. esoteric buddhism in the tang 273
Sarvāstivāda and Vinaya works. Yijing apparently was interested in the
new esoteric teachings and had studied them at Nālandā.^42 Nonethe-
less, aside from his translation of the Mahāmāyūrī (Kongque zhou wang
jing , T. 985) most of his esoteric work consisted of shorter
dhāraṇī scriptures, such as the ever popular “Scripture of the Super-
lative Spell of the Buddha’s Crown” (Foshuo Foding zunsheng tuolu-
oni jing , T. 971), a text on Cintāmaṇicakra
Avalokiteśvara (Foshuo Guanzizai pusa ruyi xin tuoluoni zhou jing
, T. 1081), and a text on eliminating
karmic obstructions, Foshuo bachu zuizhang zhou wang jing
, T. 1396.
It is clear that by the beginning of the eighth century the emerging
systematic forms of esoteric Buddhism had not lessened the demand
for simpler dhāraṇī scriptures. Indeed, the production of short “spell
texts” continued to flourish, and such texts continued to be translated
through the Tang and into the Song dynasty, often by monks such as
Amoghavajra and Dānapāla who were promulgating more advanced
systems for their patrons and elite disciples. In other words, from the
time of Atikūta onward there was a market for both sorts of texts and ̣
it would be a fundamental misunderstanding to see the more complex
systems replacing simpler usage. The audience for simpler dhāraṇī
scriptures was broad and such texts were openly disseminated. The
audience for the more complex systems—which aimed at creating
“lords of mantra” through abhiṣeka—was very narrow, and their tech-
niques were carefully guarded.
The “Three Great Ācāryas” of the Mid-Tang
By the time Yijing left India in 695, the new ritual systems of the MVS
and the STTS had appeared and were beginning to circulate. They
reached China though the efforts of three eighth-century missionar-
ies.^43 The first, Śubhākarasiṃha, arrived in Ch’ang-an in 716,^44 soon
(^42) See his remarks concerning the master Daolin and the Dhāran ̣īpiṭaka
(Zhouzang ; Mingzang ) T. 2066.51:6c6–7a18; and Zanning’s comments in
the Song gaoseng zhuan, T. 2061. 50:710b8–711b4.
(^43) The Chan monk Wuxing was reputedly bringing the MVS back to China
from India, but died on the way. According to Zanning, the Sanskrit manuscripts
Wuxing was transporting somehow made their way to China, and Śubhākarasiṃha
and Yixing availed themselves of them some years later. See Song gaoseng zhuan,
T. 2061.50:715b13–18. 44
See Pinte, “Śubhākarasiṃha,” in this volume. Stephen Hodge makes an intriguing