306 richard d. mcbride ii(fl. 794), who even worked closely with Amoghavajra on several trans-
lation projects, and Heng’an (fl. 945) of the Southern Tang
( T. 2157.55:910a–940a; T. 2158.55:1048a–1053b). The Koryŏ
monk Sugi (fl. 1214–1259), who compiled and edited the Koryŏ
taejanggyŏng (Korean Buddhist Canon) between 1237
and 1251, purposely followed the organization of the Sichuan Edition
of the Song Canon (Shuben ), which was organized following
Zhisheng’s catalogue (Lancaster 1979, xv.). The texts of the Korean
canon served as the basis for the Taishō but their order was rearranged
to accord with the sectarian and scholastic milieu of its creation in the
first half of the twentieth century.
The Indications of the Goals of the Eighteen Assemblies of the Yoga of
the Adamantine Pinnacle Sūtra (Jin’gangding jing yuqie shibahui zhi-
gui , T. 1869, Giebel 1995), composed by
Amoghavajra, provides a list of eighteen scriptures that many modern
scholars have accepted as the earliest conceptualization of an esoteric
Buddhist canon (Matsunaga 1980, 39, 187–88; Yoritomo 1990, 172–79;
Lü 1995, 265–74). However, because many of the titles and contents
of works remain unknown or unclear and were never translated into
Chinese, the relationship between these eighteen titles and the later
esoteric tantras is difficult to establish (Eastman 1981; Davidson 2002a,
145–46).
For the case of medieval China, the safest course is to suggest that
the earliest texts that might be included in an esoteric Buddhist canon
would be the Sūtra on Vairocana’s Attaining Buddhahood (Maha-
vairocana sūtra, T. 848), the Sarvatathāgata-tattvasaṃgraha (T. 865,
T. 866), and the Susiddhikara (T. 893), which were all translated in
the early eighth century, as well as all of the associated ritual guide-
books (yigui ). Some scholars would include various dhāran ̣ī
sūtras associated with Avalokiteśvara (Yoritomi 1999b, 19–23) and
also imagine a Vajraśekhara (Jin’gangding jing ) family of
scriptures (Misaki 1977, such as T. 865–892). Scholars from Japanese
esoteric traditions also emphasize the Liqu jing ( T. 1004), but
its importance outside of Japan is difficult to demonstrate (Matsunaga
1980, 198–231).