434 paul copp
practice of esoteric and exoteric teachings” characteristic of the region,
and finds in accounts of Liu’s practice a combination of esoteric Bud-
dhism and native Chinese traditions of filial piety.^10
Liu’s miraculous austerities are dramatically presented in monu-
mental tableaux at Baodingshan and Anyue, where they exist along-
side other images including those of the vidyārājas and Vairocana.
Though they are found in esoteric traditions, the images—especially
those of Vairocana—are also shared by other traditions, including that
of Huayan. In fact, the esoteric Buddhism figured in these images and
sketched in their accompanying texts often overlaps significantly with
the Vairocana imagery characteristic of Huayan literature, a body of
scripture much favored by the creator of the sites, Zhao Zhifeng.
Perhaps most important in this regard are the structures located at
the Xiaofowan site at Baodingshan, an extremely important
site that is not yet completely understood. Such structures include
especially the “Vairocana Shrine” (pilu an ) and the “Scripture-
Stūpa of the Patriarch’s Dharma-Body” (zushi fashen jingmu ta
), both of which are covered with texts and images of keen
interest to the scholar of esoteric Buddhism in Song Sichuan. These
examples make clear that any full investigation of this subject must
look to material and visual culture even more than to texts.
(^10) Ding 2003, 419.