Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia

426 charles d. orzech

emerged since the Tang, including the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa (T. 1191),

the Guhyasamāja-tantra (T. 885), and the Hevajra ḍākinī-jala-saṃvara-

tantra (T. 892). Certain key works that had only been partially trans-

lated during the Tang such as the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha (STTS,

T. 882) were translated in full. The monks of the Institute also ren-

dered numerous ritual manuals for the worship of individual deities

(such as Vināyaka and Mārīcī) as well as many short dhāraṇī texts.^23

The emergence of Esoteric as a bibliographic category

The Catalogue of the Dharma Treasure Compiled in the Dazhong

Xiangfu Period presented in 1013 and covering the

first prolific decades of the Institute contains dated reports of transla-

tions completed, summaries of contents of the works, names of mem-

bers of the translation teams, and requests for entry into the canon

and circulation.^24 According to the bibliographical taxonomy of the

Catalogue texts are designated as belonging to three sūtra categories:

“The Hinayāna Scriptural Collection,” (Xiaocheng jingzang )

“the Mahāyāna Scriptural Collection,” (Dacheng jingzang )

and “the esoteric portion of the Mahāyāna Scriptural Collection.”

(Dacheng jingzang mimi bu ).^25 We also see occa-

sional uses of subsidiary classifiers, such as “Yoga” ( yuqie ), and

“Lineage/School of the Five Secrets” (wumi zong ).^26 Other

doxological categories that would signal the distinctiveness of the cult

of the cremation ground, of texts of the Anuttarayogatantra or Yogini

tantra are absent from this work. For example, The Catalogue records

Dānapāla’s 1002 translation of the Guhyasamāja-tantra

( T. 885) and summarizes its contents.

But it says nothing about its iconography.^27 What is notable is that

the usage of the catalogue—broad-brushed though it was—marks the

emergence of a distinctive bibliographic category “esoteric,” and that

category appears to include everything with a dhāraṇī or mantra in it.

(^23) For futher information see Willemen 1983, 23–26, Huang 1994, Sen 2002, and
Orzech, “Translation of Tantras and other Esoteric Buddhist scriptures,” in this volume.
(^24) This catalogue is an essential resource for the study of the period. Issued in 1013,
the Catalogue was compiled under the leadership of Zhao Anren (958–1018).
It is found in Zhonghua da zang jing ( ZDJ) 73: 414–523. For a discussion
of it see Jan 1966a, 27–30.
(^25) See, for example, ZDJ 73: 420 which has all three classifications.
(^26) ZDJ 73: 456.
(^27) ZDJ 73: 472.