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SEEING CHEN-YEN BUDDHISM
Traditional scholarship and the Vajrayana
in ChinaCharles D. Orzech
Source: History of Religions 29, 2 (1988): 87-114.
Chen-yen (mi-chiao, "esoteric Buddhism") Buddhism was among the most
important Buddhist traditions in the history of Chinese religion, yet many histor-
ians of religions, sinologists, and Buddhologists have never heard of it.
That Chen-yen has been invisible is itself an indication of traditional and
modem biases. By becoming aware of these biases we can better discern the out-
lines of Chen-yen both as true Vajrayana and as truly Chinese, and we can
recognize Chen-yen as a political and religious movement which had a far more
profound impact than is commonly acknowledged. Indeed, in viewing Chen-yen
we can see one of the most comprehensive and unique developments of the
Vajrayana, one which changed the face of Chinese religion and which continues
to the present day. I hope in this study to begin the process of the reclamation of
the Chen-yen tradition as a distinctively Chinese form ofVajrayana.
To begin reclaiming the outlines of this "lost" tradition, I first examine some
of the biases which have rendered Chen-yen invisible. I then briefly discuss
some key issues of Vajrayana cosmology and practice, particularly the important
notion of siddhi-the goal of ritual. In doing so I furnish some of the necessary
materials for historians of religions to place Chen-yen in the context of Chinese
religions, in the context of the Vajrayana, and in the wider context of the history
of religions. Finally, I discuss two of the most prominent facets of the Vajrayana
in China: rites for the salvation of hungry ghosts, and the unusual ninefold
Vajradhatu mal).(iala. Both serve to illustrate common misperceptions about
Chen-yen and to establish the true nature and persistence of the tradition.
The myth of the nonexistent traditionChen-yen's importance has been obscured because it has been viewed from a
series of sectarian perspectives, perspectives which have been generated by the