388 henrik h. sØrensen
Other spells and dhāraṇīs of importance include the Yiqie zhu fo
guiming zhou (Spell of All the Buddhas for Return-
ing to Life [?]),^30 Da foding xin zhou (Great Buddhoṣṇīṣa
Heart Spell),^31 Ruyi baozhu zhou (Cintāmaṇi Spell),^32 the
Raśmivimalaviśuddhaprabhā-dhāraṇī, the Shanzhu bimi zhenyan
(Secret Mantras of the Good Lord),^33 and several uniden-
tified ones. The Long Scroll also features a pair of painted dhāraṇī-
pillars similar to those normally featuring the Uṣṇīṣavijayā-dhāraṇī,
one with a spell said to come from the Prajñāpāramitā hṛdaya, the
other with the Huguo jing zhou (Spell of the Nation-Pro-
tecting Scripture^34 ).^35 Many of the popular spells have been found
impressed on bricks and tiles from votive stūpas and pagodas, evi-
dently to empower and protect them. Nearly all of them include the
respective spell written in Sanskrit and in some cases include a dedica-
tion or verse in Chinese. In rare cases they are written in Chinese only
(Liebenthal 1947, 1–40).^36
Esoteric Buddhist Cults
The figure of Avalokiteśvara, in particular in the form of the Acuoye
Guanyin , is closely connected with the founding myths
of the Nanzhao kingdom and continues to be invoked as an acces-
sory to the royal mandate down through the Dali period.^37 In fact, the
(^30) Cf. Jiang, Qiu, and Yunnan 1998, 95–96, pl. 188. This spell includes Chinese,
Sanskrit, and Siddham script. I have been unable to locate the spell in the standard
Buddhist canonical material. 31
Jiang, Qiu, and Yunnan 1998, pl. 187. This normally refers to the dhāraṇī of the
Shoulengyan jing (Pseudo-Śūraṅgama Sūtra), T. 945. However, the exam-
ples found in the Dali material are shorter, and may be considered variations possible
in abbreviated form. 32
Cf. Jiang, Qiu, and Yunnan 1998, pl. 186. It consists of a text in pure Chinese
in which invocation, mantra, and an explanatory verse have been combined into one
single spell. There are several spells in the Chinese canonical material with this title,
none of which match directly with the one we have here. 33
Jiang, Qiu, and Yunnan 1998, pl. 190. The full title of this spell is Da bao guangpo
louge shanzhu bimi tuoluoni (Secret Dhāraṇī of the
Good Lord of the Great, Precious Pagoda). For another example, see Yang 1993,
8:36. 34
This spell is a hybrid text, possibly a local product, which has not been lifted from
one single scripture. The title may refer to the Renwang jing, but the spell in question
does not match any of the mantras found in that scripture.
(^35) Described by Soper in Chapin 1971, 133–134.
(^36) Rubbings of many different examples can be found in Yang 1993, vol. 8.
(^37) For a discussion of the meaning of this name, see Soper’s comments in Chapin
1970a, 19.