. esoteric buddhism in the tang 285
ences to the STTS. Yixing uses it in the great Commentary.^90 Amogha-
vajra uses it pointedly in the very last passage of his Indications of the
Goals of the Eighteen Assemblies of the Yoga of the Adamantine Summit
Scripture (Jin’gangding jing yuqie shiba hui zhigui
): “These are called the teachings of the Adamantine Vehicle of
Yoga .”^91 Huiguo and other disciples of Amogha-
vajra also employ the term.^92 Clearly the term Vajrayāna was known
and used to designate an approach distinct from common Mahāyāna
or even common “Mantra Buddhism.” Indeed, Amoghavajra qualifies
Vajrayāna to specify what kind of Vajrayāna he is referring to (i.e.,
that of the Yoga).
In sum, “esoteric Buddhism”/mijiao has been used as a high-order
classifier by various Buddhist figures and scholars alike to cover a broad
array of mantric lore. The Tang ācāryas referred broadly to “Mantra”
or “Mantra Buddhism” (Zhenyan jiao), but the term “Zhenyan school,”
commonly used to refer to the “three great ācāryas” and their disciples,
is anachronistic and misleading. We see two uses of “Yoga,” the first
referring specifically to the STTS and the second referring by exten-
sion to teachings and lineages that claimed to teach it. “Vajrayāna” is
applied to those teachings accessed through abhiṣeka, with their dis-
tinctive genealogical, ritual, and soteriological assumptions.
(^90) I can find only one example in the Commentary, T. 1796.39:629a11.
(^91) T. 869.18:287c12. I follow Giebel’s translation here. See Giebel 1995, 200. One
could also translate the final fa as “methods” to produce: “These are called the meth-
ods of the Adamantine Vehicle of Yoga,” though “teachings” seems the better choice
given the context of a list of scriptures.
(^92) See Orzech, “After Amoghavajra,” in this volume.