566 hun y. lye
The generous use of spells (with corresponding mudrās and visual-
izations) is yet another marker of an esoteric rite during the Ming-Qing.
Although the original sūtra that inspired food-bestowal rites focused
on the power and use of just one spell, the Yankou contains no less
than a hundred different spells, the shortest consisting of only three
syllables (aptly named the “three-syllables spell” sanzi zhou )
to the longest of over four hundred syllables arranged in eighty-four
phrases (the “great compassion dhāraṇī” da bei zhou ). Many
of these spells first appeared in the Yuan-period Yuqie jiyao yankou
shishi yi , being previously unknown in Chinese
sources.^19 Furthermore, the transcription system used for these spells
points to a Tibetan influence.^20 Zhuhong’s liturgy adds more spells
that were clearly drawn from Tibetan sources, such as the “hundred-
syllable spell of Vajrasattva” (Jin’gang saduo baizi zhou
) and the spells of Cakrasam ̣vara and Four-armed Mahākāla
(Caturbhuja Mahākāla).^21 Interestingly, if Zhuhong did recognize the
identity of these two spells he chose to identify them in very terse terms
as spells of the “perfect superior teacher” zheng shangshi )
and “perfect Three Jewels” (zheng sanbao respectively, with
no further explanation.^22
Finally, we should note that conceiving of the Yankou as a paradig-
matic esoteric rite in the Ming-Qing period did not in any way limit
the rite to any particular sectarian tradition or lineage. As we have
seen, monks in the Ming-Qing period who were otherwise more rec-
ognized as advocates, revivalists, or reformers of Chan, nianfo, Tian-
tai, or monastic purity were all involved in the perpetuation of the
Yankou. We thus conclude with words from Hanyue Fazang (one of
the key figures in the “reinvention of Chan” in the late Ming) that
aptly illustrate this point:
Without investigating chan, there is no way to be awakened. Without
awakening, there is no way to enter the Dharma methods deeply. If enter-
ing the Dharmas is not complete, how can one be free of the Dharmas? If(^19) T. 1320.21:473c–484a. The earliest extant edition of this liturgy is in the so-called
Southern Canon (Nanzang ), published between the years 1372–1403 under the
auspices of the Hongwu emperor. 20
Zhou 1980, 398.
(^21) Caturbhuja Mahākāla is considered the main Dharma guardian of the
Cakrasaṃvara Tantra.
(^22) X. 1081.59:278a.