. talismans in chinese esoteric buddhism 227
Figure 1. Talismans from Rites of the Vajra-Being of Impure Traces [Ucchuṣma]
for Exorcising the Hundred Weirds (T. 1229.21:160–161).
those to be hung up to garrison a home; those to be applied to a bed;
those to be put on a tree or to garrison a tomb; and those to be worn
to become invisible (Gao Guofan 1989; Drège 1999). Buddhist texts
that contain talismans tend to be closely related to spell-texts that are
concerned with the attainment of supranormal powers, protection, or
a variety of this-worldly benefits (Copp 2005; McBride 2005).
The majority of texts that contain talismans are clustered together
in the “Esoteric” (“Mikkyō”) section of the Taishō canon (especially
vol. 21), though the tendency to classify the texts with talismans as
proto-tantric or as solely a part of esoteric Buddhism is a matter of
scholarly debate. The Taishō is replete with talismans. For example,