300 henrik h. sØrensen
Finally, a Dunhuang manuscript entitled Foshuo Lengqie jing chan-
men xitan zhang (Gate of Chan with Siddham
[According to] the Laṅkāvatāra sūtra),^43 contains evidence of the
use of spell sentences in combination with classical Northern Chan
doctrine.^44 It was reputedly composed by a certain Dinghui
(n.d.), a Chan monk said to have hailed from Da Xingshan Temple
in Luoyang.
The followers of Northern Chan were not alone in being influenced
by Esoteric Buddhist practices and adapting them to their own sys-
tem of meditation and other sectarian concernds. In the biography
of the monk Wuzhu (714–774),^45 the founder of the Baotang
school based in Yizhou (modern-day Chengdu, Sich-
uan province), we find repeated references and citations from the
Sarvadurgatipasriśodhana–uṣṇīṣavijayā-dhāraṇī sūtra,^46 one of the
most important and influential Esoteric Buddhist scriptures in the his-
tory of Chinese Buddhism.^47
Toward the end of the Tang dynasty the sources reveal a certain
degree of rapprochement between Chan and Esoteric Buddhism that
went beyond the simple use of spells or ritual practices. A manuscript
from Dunhuang, the Fu fazang pin 35 (35th Section
of the Transference of the Dharma Treasury),^48 is said to form part of
the Jin’gang junjing jin’gangding yijie rulai shenmiao bimi jin’gang jie
da sanmeiye xiuxing sishier zhongtan fa jing zuoyong wei fayi ze—Da
Piluzhe’na jin’gang xindi famen mi fajie tan fayi ze
(^43) It has been critically edited in T. 2779.85:536ac. This edition is based on P. 2204
and P. 2212. See also P. 3082 and P. 3099. The latter two manuscripts are either partly
mutilated or incomplete. P. 3082 has been reproduced in Jao and Demieville (1971),
pls. 92–99.
(^44) There is another poetic text ascribed to this monk, the Da Xingshan si chan-
shi shamen Dinghui shi can (Poetic Verse by the Chan
Master, the Monk Dinghui of Da Xingshan Temple). Cf. S. 5809. It is described briefly
in Jao and Demieville 1971, 86–87 and 330–31.
(^45) For biographical information on Wuzhu, cf. Lidai fabao ji (Records
of the History of the Dharma Treasure), T. 2075. 51:186a–196b. See also Ma 1991,
11–16. 46
T. 967–971.
(^47) Cf. T. 2075.51:187a and 189b. For a lengthy discussion of the Sarvadurgati-
pasriśodhana-uṣṇīsavijayā-dhāraṇ ̣ī sūtra in the context of Chinese Buddhism, see
Copp (2005). 48
This intriguing work can be found in the following Dunhuang manuscripts:
P. 3913, 2791, 3212; S. 5981; and Beijing 29.