232 henrik h. sørensen
encountered a civilization that was in many ways as sophisticated as
Indian culture, and which was in a number of ways—especially in
terms of technology—even more advanced.
Early Buddhist Astrology in China
Although references to astrology occur sporadically in earlier transla-
tions, Dharmaraksa’s third century translation of the ̣ Mātaṅgī sūtra^5
is the first work to feature a more comprehensive astrological system,
including instructions on how to control the twenty-eight constella-
tions. Another important early work is the Shetoujian taizi ershiba su
jing ( Prince Ānanda and the Twenty-eight Constel-
lations Sūtra), also known as the Huer jing ( Tiger’s Ear Sūtra).^6
In the course of the Nanbeichao (386–581), Chinese and Indian astro-
logical systems greatly influenced each other, with the result that a new
hybrid system came about.
At some point during the Nanbeichao, the Indian zodiac was intro-
duced to China.^7 This tradition can be seen as having supplanted the
traditional Chinese zodiac during the middle of the Tang, at least in
the context of Zhenyan Buddhism as taught by the Three Ācāryas,
Śubhākarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi, and Amoghavajra, and their followers.
However, the new zodiac never became sufficiently important to sup-
plant the traditional one, and both systems coexisted through out the
Tang dynasty.^8 In the post-Tang period, it appears that the use of the
Western zodiac only took place in the limited context of Esoteric Bud-
dhism, as evidenced in various representations of Tejaprabha and his
retinue of astral deities.^9
It was also at this time the Chinese Buddhists took up the use of tal-
ismans and talismanic seals, practices they borrowed wholesale from
Daoism. A good portion of all written talismans make use of astral
(^5) T. 1300. This text is said to have been translated by Zhu Luyan and Zhiq-
ian in 230 C.E., but there are problems with such an early dating, given its
contents as well as other features. 6
T. 1301. Largely similar to the text of T. 1300 and it would appear to belong to
the same stage in the development of Buddhist astrology. 7
As reflected in the famous hand scroll, The Five Planets and the Twenty-eight
Lunar Mansions attributed to Zhang Sengyou (fl. early sixth century), now in
the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art.
(^8) A survey can be found in Birnbaum 1980. For a study that is more clearly focused
on the Esoteric Buddhist context, see Howard 1983. Incidently, Howard in this article
discusses the same astral chart as that studied by Birnbaum, cited above. 9
Cf. Hayashi 1997, 33–37.