Chinese esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra and the ruling elite.

摘要

This dissertation studies the career of Amoghavajra (Chn. Bukongjin'gang; 704-774) and the formation of Esoteric Buddhism as an indigenously constructed variety of Sinitic Buddhism. Considering both the relevant socio-historical conditions as well as the incorporation of Amoghavajra's texts and teaching within established Sinitic institutions and practices, this dissertation argues that Esoteric Buddhism was established by Amoghavajra and as an effect of the remarkable degree of elite patronage that he received. Amoghavajra's patronage and the adoption of the techniques he presented were inextricably related. They derived from the perception that his rites were both similar and superior to pre-established ritual traditions. Their most significant improvement was the putative lethality of Esoteric Buddhist rites. As a result of the military threats to Tang authority, this lethality was of paramount importance. In addition to the practical and effective significance of Esoteric Buddhism, the patronage Amoghavajra received was also an effect of the fact that members of the military establishment, the civilian government, and the Imperial family were Amoghavajra's disciples. Amoghavajra's social significance resulted in the creation of a de facto bibliography of Esoteric Buddhism, the training of monastic Buddhists in its practice, and the installation of these practitioners in the most important Buddhist monasteries of the time. Following Amoghavajra's death in 774, Esoteric Buddhism persisted as a significant element of Sinitic Buddhism. As a result of bibliographic and historiographical projects in the generations that followed his death, the Esoteric Buddhist tradition that Amoghavajra established was consolidated and appropriated as an identifiable element of the Buddha's teachings known to China. This appropriation simultaneously affected the understanding of the larger tradition. The immediate effect of these later developments was the reevaluation of Esoteric Buddhism to include not just Amoghavajra's textual corpus, but also a retroactive evaluation of the history of the transmission of the Buddha's teaching to China. The appropriation of Amoghavajra's texts and techniques precipitated a reevaluation of the Mahayana in China as well as a new understanding of the history of the dharma's transmission to China.