. esoteric buddhist art under the tang 407
Figure 2. Line-drawing of the Vajradhātu Mandala decorating the lid of the
3rd relic box from the crypt under the pagoda of Famen Temple, second half of
9th century (After Han Wei 1992, We nw u 8).
tially successful as the casket in question only features five assemblies
and not the nine normally associated with the orthodox Sino-Japanese
representations of the Vajradhātu Mandala.^15 Han’s identification is
further problematic when identifying the casket in question as being
that of the assembly of the perfected body (chengshen hui ), the
central of the orthodox nine assemblies in the Vajradhātu Mandala.
A comparison with the older Vajradhātu Mandala as represented by
the Japanese copy in Tōji in Kyōto reveals that the Famen Temple
(^15) Cf. Snodgrass 1988, 555–727. See also the excellent translation of the Vajraśekhara
in Giebel 2001, 19–107.