. on esoteric buddhism in china 171
If on behalf of the country’s king it is necessary to make a mandala,
one should twist five-colored powder between the fingers and with poly-
chrome colors paint buddha images, bodhisattvas, and all the gods and
the different figures and shapes. Inside and outside [the mandala] one
must arrange and display the divinities in sequential order. It is neces-
sary to show caution, be quiet, and act in secret when carrying it out. To
be sincere in one’s disposition and respectful in one’s determination is
necessary when seeking to obtain [a desired] response. [Then] calamities
will be destroyed and blessings and longevity obtained. It is just like a
sound and its responding echo. Without seeking there can be no fruit.
Do not allow non-believers [to create] the cause and effect [of those
following] deviant ways because of their distorted views. [Hence, one
should prevent] those of shallow wisdom and without thinking, as well
as idiotic and stupid people and so forth, including butchers, children,
men of power (kuiguai ),^54 the five [kinds of] caṇḍālas,^55 eunuchs,
female slaves, prostitutes, and other kinds of people from trying to see
this mandala (lit., lun ). Otherwise this will cause ordinary sentient
beings to [give rise to] slander, whereby both those who cause it and
those who slander [them] will meet with injury. [Moreover, there are
those] who do not gather together all the images of the gods and cause
worldly and stupid people abruptly to see it. If they disrespectfully dis-
play [the ritual secrets] and reveal them [to the unqualified], the numi-
nous spirits will be displeased, and then their blessings and protection
will be hard to request. Dharma people (faren ) will come to harm
if they do not maintain secrecy. [Moreover] their [ritual] arrangements
will be in vain!^56This passage emphasizes that if the ritual methods are divulged to the
uninitiated, harm may follow. Second, secrecy ensures the proper per-
formance of rituals, and ritual secrecy prevents the creation of evil
karma. The text makes clear that secrecy is to be maintained in order
to avoid trouble with “those people of shallow wisdom and without
understanding of the Tathāgata’s upāya of great compassion and the
jing ( Mañjuśrī-mahāvaipulya sūtra), the translation of which has
been attributed to the Indian monk Śīlabhadra/Huilin (737–820), a disciple of
Amoghavajra. For his biography, cf. T. 2061.50:738ab.
(^54) Interpreted as government officials who abuse their power. Cf. FDC, vol. 1,
p. 345c.
(^55) It is interesting to note that caṇḍālas, i.e., low-caste people, are included in this
list, as they—in particular the women—are considered by Tantric Buddhist practitio-
ners to be the best partners for the performance of ritual maithuna. The fact that this
text mentions them as unworthy of participation in the esoteric rite described in our
text may indicate something about its date and the context in which it was employed.
Probably we are here dealing with a relatively early text, perhaps no later than the
seventh century, and rather likely one that was chiefly used in a monastic context. 56
T. 966.19:342c.