. esoteric buddhist art in china, – 511
Buddhist divinities appearing in these paintings include the five dhyāni
buddhas, Sadaksari-Avalokiteśvara, Green Tārā, Palden Lhamo, Acala, ̣
Vajravārāhī, Sitātapatrā, Kurukullā, and so on. In addition, several
mandalas, such as those of Cakrasaṃvara, Saṃvara, and Hevajra, have
been found.^36 Much of the recovered religious art has been found in
excavated stūpas and temple ruins.^37
Taken together, it is evident that Esoteric Buddhism, especially in
its mature tantric form, was extremely important to Xixia culture. As
such, it appears to have dominated Tangut Buddhism, though it was
not the only form of Buddhism to thrive there.
(^36) Piotrovsky 1993, 106–79. See Dunhuang yanjiu yuan, ed. 1997.
(^37) For a comprehensive and detailed study, see Xie 2002.