276 charles d. orzech
Śubhākarasiṃha and the Mahāvairocana sūtra
Śubhākarasiṃha’s single most important accomplishment is cer-
tainly his work, in conjunction with Yixing (683–727),^54 to pro-
duce the translation of the MVS^55 and the massive Commentary on
the Mahāvairocana sūtra (Da Piluzhe’na chengfo jing shu
, T. 1796) in 724.^56 Unlike most previous esoteric texts,
the MVS and its Commentary constitute a ritual hermeneutic encom-
passing all of mantric practice and indeed all of the Mahāyāna. The
scripture was apparently composed late in the first half of the seventh
century, perhaps in northeast India.^57 In its current form it consists
of thirty-six chapters in seven fascicles, but the five final chapters on
ritual performance were not originally part of the text.^58
The system of the MVS is organized around three “families”
(kula): the Buddha ( fo ), Lotus (lianhua ), and Vajra ( jin’gang
) families, and it gives detailed instructions for the ritual transfor-
mation of initiates into cosmic buddhas. Indeed, the detail and coher-
ence of the ritual program surpassed those found in esoteric scriptures
that had appeared previously in China. Here we find instructions on
the creation of the Garbha or “Womb” mandala^59 (T. 848.18:6b–9b; T.
1796.39:630c–642c) and thus the organization and relationships among
of the panoply of deities, from the cosmic overlord Mahāvairocana to
(^54) See Keyworth, “Yixing,” in this volume.
(^55) Unfortunately no Sanskrit original of the MVS has been found, though a Tibetan
version does exist. Tajima Ryūjun 1936, 141–48, provides a bibliography on the text
and covers the Tibetan trans lations. A more recent bibliography may be found in
Shuchi-in Daigaku Mikkyō-gakki, ed. 1986, section IV.2.b. The English translation in
Hodge 2003 is a good place to start in the study of the text. 56
The Commentary was composed by Yixing on the basis of Śubhākarasiṃha’s oral
teachings. 57
Hodge guesses around 640 as a date of composition. He leans toward the north-
east as the site of composition, but admits this is far from certain. See Hodge 2003,
17–18.
(^58) These five chapters appear to have constituted a separate manual that was
appended to the sutra. They do not exist in the Tibetan version.
(^59) Because of their importance in Shingon Buddhism, the “Womb” and “Diamond”
mandalas—drawn from the MVS and the STTS respectively—have received extensive
treatment. Despite the wealth of material from Japan, relatively little evidence of the
two major mandalas remains extant in China, though some recent finds at Famen
Monastery have added to what we have. See Sørensen, “Esoteric Buddhist Art under
the Tang,” in this volume. For Japan, ten Grotenhuis (1999) provides a convenient
entrée and bibliography. See especially “The Womb World Mandala,” 58–77, and “The
Diamond World Mandala,” 33–57. In Japanese the classic is still Toganoo 1927 (1982
reprint).