divide into two groups: characteristic-possessing and
characterless honzon.
The Japanese Esoteric master Kukai wrote:
The dharma is fundamentally unable to be conveyed in
words, yet without words it cannot be manifested. The
tathatais beyond form but in taking form it is compre-
hended.... Because the Esoteric storehouse is so pro-
found and mysterious it is difficult to manifest with brush
and ink. Thus it is revealed to the unenlightened by
adopting the form of diagrams and pictures. (Shorai
mokuroku, Inventory of Imported Items,806)Japanese Esoteric commentaries describe painted and
sculpted main icons as formal appearances mani-
fested according to the rules of causation, but with-
out a real body. They are understood as depicting the
real buddhas perceived during visualization. In eso-
teric practice, visuality becomes a definitive feature
of the deity. Kukai’s Hizoki(Notes on the Secret Trea-
sury) discusses the term honzon(KZ: 2:30) as trans-
mitted to him by his Chinese teacher. It stresses the
relationship between the absolute nature of the prac-
titioner’s body and that of the main icon. Both the
halls for rites and the representational structure of ei-
detic meditation participate in visual codes and
norms. A practitioner will encounter the divinities
throughout a highly ordered structure of practices
that require him or her to invoke, entertain, and vi-
sualize the deity or deity symbols associated with the
rite. Non-Esoteric monastery halls are understood as
dwelling places of the gods, but Esoteric halls are said
to be symbolic embodiments of self-realization: Stat-
ues and paintings transform the structure into a
localized manifestation of perfection. Yixing’s com-
mentary to the Mahavairocana-sutraexplains that a
painted or sculpted representation of the main icon
is used by novices, and as practice is refined the hon-
zonwill arise itself entirely from the mind, without
“possessing characteristics” (of a form).
Esoteric art forms and types
Thus, the “main icon” in its characteristic-possessing
or material form may be understood as one category
of esoteric icon, wherein it is the primary image of a
hall or the focus of a ritual, but it is also equivalent to
the formless and characterless divinity. A main icon
may be a sculpted, cloth, or painted representation of
a deity. Even if a hall functions in multiple rites and
has many icons, there is often a designated main icon.
Most Buddhist traditions feature a single buddha, but
the esoteric tradition designates main icons from all
classes of Buddhist DIVINITIES.
A second possible categorization of esoteric images
includes representations of the divinities that are not
the primary icon of a hall. “Secret icons” hidden be-
hind closed doors and revealed infrequently are
strongly associated with the esoteric tradition and may
be a main icon or secondary icon.
The concept of a generative system of bodies,
deities, and energies—at once represented and em-
bodied by a mandala—is central to esoteric praxis.
Mandalas are a distinct category of representation that,
although at the ritual and philosophical center of Es-
oteric ordination practices, are not understood as a
main icon in the manner discussed above. A mandala
may be created in two or three dimensions: poly-
chrome paintings or solid-color ground (usually blue
or purple) with gold and silver line-paintings are or-
thodox, but hundreds of individual-deity mandalas
and symbol mandalas are known. In China, sculptural
and other three-dimensional mandalas form the
largest group of extant remains.
Dharan mandalas and printed or brushed
mandalas used as talismans constitute a distinct cate-
gory, along with other symbolic or representational
charms. Many talismanic printed papers were found
at the cave complex of Dunhuang, where travelers
paused to invoke protection along their journey. Tal-
ismanic seals (Chinese, fuyin) protect against calami-
ties and grant wishes; texts on the popular esoteric
bodhisattva Cintamanicakra found at Dunhuang are
impressed with fuyin.
A fifth category of esoteric material culture includes
RITUAL OBJECTSand goods, such as bells, wands, vases,
and vestments. Among all the implements the vajrais
of the greatest significance. Translated as either “dia-
mond” or “thunderbolt,” the vajrais forceful and cuts,
but cannot be cut itself. A metaphor for wisdom and
the dynamic quality of truth, it is juxtaposed with the
matrix or womb world (representing compassion) in
the Esoteric dual-mandala system. As an implement it
is a one-, three-, or five-pronged metal rod similar to
the ancient weapon.
Iconographic drawings, depictions of divinities,
mudra, symbols, or other esoteric components form
another category and typically function as ritual sup-
ports. Drawings are used as the basis for creating
paintings or statues, to record complex mandala com-
ponents, or as study manuals.
Symbolic representations (samaya) are, strictly
speaking, a type of main divinity, but as icons they
may be considered a distinct category. In East AsianESOTERICART, EASTASIA