Demon General Ātavaka; ̣ T. 1237),
the Amoghapāśa sūtra (T. 1093), and the Ekādaśamukha sūtra (T.
1070). Homa rites occur and Vajrapāṇi makes his appearance as a
major hero.^28
During the seventh century the Esoteric Buddhist trend of the pre-
vious century can be seen to have continued unabated with the arrival
in China of such scriptures as the the Dharāṇīsaṃgraha (T. 901)
and the appearance of the first translation of the Nīlakaṇthaka sūtrạ
(T. 1057B.20) by Zhitong (fl. first half of seventh century)
between 627–649. The most important of these was undoubtedly the
Uṣṇīṣāvijayā-dhāraṇī sūtra (T. 967), a scripture with a simple message
promoting belief in the power of one single dhāraṇī. Soon a number of
translations appeared (T. 968–974), and eventually this dhāraṇī sūtra
attained universal popularity among Buddhists from all walks of life.^29
By the end of the seventh century, a new class of Esoteric Bud-
dhist scriptures had arrived in China, all of which were translated
within the span of a few decades, giving rise to a fully developed lit-
erature of Esoteric Buddhism. These scriptures also include the impor-
tant cycle of esoteric Avalokiteśvara sūtras,^30 such as the extended
Ekādaśamukha sūtra (T. 1071), the new recensions of the Amoghapāśa
sūtra (T. 1094–97), the various new translations of the Nīlakaṇṭhaka
sūtra (T. 1057–60) that appeared one after the other within a span of
ten years, as well as the scriptures on Cintāmaṇicakra-Avalokiteśvara
(^28) See Lamotte 1966. A discussion of the development of Vajrapāṇi into a Tantric
Buddhist divinity can be found in Snellgrove 1987, 134–41. For homa, see Orzech and
Payne, 29 “Homa,” in this volume.
For a detailed study of this dhāraṇī, see Copp 2005, 171–92. See also Kroll
- 30
For a useful survey of these scriptures and their cultic implications, see Yü 2001,
49–72.