dhāraṇīs and visions in early esoteric buddhist sources in chinese translation

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Dhāraīs and visions in early esoteric Buddhistsources in Chinese translation

Koichi Shinohara

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies / Volume 77 / Issue 01 / February 2014, pp85 - 103DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X13000931, Published online: 15 May 2014

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0041977X13000931

How to cite this article:Koichi Shinohara (2014). Dhāraīs and visions in early esoteric Buddhist sources inChinese translation . Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 77, pp85-103 doi:10.1017/S0041977X13000931

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Dhāranīs and visions in early esotericBuddhist sources in Chinese translation

Koichi ShinoharaYale [email protected]

AbstractWithin the wider esoteric Buddhist tradition, this paper examines visionsand soteriological goals in dhāranī practice by looking at the early instruc-tions that are preserved in multiple Chinese translations. A number ofdifferent but not mutually exclusive ritual scenarios are presented inthese materials. Here I will focus on two specific scenarios, namelydhāranī practices with and without visionary confirmation.Keywords: Dhāranī, Spell, Vision, Buddhas, Ritual, Translation

The esoteric Buddhist tradition evolved out of a simple practice of recitingspells (or dhāranīs). Reciting spells focuses our attention on the sensorydomain of sound, yet later esoteric Buddhist rituals based on this practice pro-duced a rich visual culture of images and mandalas. This development musthave occurred as part of a larger process, reflecting and affecting otherchanges in the evolution of this ritual tradition. In this paper I focus on therole of visions as a distinctly visual phenomenon. Early accounts of dhāranīrecitations often mention visions that confirm the efficacy of recitation.1 Thepreoccupation with visions was accompanied by a growing prominence of dis-tinctly soteriological benefits promised from dhāranī recitation. Here I shallexamine visions and soteriological goals in dhāranī practice by looking closelyat early instructions for dhāranī practice that are preserved in Chinesetranslations.

Early records of esoteric Buddhist rituals survive largely in Chinese trans-lations. These sources typically take the format of a sūtra and present their con-tent as a part of the Buddha’s sermon. But the subject of the sermon is a specificdhāranī, or a set of dhāranīs, presented in transcription. The Buddha himself or,with the Buddha’s permission an attendant bodhisattva, explains the origin ofthe dhāranī, its affiliation with a specific deity, and its efficacy. I shall referhere to these sources as dhāranī sūtras.

1 In a recent doctoral dissertation Eric Greene (2012) examined in detail the role of what hecalls “verificatory visions” in fifth- and sixth-century Chinese instructions on meditation.These visions are diverse and often complex, and somewhat different from the visionsthat are mentioned in dhāranī sūtras. Nevertheless, the preoccupation with visions inmeditation and dhāranī practices reflects a common ritual culture in medievalBuddhism. Sin and repentance are also an important preoccupation in both of thesepractices.

Bulletin of SOAS, 77, 1 (2014), 85–103. © SOAS, University of London, 2014.doi:10.1017/S0041977X13000931

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As I have attempted to demonstrate elsewhere, these records enable us to tracein broad outline the evolution of this ritual tradition.2 In their simplest form,spells were recited for practical purposes such as healing, securing the birth ofa child, causing harm to enemies, or securing the peace and prosperity of a king-dom. In some, early instructions appear – for example in a collection Sūtra ofthe Divine Spells of the Great Dhāranīs of the Seven Buddhas and EightBodhisattvas, dating from the fourth to fifth century. This presents a more com-plex ritual scenario: as one recites the spell over and over, a specific Buddha or,more broadly, all the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, appear in a vision andpromise the realization of desired goals. These goals are also often describedin distinctly Buddhist and otherworldly terms, such as rebirth in a Buddhaland or attaining supernatural knowledge.3

Over time, spells came to be affiliated with specific deities: either the deitywho taught the spells, or the deity who appeared in the culminating visions toconfirm the efficacy of practice. Earlier accounts of the simpler practice of recit-ing spells focus on such visions and do not mention images. But the practicequickly came to be combined with image worship. Images came to be madewith distinct iconographies, as in the case of Eleven-Faced Avalokiteśvara,and the practitioner was instructed to recite the spell in front of the image.The success of recitation was now demonstrated in an image miracle. Theimage shakes, emits light, and speaks in a loud voice, promising a successfuloutcome. A large body of instructions for such image rituals, affiliated with avariety of deities, came into being.

In my view, esoteric Buddhism acquired a more distinct identity when a care-fully constructed ritual of initiating its specialists, or ācāryas, was introduced. Inthe earliest known account of this ceremony, called the “All gathering mandalaceremony”, the entire pantheon of esoteric Buddhist deities is invited to theirseats on the mandala, and candidates are initiated in front of them. This generalinitiation qualified the ācārya to perform the wide range of rituals affiliated witheach of the deities. With this ceremony the idea of a distinct esoteric Buddhistpantheon was introduced, though the list of deities included in the esotericpantheon would evolve and expand over time. A distinct group of esotericBuddhist ritual specialists also emerged.4

These basic scenarios of esoteric Buddhist rituals are clearly spelled out inearly records preserved in Chinese translation, but these earlier records seldommention visualization. I understand visualization practice to involve deliberatemental construction or contemplation of deities or other figurations and dis-tinguish it from the spontaneous visions mentioned in early dhāranī instructions.Visualization in this sense was introduced later. Yet it quickly came to dominate

2 See Shinohara (forthcoming).3 I discuss this and the closely related “Miscellaneous collection of Dhāranī Sūtras”

(T. 1336) in Shinohara (forthcoming: chapter 1).4 Shinohara (2010: 389–420). This ritual shares certain details with post-Vedic rituals of

Grhyapariśista texts, discussed in Einoo and Takashima (2005). Geslani (2011a) exam-ines this development by focusing on the evolution of śānti ritual as successfully pro-moted by Atharvavedan priests at Gupta court. See also Geslani 2011b. The synthesisof Esoteric Buddhist rituals, here designated the “All-gathering mandala ceremony”,appears to have emerged as a part of, or in response to, this larger development.

86 K O I C H I S H I N O H A R A

esoteric rituals and transformed both rituals for individual deities and mandalainitiation ceremonies.

Four distinct ritual scenarios of dhāranī recitation may be distinguished:dhāranī recitation without a vision (scenario 1); recitation which culminatesin a vision but does not involve image worship (scenario 2); dhāranī recitationin front of an image (scenario 3); and mental visualization, accompanied bydhāranī recitation, of the deity and ritual actions (scenario 4). Some recordedritual instructions follow only one of these scenarios, but in many dhāranīsūtras multiple scenarios appear side by side. These scenarios are not mutuallyexclusive, and dhāranī sūtras may follow one scenario in one passage whileintroducing another elsewhere.

In this paper I focus on scenarios 1 and 2, namely dhāranī practices with andwithout visionary confirmation. The visionary scenario became an integral partof some dhāranī recitation practices at an early date and this appears fullyworked out in the earliest datable example of dhāranī sūtras (T. 1011 datedto the third century as discussed below). By the time the Chinese translationsof dhāranī sūtras appeared these two scenarios (recitation with and withoutvisionary confirmation) co-existed side by side. The introduction and popularityof scenario 2 did not lead to the exclusion of scenario 1.

In many cases dhāranī sūtras are preserved in multiple translations spanningmany centuries, each presumably based on its own Indic original. The differenttranslations of any single dhāranī sūtra are remarkably consistent in describingthe dhāranī recitation either with or without visions, suggesting that these scen-arios were recognized as distinct from each other by the compilers and transla-tors of these sūtras; the non-appearance of a vision in a sūtra is thus not random,but reflects a distinct ritual scenario. Although it is not possible to determinehow and when the scenario of visionary confirmation was introduced, theexamples below offer glimpses of the way in which the preoccupation withvisions affected the overall ritual dynamics. Of particular interest is the broad-ening of the scope of dhāranī recitation practice. References to distinctly soter-iological goals appear more prominently in instructions that mention visions.

I. Dhāranī practice without visions

I will begin by looking at two sūtras that present dhāranīs for recitation.Visionary confirmation of their efficacy is not mentioned (thus scenario 1). Inthe first sūtra, past Buddhas and other deities present their own distinctivedhāranīs. This is a scheme that appears repeatedly in other sūtras. The list ofbenefits emphasizes protection, though the sūtra also speaks of attaining knowl-edge of one’s past lives. Supernatural knowledge of past lives often marks pro-gress towards salvation, but no other soteriological benefits are mentioned in thissūtra. The second example is a composite work. In its core narrative section,dhāranī practice is presented as a strategy for securing protection against demo-nic forces. An elaborate pantheon of protective and demonic deities appears. Inthis section visions are not mentioned. These examples suggest that visionaryconfirmation was not an indispensable part of dhāranī recitation rituals; a well-developed dhāranī sūtra could exist without it, framed around the simpler

D H Ā R A N Ī S A N D V I S I O N S I N E A R L Y E S O T E R I C B U D D H I S T S O U R C E S 87

scenario and the sūtra’s distinctive and often elaborate core narrative. (Examplesin which the recitation of dhāranīs culminates in visions are taken up below.)

Ia. The Agrapradīpa SūtraThis sūtra survives in different versions in different periods or, in other words,the text varies depending on its date. Tuoluonibo jing 陀隣尼鉢經 (DhāranīVerse Sūtra, T. 1352) is attributed to Zhu Tanwulan 竺曇無蘭 (Dharmaraksa)who translated in Yangdu during 381–395.5 A work entitled Chiju shenzhoujing 持句神呪經 (The Divine Spell of Dhāranī Verse Sūtra, T. 1351) is attrib-uted to an earlier translator Zhi Qian 支謙 (first half of the third century) butthis attribution is questionable.6 Jñānagupta’s 闍那崛多 translation DongfangZuishengdengwang tuoluoni jing 東方最勝燈王陀羅尼經 (The Dhāranī Sūtraof the Supreme Lamp King of the East) exists in two versions, T. 1353 and1354. T. 1354 is dated to the Kaihuang period of the Sui dynasty (580–600).7There is also the later translation by Dānapāla, Shengzuishangdengming rulaituoluoni jing 聖最上燈明如來陀羅尼經 (The Dhāranī Sūtra of the HolyTathāgata Supreme Lamp, T. 1355). Dānapāla translated during the period982–1017.

These versions share a core narrative. The Buddha was staying at the Jetavanagarden surrounded by a large number of monks and bodhisattvas. Two bodhi-sattvas, called Infinite Light and Bright Light, arrived from a very distantBuddha land. The Buddha Supreme Lamp (Agrapradīpa) of that Buddha landhad sent them. The Buddha Śākyamuni instructed Ānanda to receive the spell.Śākyamuni described its protective powers and explained that this was an unfail-ing spell that numerous Buddhas had taught in the past.

The narrative of the Dhāranī Verse Sūtra/Dhāranī Sūtra of the SupremeLamp King of the East continues as several deities present their own dhāranīsone after another, first bodhisattva Maitreya or Ajita and at the end theBuddha [Śākyamuni] himself. In the versions Jñānagupta translated, Mañjuśrī,following Maitreya, also presents a dhāranī,8 and the presentation of dhāranīsconcludes with the spell offered by the Four Heavenly Kings.9

The framework of this narrative, in which different deities present their owndhāranīs, each explained as spells numerous Buddhas had taught in the past, isstrikingly similar to the framework of the Divine Spells of the Great DhāranīsTaught by Seven Buddhas and Eight Bodhisattvas, T. 1332, from the late fourthto early fifth century. This sūtra, it is to be recalled, in contrast to theAgrapradīpa sūtras, has both visions and soteriological benefits. In theAgrapradīpa sūtras, the benefits of the dhāranīs are described formulaically.In Zhu Tanwulan’s Dhāranī Verse Sūtra, for example, the Buddha describesto Ānanda the benefits of reciting the spell brought by the two messengers

5 The phrase tuoluonibo陀隣尼鉢 is rendered “dhāranī pada” in Bussho kaisetsu daijiten,7.122c.

6 This does not appear in the list of works reliably attributed to Zhi Qian (Nattier 2008:121).

7 T. 2148: 55.183b09.8 T. 1353: 21.866c; T. 1354: 21.869b.9 T. 1353: 21.867a; T. 1354: 21.871c.


first as “knowing seven past lives”,10 and then as a series of protections: fromdemons, humans, non-humans, snakes, lizards, vipers, scorpions, poison, sor-cery, weapons, kings and angry gods.11 With the spell given by Maitreya, onecan know fourteen past lives and receive protection, which is described invery similar terms.12 With the spell given by the Buddha himself, one comesto know an infinite number of past lives.13 While travelling, if one is attackedby bandits or wild animals, or falls into water, or commits offences againstkings and local governments, one is instructed to recite the dhāranī. With thepower of this dhāranī dead trees will come back to life, growing fresh leaves,flowers and fruits. All illnesses can be cured with this dhāranī.14 The benefitsare described similarly though sometimes more elaborately in the later versionsattributed to Jñānagupta (T. 1353 and 1354).

The Dhāranī Verse Sūtra lists supernatural knowledge of past lives as abenefit obtained through dhāranī recitation, but mentions no other otherworldlyor supernatural benefits. The Seven Buddhas and Eight Bodhisattvas Sūtra men-tions that the spells taught by these deities confer knowledge of past lives.15

However, it also lists a variety of unambiguous markers of progress on the soter-iological path, such as the removal of sins, prediction of future Buddhahood,rebirth in Buddha lands, and acquiring supernatural knowledge or the “fourfruits” of the path of śramanas.

No references to visions, removing of sins from past lives, or samādhi appearin the Dhāranī Verse Sūtra. Again, these are distinctive features of the dhāranīpractices in the Seven Buddhas and Eight Bodhisattvas Sūtra and other earlydhāranī sūtras. Their complete absence from Dhāranī Verse Sūtra / TheDhāranī Sūtra of the Supreme Lamp King of the East appears thus to be signifi-cant. These features were clearly not an indispensable part of dhāranī practice,although their early incorporation may well have affected the distinctive direc-tions in which this practice subsequently evolved.

Ib. The Sūtra of the Great Divine Spells of Auspiciousness: Dajiyi shenzhoujing 大吉義神呪經 T. 1335The examination of the existing version suggests that this sūtramust have under-gone several stages of revision and expansion.16 Though they are not marked

10 T. 1352: 21.865b(-)1; ref., T. 1351: 21.864c(-)1, T. 1353: 21.866b16 [“ten lives”], T.1354: 21.869a13.

11 T. 1351: 21.865c4.12 T. 1352: 21.865c14–19; T. 1853: 21.866c14 [“thirteen lives”], T. 1354: 21.869b28

[“seven lives”].13 T. 1352: 21.865c28; T. 1351: 21.865a21; T. 1354: 21.869c26 [“twenty-one lives”],

870a21 [“twenty-eight lives”].14 T. 1352: 21.866a1–5.15 T. 1332: 21.538c17, “up to fourteen lives”; 540b9 “for one hundred, one thousand, and

one hundred thousand myriad lives”; 545c16.16 The version of this text reproduced in Taisho is taken from the Korean canon and com-

pared to a Nara-period manuscript at the Saifukuji 西福寺 monastery as well as to otherprinted editions. This title as a work in two fascicles appears in the Kaiyuan catalogue(730). Here the work is also said to exist in four fascicles and the famous NorthernWei monastic leader Tanyao 曇曜 is said to have translated it in 462 (T. 2154:55.540a1). A work with a similar title, Dajiyizhou jing, in two fascicles is mentioned


explicitly, I detect five distinct sections in the present version of the sūtra. Overtime new materials appear to have been added, sometimes in parallel versions, asthe sūtra expanded. The core message of the sūtra appears in section 3.17

Sections 1 (568a[-24]-[-3]) and 2 (568a[-2]-569a29), closely affiliated witheach other, appear to have been introduced later as its preface. Sections 4(571c7–579a29) and 5 (579b1–580c11) mention a different name for thesūtra, The Spell Sūtra of Marking Ritual Boundaries. Section 5 introducesimage worship and is explicitly framed as an address to Ānanda, who is notmentioned in the earlier part of the sūtra, except once in a passage at the veryend of section 3. This last passage appears to have been added, possiblyalong with the long section 4, when the sūtra was expanded and reconstitutedat a later stage.

This reading suggests that section 3 represents the earliest form of the Sūtra ofthe Great Divine Spells of Auspiciousness: this section presents the spells aroundthe narrative of the battle between the gods and demons (asura).18 I note that noreference to any vision appears in this part of the sūtra. The spells that theBuddha gave the gods established boundaries that no beings could cross; thecosmic scope of the boundary then was indicated by listing all the many beingsthat observe and protect the spell and the boundary. A schematic listing of gods,demons and other beings, a pantheon of gods and supernatural and demonicbeings, emerged from this idea and was further elaborated in sections 1and 2. It was at this stage that the dhāranī was named as jiyi, which I suspecttranslated svastyayana, used to describe a daily ritual of protection forkings.19 The next stage of elaboration in sections 4 and 5, in which the sūtrais identified by a new name, was also largely framed around this same scheme.The spells introduced in this sūtra in all of these stages were offered to controland contain demonic beings.

Section 1The sūtra begins with an elaborate list of deities.20 The passage begins with thespeaker paying respect to the seven Buddhas, i.e. the past six Buddhas and thepresent Buddha Śākyamuni, and then to the future Buddha Maitreya, who is sur-rounded by an assembly in Tusita heaven. Then the speaker (“I”) takes refuge in

in the Fajing’s 法經 catalogue dated 594, where the translator is said to be unknown (T.2146.55.120c2, 122a3).

17 T. 1335: 21.569a29–571c6.18 The battle between gods and asuras is an ancient and widely attested theme in Indian

mythology. See, for example, Śatapatha Brahmana, I.2.5.1–9a and Mahābhārata,1.17.5–25. A story of the conflict between the god Śakra and asuras, similar to thestory told here, appears in Atharvavedapariśista. See Geslani 2011a: 91.

19 With regard to jiyi 吉義 translating the Sanskrit svastyayana, Marko Geslani hasdescribed how Atharvavedic priests, as court ritualists or purohita, developed a systemof new royal ritual in which the svastyayana or “morning blessing” occupied a centralplace. The Auspiciousness Dhāranī Sūtra may have originated as a Buddhist effort todevelop an independent ritual of royal protection. See Geslani (2011a: 101, 109–10).

20 T. 1335: 21.568a4–27.


all the past, future, and present Buddhas, the Dharma and the Samgha. Thespeaker continues to take refuge in a long list of deities:

I take refuge in Maheśvara who resides in the Supreme Heaven of theRealm of Desire (Akanistha, highest in the Realm of Form). I take refugein Śuddhāvāsa gods (the second highest), all deities of the Path ofno-return (Anāgāmin, Fourth Dhyāna). I take refuge in Brahma king, theancestor of worldly beings (First Dhyāna in the Realm of Form). I takerefuge in the Heavenly King Who Enjoys the Creation of Others(Tahuazizai tianwang 他化自在天王 or Paranirmitavaśavartin, highestin the Realm of Desire). I take refuge in the Heavenly King WhoDelights in Creation (Huale tianwang 化樂天王 or Nirmānarati, thesecond highest). I take refuge in the Heavenly King “Contented”(Tusita)(the third). I take refuge in Heavenly King Xuyāma (Xuyemen tian-wang 須耶門天王, in the fourth Yāmā heaven). I take refuge in the deityŚakra (in the Realm of the Thirty-Three Gods, fifth highest in the Realm ofDesire). I take refuge in the Four Heavenly Kings (sixth highest). I takerefuge in all demonic deities of the earth. I take refuge in all dragon deitiesand Gandharvas, other kings of the Realms of Desire.21

Here in the list of other deities, one called Yintuolou 因陀樓 (Indra?) is firstnamed. Other obscure and indecipherable names follow.22

it appears that a distinctive pantheon is identified here, beginning with thenaming of deities in the different levels of the heavens in the Realm of Formthrough the Realm of Desire. Certain distinctive deities, such as Maheśvara,Indra and others are placed within this scheme. We might note, however, thatthis pantheon, organized around a familiar Buddhist cosmology, is very differentfrom the pantheon of esoteric Buddhist mandalas in which deities are organizedin groups such as Buddhas, Avalokiteśvara deities, Vajra deities and heavenlydeities.

After taking refuge in these deities, the speaker obscurely refers to twoholy men (xian 仙), and then teaches a spell called Accomplishment of AllAuspiciousness (yiqieyijicheng 一切義吉成) which he attributes to these holymen.23 This must be the Great Divine Spell of Auspiciousness (Dajiyi shenzhou大吉義神呪) in the title of this text. The identity of the two holy men remainsobscure, though a later passage appears to explain the relationship between oneholy man and the spell in greater detail.24

A description of the spell’s benefits follows. The spell produces a realm ofimmortality and accomplishes a wide range of (“five hundred”) objectives. Itcauses everything one does to end successfully (“auspiciously”). It cuts offthe efficacy of all evil black magic spells. It protects all beings in the world.It makes all evil spirits and demons flee. It removes all invaders [into one’s

21 T. 1335: 21.568a12–19.22 T. 1335: 21.568a(-)10–(-)9; the same names appear later in slightly different transcrip-

tions, T. 1335: 21.571a7–8.23 T. 1335: 21.568a(-)8.24 T. 1335: 21.571b.


realm]. It makes everything one does turn out well and causes fear in evildoers.25 This list of benefits appears to be glossing the name of the spellgiven earlier.

Section 2The instruction for reciting the spell follows (section 2).26 The practice takes theform of making offerings to the series of deities mentioned earlier, starting withthe Buddhas, including the past seven Buddhas and the future Buddha Maitreyaand proceeding through the gods of the different heavenly realms, deities on thebeach, in the ocean and of the location. For the Buddhas, offerings of fragrance,flower garlands, incense, jewel umbrellas and banners, and musical perform-ances are mentioned. In the offerings to other deities fragrance and burnt incenseare emphasized. The ritualist makes a wish that the fragrance reach the distantrealms of the deities. The expression “transporting fragrance” (yunxiang運香), in this physical sense, and the expression “activating the mind” (yunxin運心), presumably in the sense of visualizing the offering reaching the deity,appear side by side. For each offering a specific spell is given in transcription.The relationship between these spells and the spell that the two holy men hadgiven in section 1 is not explained.

Instructions for visualization as a deliberate mental exercise appear relativelylate in the evolution of esoteric rituals and need to be treated separately fromthe accounts of spontaneous visions that appear in early dhāranī sūtras.27References to this practice in this section of the sūtra thus suggest that thispart of the sūtra may well have been appended later.

The ritual of offerings is carefully constructed around the pantheon of deitiesmentioned at the outset of the sūtra: the Buddhas;28 Heavenly King Maheśvara;29Māra king (the ruler of the Masters of the Creation of Others Heaven);30

Heavenly Beings Who Take Delight in Creation;31 Heavenly King Master WhoEnjoys the Creation of Others;32 King of the Tusita Heaven;33 Heavenly KingXuyāma;34 Śakra of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods;35 Heavenly King ofthe eastern direction Dhrtarāstra;36 of the southern direction Virūdhaka;37 of thewestern direction Virūpāksa;38 of the northern direction Vaiśravana;39 the ruler ofrāksasas in the city Lanka in the ocean Bishana 毘沙拏;40 King of asuras who

25 T. 1335: 21.568a(-7)–(-)3.26 T. 1335: 21.568a28–569a29.27 See Shinohara, forthcoming (Part II).28 T. 1335: 21.568a28–b14.29 T. 1335: 21.568b15–20.30 T. 1335: 21.568b21–26.31 T. 1335: 21.568b27–c2.32 T. 1335: 21.568c3–6.33 T. 1335: 21.558c7–12.34 T. 1335: 21.568c13–17.35 T. 1335: 21.568c18–21.36 T. 1335: 21.568c22–25.37 T. 1335: 21.568c26–29.38 T. 1335: 21. 569a1–5.39 T. 1335: 21.569a6–9.40 T. 1335: 21.569a10–14.


resides on a coast Vemacitra;41 dragon king Kāla who resides in the ocean;42 theearth deity.43 However, the deities below the Four Heavenly Kings are nameddifferently here from the opening section. As we shall see, the list of deitiesthat appears after the Four Heavenly Kings varies in each section and often amore detailed list of specific categories of beings appears. Nevertheless, theselists in which more or less the same pantheon is mentioned appear to havebeen carefully composed following a single basic model.

Section 3The same scheme of deities appears again in the long section that follows,44 buta distinct new narrative framework is introduced. At the time the gods andasuras (demons) fought, Śakra’s army lost a battle and fled into the city.Śakra then thought of seeking help from the Buddha.45 At that time theBuddha was at Mt. Upananda, surrounded by five hundred monks and a thou-sand nayuta of bodhisattvas, engaged in the uposatha ceremony on the fifteenthday of the month.

In response to Śakra’s request, the Buddha spoke of the Buddhist rite ofsecuring the ritual space with a spell for protection.46 If someone hears of thisinstruction to mark the ground, upholds it and teaches it to others, sincerelyrecites [the spell] and practises according to this teaching, because of thepower of the spell, swords will not injure him, poison and fire will not harmhim, enemies are kept away and there will be no calamities and troubles foran area of one hundred yojanas. Gods, asuras and spirits will not be able tocross the boundaries marked by the spell to harm [those inside the area]. Forthis reason, the Buddha says that the heavenly deity Śakra should receive thisteaching of marking the boundary with a spell, read and recite it sincerely,and should never forget it.47

The long text of the spell is then given. This spell is said to protect rulers,removing all of their difficulties completely. This passage concludes with a tran-scribed text of the spell, but as I indicated earlier, the spell is not identified byany specific name here.

The organization of the passages which immediately follow is somewhatunclear.48 A long passage on dragon kings appears here, followed by anotherspell, but this passage has nothing to do with the larger narrative: I suspectthat it was inserted later. The narrative resumes after this second spell. Whenthe spell was pronounced (possibly referring to the first spell immediately pre-ceding the dragon king section), the earth shook in six ways and demons andspirits were frightened, saying that Gautama of great reputation taught thisspell to the gods and liberated them.49 The Buddha tells Śakra that if the spell

41 T. 1335: 21.569a15–18.42 T. 1335: 21.569a19–22.43 T. 1335: 21. 569a23–26.44 T. 1335: 21.569a29–571c6.45 T. 1335: 21.569b2.46 T. 1335: 21.569b15.47 T. 1335: 21.569b14–20.48 T. 1335: 21.569c3–571c6.49 T. 1335: 21.570a9–12.


master (zhoushi 呪師) recites this spell and marks the spell boundary (zhoujie呪界) throughout the Three Realms, no beings will be able to transgress thatboundary.50

At this point the scheme of heavenly deities and other supernatural beingsthat we saw in sections 1 and 2 reappears. The powerful heavenly beingssuch as Maheśvara, Mahābrahman, the Evil One Māra, Heavenly King WhoEnjoys the Creation of Others, Heavenly King Who Delights in Creation, theKing of the Tusita Heaven, King of the Yāmā Heaven, the deity Śakra, theFour Heavenly Kings are listed first. Other supernatural beings are also enumer-ated, concluding with the eight dragon kings, eight asura kings, and gandharavakings. The Buddha declares for each of these beings formulaically that they can-not overstep the boundary. The Buddha concludes this part of the instruction byattributing the power of the spell he is presenting to the fact that an astronomi-cally large number of Buddhas have taught it before. We see here how the orig-inal core narrative gave rise to the listing of different categories of supernaturalbeings. This list, a nascent pantheon, serves as a unifying trope as new materialswere added to the text.

The core narrative concludes at this point, but the Buddha continues hisinstruction to Śakra. Three other spells are introduced. After each spell isgiven, the earth is said to have shaken in six ways; spirits were frightened, recog-nizing the spells to be those of the Buddhas, and they screamed in pain.51

The scheme that begins with Maheśvara, as in the preceding passage, appearsagain, concluding with the eight dragon kings, eight asuras, gandharava andyaksa kings. This part of the Buddha’s instruction contains many parallels tothe preceding passage, though the spells are given differently.52 Two competingaccounts that had existed separately may have been preserved side by side in thissynthetic sūtra.

After giving the second spell that appears in this largely redundant passage,the Buddha is said to have explained to Śakra how he had received the spellfrom a holy man innumerable eons earlier.53 This too appears to be an attemptto explain the efficacy of the spells, going further back in time. In a very distantpast when Śākyamuni Buddha had first given rise to the thought of enlighten-ment, a holy man called Good Sound lived in a mountain called FragrantHill. He used the spell the Buddha was teaching for protection. Then the holyman moved to a different place. He did not mark the boundary with the spell,and numerous yaksas, rāksasas, kumbhāndas, pūtanās, piśācas and particularlyone huge and harmful rāksasa watched the holy man as he engaged in asceticpractice. But because the holy man remembered the spell, the rāksasa did notdare to harm him. The passage concludes with the Buddha teaching anotherspell and the demonic spirits and yaksas screaming in pain.54

50 T. 1335: 21.570a12–14.51 T. 335: 21.570c3–6; 571a28–b3; c4–6.52 T. 1335: 21.570b18–571b3.53 T. 1335: 21.571b3–c6. This story may in fact be related to the reference to the two holy

men at the beginning of the text in the first section.54 T. 1335: 21.571c1–6.


In the course of this passage a somewhat jarring explanation appears. TheBuddha says to Ānanda that that holy man was the Buddha himself.55 The nar-rative of this part of the text has so far mentioned Śakra as the person to whomthe Buddha is offering instruction.56 Ānanda has not been mentioned. Later, inthe last section of the text Ānanda again appears as the person to whom theBuddha offers the instruction for reciting the sūtra in front of a Buddhaimage.57 These shifting references again suggest that the text may have under-gone a complex process of compilation and rewriting.

In this part of the sūtra, which I mark as section 3, we see how the core nar-rative of the spell that protects ritual and military boundaries was closely tied toan elaborate schematic classification of supernatural beings. The exceptionalpower of ritual boundaries is highlighted in the story about the holy manGood Sound. The kernel of ideas clumsily worked out here is systematicallyspelled out in the following long section.

Section 4The long section that follows, and occupies the main body of the text, is orga-nized around the same pantheon of deities that appeared at the beginning of thesūtra.58 The narrative of securing the ritual boundaries that appeared for the firsttime in section 3 is maintained, and in fact this large section may be read as anexpanded version of the two passages that precede it, each listing the differentbeings throughout the universe. The recurrence of this list suggests that the cen-tral purport of this text was to identify the deities who are to protect the bound-aries marked by the spells and to teach these spells.

In this version each deity is said to have come to the Buddha and uttered a setof verses praising the Buddha. They were then each given a long and elaboratespell. Shorter spells have been mentioned in relation to each deity in section 2 ofthis text (as reviewed above), but these spells given for more or less the same setof deities in section 4 are entirely different from the earlier ones. In several pas-sages a new name for the sūtra appears; it is now called the (Great) Spell Sūtrafor Marking Ritual Boundaries (Jiejiedazhou jing 結界大呪經).59 The simplerversion that appeared earlier in section 2 of the sūtra appears to have beenrewritten into a much more elaborate account.

Section 5The final section of this text describes an elaborate ritual.60 What is distinctive inthis section is that the ritual now involves images. Again one is led to suspectthat this portion of the text may have undergone its own complex stages ofdevelopment. As noted above, the Buddha is said here to offer the instructionto Ānanda, and this might suggest a separate origin for this part of the sūtra.

55 T. 1335: 21.571b17.56 T. 1335:21.571b3, and 569b14, 570a12, 570b18, 570c6.57 T.1335: 21.579b1.58 T.1335: 21.571c7–579a29.59 T. 1335: 21.573c13–14; 578c14–15, 579a17–18; ref., 579b26, c10, 580b8, 17.60 T. 1335: 21.579b1–580c11.


In this last instruction images of deities are arranged as if in a mandala(though the term does not appear). Images, as drawings, of the same set ofdeities that are mentioned throughout the sūtra are prepared, and differenttypes of incense are offered to each deity.

The practitioner burns incense in front of the images of heavenly deities andrecites the spell [for that deity] 108 times. Seven “spell grounds” (zhouchang 咒場) are prepared and the practitioner makes a vow to devote himself to theBuddhas of the Three Ages on these spots. As he wishes the Tathāgatas toremember him, his body becomes indestructible like vajra. The practitionerthrows himself on the ground to pay respect to the Buddha and then recitesthe spell. Then he throws sesame seeds in all four directions. As he recitesthe spell 108 times the deity Sudrśa of Śuddhāvāsa heavens appears,61 with agolden body, and the deities enter into their respective images.62 The deitySudrśa says: “Well done. Well done. You successfully recited the Sūtra forMarking Spell Ritual Space and now we will become your servant and serveyou”. This is said to be the accomplishment (chengjiu 成就) phase of therite.63 The recitation of the spell should take place on the fifteenth day of themonth or on the full moon day.

Detailed instructions for different uses of the spell follow. The sūtra con-cludes with the Buddha’s instruction to Ānanda regarding worshipping thesūtra after the Buddha’s parinirvāna. A series of otherworldly benefits arelisted: attaining the bodhisattva path (“path of enlightenment”); for pratyeka-buddhas and śrāvakas, stopping defilements (āsrava); for lay people, rebirthas a universal monarch, Śakra and Brahma king.64

The Sūtra of the Great Divine Spells of Auspiciousness appears to have under-gone a long and complex development; earlier layers of material were exten-sively rewritten and the earlier and later materials were preserved side byside. Though the newest material, in what I marked as section 5, speaks ofimages and visions, and lists otherworldly benefits, earlier passages, and particu-larly the core narrative in section 3, speak only of reciting specific spells to markboundaries as a way of protection. In the two dhāranī sūtras examined above,visions do not appear to have played any role, at least as described in the earlierlayer of the sūtra. We also note that these sūtras describe the benefits of dhāranīrecitation largely, though not exclusively, in this-worldly and practical terms,such as personal protection and defending borders.

II. Dhāranī practice with visions

I will now turn to examples in which recitations of dhāranī are said to result invisions. Buddhas and bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara appear in a vision and conferbenefits. The vision may itself be understood as a salvific event, while thebenefits are also typically described in explicitly soteriological terms. I havealready mentioned the Seven Buddhas and Eight Bodhisattvas Sūtra. This

61 T. 1335: 21.579b23.62 T. 1335: 21.579b25.63 T. 1335: 21.579b29–c1.64 T. 1335: 21.580b9–c11.


sūtra and the Dhāranī Verse Sūtra /The Dhāranī Sūtra of the Supreme LampKing of the East discussed above follow a similar format, but frequently theSeven Buddhas and Eight Bodhisattvas Sūtra mentions visions and familiarmarks of progress in the Buddhist path leading to liberation – for example,removal of sins, rebirth in a Buddha land, acquiring supernatural knowledgeand “the four fruits”. Here I will first examine another dhāranī sūtra forwhich several translations are preserved. As noted above, in the earliest ofthese translations, dated to the third century, the benefit is described in exclu-sively soteriological terms and its attainment is confirmed in a vision. The exam-ination of translations of this sūtra from the third to the eighth centuries showshow dhāranī practice was understood by these Chinese translators. I will thenturn to a different sūtra closely affiliated with bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Inthis sūtra a different relationship between dhāranī recitation and visions appears.In its core narrative Avalokiteśvara appears in a vision and confers dhāranīs, butI will argue that the same connection between visions and soteriological benefitsmay also be discerned in this sūtra.

IIa. Anantamukhanirhāra dhāranīOne example of a dhāranī practice that was supposed to bring about visions ofinnumerable Buddhas and result in the removal of sins committed in a largenumber of past kalpas is the Anantamukhanirhāra dhāranī that Zhi Qian 支謙first translated in the third century and others translated later in the fifth–eighthcenturies. Chinese translators were initially unfamiliar with the idea of a dhāranīthat is to be recited in Sanskrit, and the teaching was understood as a doctrinaldiscourse. It was only in the fifth-century translation by Gongdezhi 功德直 andXuanchang 玄暢 (T. 1014, dated 642) that the more familiar practice of transli-terating the dhāranī appeared.

Nine translations of this sūtra are preserved:

• Wuliangmen weimichi jing (or) 無量門微密持經, T. 1011 translated by ZhiQian, third century. This work is also called Chengdao xjiangmo deyiqiezhi成道降魔得一切智.

• Chusehng wuliangmenchi jing 出生無量門持經 T. 1012 is translated byBuddhabhadra 佛陀跋陀羅 (359–429), dated 408–429.

• Anantuo muqu niheli tuo jing 阿難陀目佉尼呵離陀經 T. 1013 byGunabhadra 求那跋陀羅 (394–468), dated 435–443.

• Wuliangme poma tuoluoni jing 無量門破魔陀羅尼經 T. 1014 Gongdexuan功德直 and Xuanchang 玄暢 (416–484), dated 462.

• Anantuo muqu niheli tuolinni jing 阿難陀目佉尼呵離陀隣尼經 T. 1015Buddhaśānta 佛馱扇多, dated 525–539.

• Shelifu tuoluoni jing 舍利弗陀羅尼經 T. 1016 Samghabhara 僧伽婆羅(460–524), dated 506–520.

• Yixiang chusheng pusa jing一向出生菩薩經 T. 1017 Jñanagupta闍那崛多(523–600), dated 585 or 595.

• Chusheng wubianmen tuoluoni jing 出生無邊門陀羅尼經 T. 1018 Zhiyan智嚴, dated 721.

• Chusheng wubianmen tuoluoni jing 出生無邊門陀羅尼經 T. 1009 Bukong不空 (Amoghavajra, 705–774).


These parallel translations, produced over the period extending from the third tothe eighth centuries, offer an unusual opportunity for studying the reception ofdhāranī sūtras in China, where this type of teaching was new and unfamiliar tosome Buddhists. Here we see how the dhāranī sūtra was first received and trans-lated, and how this understanding evolved over time. In the earlier translationsby Zhi Qian and Buddhabhadra, T. 1011 and 1012, the term dhāranī was simplytranslated as chi 持, and the phonetic transcriptions tuolinni 陀隣尼 or tuoluoni陀羅尼 do not appear. The text of the dhāranī was translated and not transcribedas in later translations and dhāranī sūtras. In the translations by Zhi Qian andBuddhabhadra the Buddha praises Śāriputra and mentions the name of thedhāranī. The dhāranī is translated and discussed further in doctrinal termsthat emphasize negation.65

In later translations the Buddha’s answer begins by presenting the text of thedhāranī.66 In Gunabhadra’s translation T. 1013 the Buddha tells Śāriputra thatthose who wish to obtain the Anantamukhanihāra dhārani, Anantuo muqu nihelituoluoni阿難陀目佉尼呵離陀隣尼 should first master forty-eight names and thenames are then given in translation. This list of names in fact appears to be a trans-lation of the dhāranī. The content of the list of the translated “names” loosely par-allels the translated dhāranīs in the translations by Zhi Qian and Buddhabhadra,and is again followed by a prose passage that expounds on the dhāranī. Thesame forty-eight names also appear in Buddhaśānta’s translation T. 1015, wherethe names are transcribed with interlinear notes that explain the meaning ofeach name, using the same terms as Gunabhadra’s translation.67 Otherwise, thetranslations of the entire sūtra in T. 1015 and T. 1013 are virtually identical.

The text of the dhāranī is given explicitly as such in other translations.68

Though not identical, these texts of the dhāranī closely parallel the transcribedtext of the forty-eight names in T. 1015. I suspect that in T.1015 the text of thedhāranī was misconstrued as a list of names of deities.

The reference to forty-eight names in Gunabhadra’s translation T. 1013appears abruptly, and the forty-eight terms translated there do not appear tobe names. T. 1015 which gives these names in transcription appears to havebeen aware of this irregularity in T. 1013. The reference to forty-eight namesdisappears in later translations, and the dhāranī in slightly expanded form is pre-sented in transcription. While Zhi Qian may not have understood the distinctcharacter of the dhāranī as a magical spell, Gunabhadra did, and he attemptedto capture this fact by presenting it as a set of “names”, presumably of deitiesor demons whose names are intoned in magical rituals.69

65 T. 1011: 19.680c3–24; T. 1012: 19.682c21–683a26.66 By Gunabhadra, T. 1013: 19.685c12–24; Gongdezhi / Xuanchang, T. 1014: 19.688c13–

689a9; Buddhaśanta, T. 1015: 19.692c10–22; Samghabhadra, T. 1016: 19.695c9–696a8;Jñānagupta, T. 1017: 19.699a25–c14; Zhiyan, T. 1018: 19.703a21–c9; Amoghavajra,T. 1018: 19.676b15–c21).

67 T. 1015: 19.692c12–26.68 In translations by Gongdezhi / Xuanchang (T. 1014: 19.688c7–8); Samghabhadra

(T. 1016: 19.695c11); Jñānagupta (T. 1017: 19.699b16); Zhiyan (T. 1018: 19.703b3–4), and Amoghavajra (T. 1009: 19.676b20).

69 As noted above, the meaning of the dhāranī is explained in T. 1043 in interlinear notes,and most of the phrases are identified as names of demons. The Consecration sūtra,


This sūtra summarizes its central message in an extended verse section.70 Theverse begins by stating the familiar message of emptiness: empty dharmas can-not be “obtained” and one cannot “practise” [these dharmas] as one wishes[assuming that these practices are real?]. [The approach of] single-mindedlyhonouring the sūtra and reciting the dhāranī is offered as the alternative.Through the latter path of wisdom one attains enlightenment (chengdao 成道).If a bodhisattva receives this dhāranī and practises it diligently, that bodhisattvawill hear the teachings of the Buddhas of the Ten Directions. If he accepts anddoes not forget all these teachings, he will understand their meaning as if illu-mined by the sun, engage in the subtle and marvellous practice as desired andattain the ultimate goal (enlightenment). The one who practises this path is aprince of the dharma. Such a one will protect the dharma and, deeply lovingthe sūtra, will be valued by bodhisattvas and loved by the Buddhas of theTen Directions. He will enjoy a reputation that spreads everywhere in the world.

The practice of dhāranī recitation is described in considerable detail: if a per-son practises this path, he will see an infinite number of Buddhas appear at themoment of death. These Buddhas will extend their hands and receive this prac-titioner. Evil deeds committed over the past one thousand kalpas will beremoved in one month. Simply by guarding this sūtra and reciting thedhāranī for a day one can attain the same number of merits that bodhsattvasaccumulate over kotis (units of astronomically large numbers) of kalpas.Reflecting (siwei 思惟, meditating?) on the dhāranī, and turning to the sourceof all merits, one can achieve enlightenment without fail. Even if all beings inthe Three Realms become Māras, they cannot harm this practitioner. When I(the Buddha) once received the prediction for attaining Buddhahood fromDīpamkara, I saw the Buddhas as many as the sands of the Ganges. As Iheard their teachings I understood them. One should simply practise the teachingof this sūtra. If one wishes to decorate the Buddha land and join the group ofdisciples there, endowed with haloes and counted among their family, one canaccomplish this through this sūtra. If a person removes uncontrollable thoughtsand concentrates (meditates?) for seven days, eight kotis of Buddhas will appearand together confer this dhāranī. One attains the dhāranī only if one stops[reifying] thought, no thought, or thinking. One should reflect deeply on thissūtra, not forget the right path, and obtain this dhāranī as if [it is a treasure]in the middle of the ocean. Do not work for wealth. If one brings peace to allgods and men, all wishes will be realized without difficulty. This is how thepath is realized. One should simply practise the correct path.71

In this dhārani sūtra the efficacy of the dhāranī is described exclusively insoteriological terms. The recitation of the dhāranī removes all bad karmas(sins) and leads one to enlightenment. The crucial moment is a vision inwhich innumerable Buddhas appear and teach the sūtra.72 These Buddhas

T. 1331, begins by presenting the consecration verse as a list of 120 deities (T. 1331:21.495a[–15]). See Strickmann (1990: 84–5).

70 T. 1011: 19.680c15–681b8 and its parallels.71 T. 1011: 19.680c25–681b8.72 T. 1011: 19.680c29–681a1.


also appear at the moment of death, presumably to ensure good rebirth.73 ZhiQian’s translation of this sūtra goes back to the third century. Though thedhāranī practice is not understood correctly in this translation, its early datesuggests that visionary confirmation had become by then an integral part ofthe ritual scenario of some dhāranī practices.

The scenario of dhāranī recitation followed by a vision appears repeatedly indhāranī sūtras and later esoteric sūtras. In the Dafangdeng dhāranī sūtra, trans-lated in Gaochang in Central Asia between 402 and 432, the transmission of thedhāranī itself is closely tied to visions.74

IIb. Dhāranī spell sūtra of requesting Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara todissolve and overcome poisons and harmsQing Guanshiyin pusa xiaofu duhai tuoluoni zhou jing請觀世音菩薩消伏毒害陀羅尼呪經, T. 1043, was translated by Zhu Nanti 竺難提, or Nandi in 419AD.75 Visions of deities appear prominently in this sūtra. The sūtra is framedaround a core narrative of an epidemic in Vaiśālī, a story that appears elsewherein the canon.76 At one time, while the Buddha was staying at the lecture hall inĀmra garden in Vaiśālī, a great epidemic raged in the city. An elder calledYuegai 月蓋, accompanied by five hundred elders, came to the Buddha, askingfor help.

The Buddha [Śākyamuni] then spoke to them about the Buddha Amitāyus無量壽, who resides in the western direction, and the two attending bodhisattvasAvalokiteśvara觀世音 and Mahāsthāmaprāpta大勢至. These deities are alwayscompassionate and, taking pity on all beings, arrive to rescue them from suffer-ing. The Buddha instructed the elders to pay respect to these deities, burningincense, scattering flowers and meditating with the mind concentrated. Theywere told to ask the Buddha Amitāyus and the two bodhisattvas for help.When the Buddha [Śākyamuni] spoke these words, the Buddha Amitāyus andthe two bodhisattvas were seen inside Śākymuni’s halo, and these deities arrivedat the gate of the city of Vaiśālī. People of the city called the name of the ThreeJewells and the name of bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara three times and requestedhelp. Avalokiteśvara then described to the Buddha the dhāranī and the mudrāof great compassion of the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, concluding that ifone recited or meditated on the dhāranī the Buddhas would appear for certain.77

Avalokiteśvara then presented the spell called the Buddhas of the Ten DirectionsRescuing Sentient Beings, and with the recitation of this spell, order at Vaiśālī issaid to have been restored.78

73 T. 1011: 19.681a11–13.74 I discussed this sūtra in some detail in Shinohara 2012.75 See T. 2156: 55. 509a13. Eric Greene (2012) examined the evolution of this sūtra in

detail (Appendix II of his PhD dissertation, 328–41), and suggests that this text firstexisted as two separate texts. The second half of the existing sūtra with a long storyabout Upasena is identified as a separate sūtra of Avalokiteśvara Contemplation. Thissūtra is also briefly discussed in Yasumoto 2010.

76 For example, Zengyi ahan jing, T. 125; 2.725b–727c; Pusa benxing jing, T. 155: 3. 116c;77 T. 1043: 20.35a4.78 T. 1043: 20.35a19.


I read this as an account of a vision. The core story of this sūtra is writtenaround a visionary account, though here the relationship between the spelland the vision is conceived somewhat differently. Unlike in other examplesreviewed so far, where the recitation of spells results in visions, here it is thevision that produces the spell. The vision and the spell are very closely relatedto each other, and this new presentation calls our attention to the fact that thedhāranī that produces visions may also be given in visions.

Although this narrative is framed around a practical and this-worldly concern,namely, an epidemic in a city, the story is imbued with an other-worldly atmos-phere. The elders first appeal to Śākyamuni’s compassion and the BuddhaAmitābha and bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāmaprāpta appear in avision. The request that the citizens present to Avalokiteśvara speaks of lettingthem escape from the suffering of the “three poisons” (greed, anger and ignor-ance) and conferring great nirvāna.

The efficacy of dhāranī recitation was frequently still described in largelythis-worldly terms even after other-worldly goals came to be associated withdhāranīs. In the larger perspective seen in this sūtra, the boundary between this-worldly and other-worldly benefits is blurred. In the account of the elders’appeal to the Buddha and Avalokiteśvara this-worldly benefits are framed as apart of the larger soteriological design of the Buddha. We see this even moreclearly as the instructions of Avalokiteśvara continue.

The Buddha requested that the bodhisattva teach the “Dhāranī that Destroysthe Evil Obstructions and Dissolves and Overcomes Poisons and Harms”.79 It isthis spell that appears to have given the sūtra its name. Though Avalokiteśvara issaid to have given the dhāranī, it is the Buddha who spells out its benefits indetail.80 In this discussion a variety of this-worldly difficulties are named,including illness, fire, drought, famine, dangerous wild animals, thieves, etc.But they are all explained as the fruition of past evil karmas. When one recitesthe dhāranī once or seven times, all such evil karmas are removed for ever, asfire burns up firewood.81 If one recites the name of Avalokiteśvara and recitesthis spell, all hindrances are removed and Avalokiteśvara appears in a vision.In this way, external threats are seen as the results of sins, and it is the sinsthat are removed by the spell.

A further instruction on recitation follows, in which once again religiousgoals are highlighted. One is to uphold the rule of not eating after noon, andrefrain from drinking, eating meat, and five spices and improper food. The prac-titioner is to cover his body with ashes and bathe. He is to avoid contact withmenstruating women and continually contemplate the Buddhas of TenDirections and the Seven Tathāgatas. Then, bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara appearsin a vision. All good wishes are fulfilled. He is later reborn in front of a Buddha,and permanently takes leave of sufferings.82

Buddha proceeds to teach two other dhāranīs. Avalokiteśvara plays an impor-tant role in the first of these two, but is no longer mentioned in the shorter

79 T. 1043: 20.35a22–23.80 T. 1043: 20.35a22, b13.81 T. 1043: 20.35b22–25.82 T. 1043: 20.23c2–8.


explanation of the last. In this part of the sūtra the narrative of the epidemic inVaiśālī is completely forgotten, and the benefit of dhāranī recitation is describedin more general terms. Distinctly soteriological themes appear frequently. If onehears this spell and recites Avalokiteśvara’s name, for example, all sins are to beremoved and that person gets to see eighty kotis of the Buddhas who confer theirhands [on the crown of the person’s head?].83 Avalokiteśvara leads sentientbeings out of the realm of rebirths to the Pure Land and ultimately to theshore of great nirvāna.84

In this sūtra the goal of dhāranī recitation is first presented as a worldlybenefit, freedom from illness in the narrative of an epidemic in Vaiśālī. Buteven there, the language of Buddhist soteriology appears. As the sūtra con-tinues, such practical concerns are further subsumed within the sweeping soter-iological language that accompanies the visions of Avalokiteśvara.

Concluding comments

It is clear that the task of unravelling the history of early esoteric practice is enor-mously difficult. Each text has had its own complex process of development.Nonetheless certain patterns emerge. This paper has highlighted the theme ofvisionary confirmations of the efficacy of dhāranī recitation, which appears fre-quently in dhāranī sūtras. The examples taken from sources in Chinese trans-lation discussed here suggest that this scenario appeared early in the evolutionof esoteric Buddhist rituals, and furthermore, that the incorporation of this dis-tinctly visual element into dhāranī recitation may have occurred as the scope ofthis practice, initially closely tied to attaining tangible this-worldly goals,expanded to incorporate other-worldly soteriological attainments. Visions, nodoubt, have had their own rich history, associated with the development of med-itative practices. Untangling the crossing threads between recitation of dhārānīs,confirming visions and the visions of meditation texts is a task for the future.The task will progress slowly, for as this paper has shown, it is first necessaryto unpack each text and try to understand its evolution. The next step hasbeen to identify patterns between texts. Only then can we begin to speculateon how these dhāranī sūtras fit in to the larger picture of other developmentsin Buddhist thought and practice.

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Yasumoto Tsuyoshi. 2010. “Girugitto chiiki tarupan no darani kokubun to kannonzuishiju ni tsuite ギルギット地域　タルパンの陀羅尼刻文と観音＜随心呪＞についてーー観音信仰からターラー信仰へ”, Mikkyō zuō 密教図像, 29: 14–16.


dhāraṇīs and visions in early esoteric buddhist sources in chinese translation

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