tuis.
(Tuis.)
#1
esoteric buddhism at the crossroads 283
iconography, and on the other hand a common openness to religious adapta-
tion. Even so, the identification of isolated examples of Indo-Tibetan, Tantric
Buddhist and Esoteric Buddhist art at Dunhuang continued to mainly reflect
Chinese styles and norms. Even when the presence of the Gansu Uyghurs was
being felt in the 10th ccentury, we continue to see many iconographical motifs
rendered in a manner reflecting Chinese styles and interpretation.
Interculturality and interreligiosity are concepts which we may readily apply
to the Esoteric Buddhist material from Dunhuang. Bi-lingual scriptures with
integrated teachings, Tibetan texts in Chinese rendering or vice versa are com-
mon occurrences. The Twenty-eight Vajra Precepts is a unique work in which
a Tantric Buddhist codex of Indo-Tibetan origin delineating correct attitude
and behavior is spelled out in considerable detail. As such it serves as a con-
crete proof that Tibetan Buddhist leaders were actively teaching their brand
of Tantric Buddhism to the members of the Chinese Buddhist communities
in Shazhou, thereby paving the way for the new and foreign types of Esoteric
Buddhism which arrived in China with the Tanguts after the 11th century.
When discussing the various maṇḍalas and their ritual traditions at Dun-
huang, those based on the Vajraśekhara and Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatantra
would appear to have been of the highest importance. Their importance is
highlighted by the great variations displayed by surviving examples of both
maṇḍalas. Furthermore, their respective importance may partly be understood
in relation to the absence of the ritual tradition of the Mahāvairocanasūtra,
which up to the time of Amoghavajra dominated mature Esoteric Buddhist
practices in the area of the twin Tang capitals. The complete absence of the
tradition of the Dual Maṇḍalas at Dunhuang, primarily associated with Kūkai’s
Shingon School, is in itself not sufficient evidence to dismiss their creation as a
ritual unity during the late Tang.
The conflation and/or integration of Chan with Esoteric Buddhism, includ-
ing certain aspects of Indo-Tibetan Tantra, is one of the defining characteris-
tics of Buddhism at Dunhuang during the late Tang. The meeting and partial
merger of the two traditions are indicators of the level of popularity their
respective teachings and rites enjoyed among the Buddhist communities at
Shazhou.
In the light of the data presented here, the application of the term
‘Guhyavāda’ a neologism, as designating Esoteric Buddhism at Dunhuang
during the late Tang and Five Dynasties Period seems not only superfluous,
but also mistaken. Being both narrower in scope than Esoteric Buddhism and
Tantric Buddhism, its application is really the result of unnecessary specula-
tions, for which reason it is better ignored. That is not to deny the possibility
that certain forms of Esoteric Buddhist practice, especially those of the Tantric
