24. ESOTERIC BUDDHISM AND MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS^1
Jinhua ChenWhat in eighth- or ninth-century China (as in some other periods)
some modern scholars perceive to be esoteric Buddhism probably
should not be regarded as an independent school; rather, esoteric Bud-
dhism refers to a rather loose tradition and its associated soteriological
system. This fact should not, however, prevent us from recognizing
and properly appraising the infiltration of esoteric Buddhist ideas and
practices into various layers of the contemporary Buddhist monastic
institution and its extraordinary position within Tang Buddhism as
a whole.
The three major centers for esoteric Buddhism in Tang China were
Daxingshansi and Qinglongsi , both in Chang’an,
and Jin’gesi on Mt. Wutai. Jin’gesi was built between 766
and 767 at the recommendation of Bukong, one of whose major dis-
ciples, Hanguang (?–774+), was very likely appointed as its first
abbot.^2 The Japanese monk and pilgrim Ennin (793/794–864),
who was in China from 838 to 847, reports in his famous travelogue
that the temple was home to a “ritual arena for mandala visualization
and mantra-chanting” (Jpn. jinen mandara dōjō; Ch. chinian man-
tuluo daochang ), where Hanguang regularly per-
formed esoteric rituals for the purpose of extending the state fortune
of the Li family ( ) (Nittō guhō junrei gyōki
; BZ (1912–1922) 72: 3.236). Bukong spent a major part
of his eventful life in Daxingshansi, while Qinglongsi was the head-
quarters for several lines of esoteric tradition deriving from Huiguo.
Other monasteries with a significant esoteric presence included Jing-
zhusi , Baoshousi , Xingtangsi , Xuanfasi
, Chongfusi and Liquansi in Chang’an; and Sheng-
shansi and Tiangongsi in Luoyang.
(^1) This essay partly summarizes Chapter Six of Chen 2010.
(^2) The evidence for the date of the construction of this important temple is reviewed
in Chen 1999, 27–28.