552 shen weirongrule that barred Tibetan monks from entering the palace was broken
and Tibetan monks were officially permitted to live in Beijing.^6 Tibetan
Buddhist rituals and dances became a regular part of performances in
the various seasonal ceremonies and celebrations within the palace.
A special sūtra printing workshop (fanjing chang ) was set up
in the capital where Tibetan Buddhist texts were printed.^7 Among all
Ming emperors, Emperor Wuzong (r. 1491–1521) was the strongest
proponent of Tibetan Buddhism. He practiced Tibetan Buddhism
and named himself Rin chen dpal ldan. He was notorious for build-
ing the “leopard house” (bao fang , his private pleasure house)
and for initiating a failed mission to inviting a living Buddha (huo fo
from Tibet. Though the leopard house was built in 1508 by a
Muslim official, Tibetan monks soon became the main players in its
activities.^8 “The secret play” the emperor performed inside the house
reminds us of the secret teaching of supreme bliss practiced in the
palace during the late Yuan. Emperor Wuzong failed in attempting to
invite a living Buddha from Tibet who supposedly possessed magical
power by knowing the “three times.” The mission wasted a great deal
of man power and drained the gold reserves in the imperial coffers.
The living Buddha, the eighth Karma pa patriarch Mi bskyod rdo rje
(1507–1554), rejected the invitation. The Ming envoy along with his
subordinates was attacked and robbed. The whole event of inviting the
living Buddha was viewed as a farce, and it marked the climax of Ming
emperors’ obsession with Tibetan Buddhism.^9
The extent of the mid-Ming palace’s enthusiasm towards Tibetan
Buddhism can be seen in the details of Buddhist persecution after the
death of Wuzong. During the reign of Emperor Shizong (r. 1521–1566),
who was a fanatical Taoist, monasteries and relics were destroyed, and
the remaining records of that destruction indicate the extent of previ-
ous enthusiasm for Tibetan Buddhism. Within the Ming Palace alone,
in the Dashan Buddha palace , there were numerous gilt and
silver Buddha statues, as well as Buddha’s bones and teeth that were
brought in by Tibetan monks as tribute and encased in gold and silver.
Shizong gave the order to demolish all statues and to bury the Buddha
(^6) Ming Shilu ( MSL), 66, Wuzong shilu , juan 108, 8 (2214).
(^7) Liu 1994, juan 16, pp. 118–119.
(^8) Ming Shilu (MSL), 66, Wuzong shilu, juan 117, p. 2 (2364); MSL, 66, Wuzong
shilu, juan 121, p. 4 (2435); Otosaka 2000, 247–282.
(^9) Satō 1986, 273–286.