. abhiṣeka 75
and so forth (T. 901.18:885c26–892c28). The master (ācārya) first con-
secrated a piece of ground; spread out a mandala between one and
four yards on a side; covered it with dry cow dung; placed posts, ritual
daggers (kīla), and pots in the corners; and divided it into a number
of “altars” (vedi, yuan ) or other mandala sections for the respective
buddhas. Incense offerings were made, and candidates were sprinkled
with a special vase (kalaśa) blessed for the purpose, after which a homa
was employed to invoke the Buddha, and related ceremonies were con-
ducted, perhaps for as long as a week. Eventually, with the expansion
of the mandala form and the inclusion of buddha-retinues (parivāra,
juanshu ; later “families,” kula, zu ), the candidate was asked
to throw a flower into the mandala to affirm the mystical relationship
between himself and the buddha-retinue. Abhisekaṣ quickly devel-
oped to include the acts of tying on crowns (patṭạ), receiving scepters
(vajra), receiving new names, becoming an emanation of the deity
(devāṃśa), and other signs of the royal coronation form.
Buddhist abhiṣeka rites were to become extremely complex over
time. Whereas the earliest tantric rites transmitted during the Tang
might take two to three days in abbreviated form, later rituals trans-
mitted in the Song could have been punctuated over decades, with
separate rites for the consecration of the disciple (śiṣyābhisekạ ), autho-
rizing a candidate to become a preceptor (ācāryābhiṣeka), or any of
the eighth–ninth centuries’ rites involving sexuality (guhyābhiseka, ̣
prajñājñānābhiṣeka). These latter were the most contentious abhiṣeka
forms and involved the systematic transgression of social norms. Con-
sequently the Song dynasty translations were often accomplished in a
manner that occluded the overt language of the Indic texts in favor of
Chinese courtly aesthetics, although this practice had also occurred
during the Tang in more limited ways. Even then, it is apparent that
some antinomian practices were communicated in some manner to
select Chinese disciples, although it is difficult to determine to what
degree the extreme rites were actually performed in China or any-
where else.