150 charles d. orzech and henrik h. sørensen
695–700 CE, and the Raśmivimalaviśuddhaprabhā-dhāraṇī sūtra (Wu gou
jing guang da tuoluoni jing , T. 1024 from the
hand of Mitraśānta (?) in 704 CE.^20 This text, which recommends
techniques for the repair of old stūpas as a way to lengthen one’s
lifespan, was later retranslated by Amoghavajra under the title Yiqie
rulai xin bimi quanshen sheli baoqie yin tuoluoni jing
, of which two versions exist.^21 The final
scripture to appear was the Foshuo zao ta yanming gongde jing
(Buddha Expounds the Sūtra on Extending Life
[through the] Merit of Making Stūpas).^22 Addressed to King Prasena-
jit and concerned with the extension of life, among other goals, it is
a good example of the importance of royal ideology in the formation
and propagation of Buddhist relic cults. It was translated by Prajña
(734–after 788).^23
In addition to these sūtras a fairly large number of ritual manuals
address the topic of relics and stūpas, and many of these manuals
were produced during the seventh and eighth centuries. Works hav-
ing interesting treatments of relics include the long version of the
Amoghapāśa-dhāraṇī sūtra,^24 the Dhāraṇīsaṃgrāha,^25 the cycle of texts
related to the Ekāksara-uṣ ṇ̣īsa,̣^26 Cintāmaṇicakra-Avalokiteśvara,^27
(^20) The Great Dhāraṇī Scripture of the Stainless Pure Light. Cf. T. 2152.55:369c.
For a study of the oldest extant version of this scripture preserved in Korea, cf. the
Munhwajaecḥŏng, 1999. See also Sørensen, “Early Esoteric Buddhism in Korea,” in
this volume. This scripture had immense popularity in Liao Buddhism. For a discus-
sion see Shen Hsueh-man 2001, 263–303.
(^21) See T. 1022AB. Amoghavajra’s title can be roughly rendered in English as “The
Scripture of the Mudrās and Dhāraṇīs of the Precious Repository of the Secret Whole-
body Śarīra of all the Tathāgatas.” Another scripture by Amoghavajra, The Precious
Dhāraṇī Scripture of the Siddhi for Becoming Buddha (Bao xidi cheng fo tuoloni jing
T. 962) addresses the efficacy and stature confered upon those
who employ a dhāraṇī in the worship of relics in the time of the decay of the Dharma.
See 22 T. 962.19:335c1–10.
T. 1026.
(^23) See Copp, “Prajña,” in this volume, and Yoritomi 1979, 1–103.
(^24) T. 1092.20:293b, 295a, by Bodhiruci. There were several translations of this scrip-
ture from two quite distinct Sanskrit originals. For an overview see Wong, 2007a, pp.
151–158. Forté 1984, 301–347 studied one version,and another look at the scripture
is available from Reis-Habito 1999, 39–67. 25
T. 901 Foshuo tuoluoni ji jing translated in 654 by Atikūt a. For ̣
this important text see Davidson, “Sources and Inspirations,” in this volume. 26
See T. 946, 947, 950, 951, and especially T. 952 by Bodhiruci and T. 953 Yizi jite
foding jing 27 translated by Amoghavajra.
T. 961 Ruyi baozhu zhuanlun bimi xian shen cheng fo jin lun zhouwang jing
attributed to Amoghavajra details the use of
various objects as relics, especially T. 961.19:332b–c.