23. ESOTERIC BUDDHISM IN THE TANG: FROM ATIKŪTA ̣
TO AMOGHAVAJRA 651780
Charles D. OrzechIntroduction
Between the fifth century and the early eighth century, South and
Central Asian Buddhist texts, focused on ritual and studded with
mantras and dhāraṇīs (tuoluoni ), began to seep and then pour
into China.^1 This trend was a direct consequence of developments in
South Asia that would lead eventually to the production of the tan-
tras.^2 This heterogeneous assortment of texts came in three varieties:
as individual dhāraṇī texts that promulgated a spell and its attendant
ritual for protection or some other end; as collections of dhāraṇī texts
that brought together a variety of ritual practices with aims ranging
from the repulsion of demons to enlightenment; and as texts reflective
of comprehensive ritual systems.
The wealth of translations into Chinese during the last half of the
seventh century gives us a sense of important new Buddhist develop-
ments in South Asia. From this material we can see the growing interest
in mantric ritual and a gradual drive toward comprehensive systems
that emerged in the last half of the seventh century, exemplified by
the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi sūtra (MVS)^3 and the Sarvatathāgata-
tattva-saṃgraha (STTS).^4 The new texts reflected both growing fasci-
nation with and specialization in spells as a distinct strand of Buddhist
lore and practice, as well as a profound and relatively rapid change
in some Indian Buddhist communities, attributable to loss of patron-
age and to competition with Śaivism (Davidson 2002a, 90, 111–112).
Davidson has argued that the emergence of esoteric Buddhism is
(^1) See Copp, “Dhāraṇī,” in this volume.
(^2) See Davidson, “Sources and Inspirations: Esoteric Buddhism in South Asia,” in
this volume. Although compromised by a naïve textual methodology and taxonomy,
Ōmura’s attempt to write a history of the development of esoteric Buddhism by exam-
ining the chronology of translations remains the classic. See Ōmura 1972. 3
Labeled a “sūtra” or “classic” jing in its Chinese translation, it is elsewhere
referred to as a “tantra.” 4
Its full Sanskrit title is usually reconstructed as Vajraśekhara-sarvatathāgata-
satya-saṃgraha-mahāyāna-pratyutpannābhisambuddhamahātantrarāja-sūtra.