. the impact of translated esoteric buddhist scriptures 313
Rapprochement with Daoism and Popular Religion
A few scholars have emphasized the connections between Buddhist
and Daoist rituals in medieval China (Morita 1941; Nasu 1958; Strick-
mann 1996, 2002); however, the full complexity of these connections
has been obscured by the classifications of Buddhist ritual literature.
Japanese sectarian scholars have typically classified these materials as
either “pure” or “mixed” esoteric literature, depending on when and
by whom it was translated; Western scholars have merely exchanged
these for “proto-tantric” and tantric to buttress theories of the devel-
opment of tantric Buddhism in China from “proto-tantric” Buddhist
and Daoist strands that eventually were preserved by Daoism in China
(Misaki 1967; Takubo 1967). Strickmann posits that anything ritualis-
tic in Buddhism is “proto-Tantra” or “Tantra,” and he favors the view
that Buddhists mimicked Daoist ritual creativity (1996, 49; 2002, 188,
229, 260–261). However, the Buddhist literature that scholars label
as “proto-Tantra” was never classified as such by Chinese Buddhists.
They categorized these instructions on spells, rituals for repentance,
healing, protection, pursuit of worldly benefits, and so forth, including
certain types of consecrations, as “miscellaneous sūtras.”
The contents of some tantric/esoteric scriptures, such as the
Amoghapāśa sūtra (Bukong juansuo tuoluoni zizaiwang zhou jing
, T. 1097), Yogins Book of All the Yogas
(Jin’gangfeng louge yiqie yuzhi jing , T.
867), and Questions of Subāhu (Sobohu tongzi qingwen jing
, T. 895), contain detailed ritual instructions for induc-
ing spirit-possession in children (āveśa) and exorcising spirits from
children (Strickmann 2002, 204–238). Since spirit-possession and
exorcism are usually regarded as the primary domain of shamanism,
these texts rightly problematize the term “shamanism” and hint at the
complex relationship between Buddhism and the practices of spirit
mediums in local or popular religion (See Robson, “Mediums in Eso-
teric Buddhism,” in this volume.). The existence of such scriptures
has caused modern scholars to reconsider the probable linguistic con-
nection between the word “shaman” and the Buddhist term śramaṇa
(“one who strives”), as well as the characteristics of the archetypal
shaman. tantric Buddhist influences and practices may have informed
or even transformed the role of the shaman in East Asia. Strickman
goes so far as to suggest that tantricism and Daoism influenced all
religions in Asia, and he promotes the idea that there is a tantric