. esoteric buddhism in the nanzhao & dali kingdoms 381
The close relationship that existed between the rulers of the Nanzhao
and later Dali and Buddhism can be exemplified in the portraits of
monks accompanying the ruler, such as is evident in group no. 2 at
Mt. Shizhong, i.e., the niche for King Geluofeng (r. 748–779)
among the petroglyphs at Boshiwahei , and later during the
Dali kingdom, when at least two kings formally abdicated in order
to become monks while continuing to run the affairs of government
(Chapin 1971, 109). The implication of this—of the king becoming an
ācārya and vice versa—indicates the degree to which Buddhism and
the Dali government were in a state of symbiosis.^6 In practice this
meant that by the early eleventh century this relationship had reached
such a level that the roles of ruler and his religious supervisor(s) were
collapsed into one and the same person.^7
The present-day Buddhist religion of the Bai, often identified with
their officiating priests and referred to as achali jiao , is a lay-
based form of Esoteric Buddhism that by the time of the Ming traced
itself back through thirty-two generations of masters to the Nanzhao
(Wang 2001, 100–103). According to Wang Haitao (and oth-
ers), Buddhism under the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms featured a dual
Buddhist tradition consisting of monastics and married achali.^8 Wang
bases this view on readings in Ming and other later sources. We should
be skeptical, however, of the accuracy and historical value of the later
sources for their descriptions of Buddhism under the Nanzhao and
Dali periods. It is not unlikely that married priests existed during
the late Dali (incidentally, the same is known for Buddhism in Korea
during the mid-Koryŏ ).^9 However, that these achali should have
been representative for Buddhist practitioners during the Nanzhao
and early Dali periods (prior to ca. 1100 C.E.) is a problematic claim
(^6) A detailed discussion of this relationship can be found in Zhao 2006. Although
this book has certain flaws, including a somewhat weak understanding of the histori-
cal souces and Esoteric Buddhism in particular, it is nevertheless useful for its focus
on the relationship between royalty and Buddhism in Nanzhao (and Dali). 7
When seen from the perspective of political power and religious mandate to the
ruling house, one may correctly consider the Long Scroll an “official document” dem-
onstrating the intimate, even symbiotic, relationship that existed between the Dali
kings and (Esoteric) Buddhism. 8
See, for example, Yunnan tujing zhi (Illustrated Gazeteer of Yun-
nan) compiled during the Jingtai reign (1450–1456) of the Ming and the voluminous
Yunnan tongzhi (Comprehensive Gazeteer of Yunnan) compiled during the
early Yongzheng period (1721–1735) of the Qing. 9
Cf. Chen Jing (fl. twelfth century), Gaoli tujing Chen Jing
1983, 97.