Tāizàng jīngāng jiàofǎ míngháo 胎藏金剛教法名號
Names of the Doctrines of the Garbhadhātu Vajra Teaching by 義操 (Yìcāo, 集 — compiled)
About the work
A one-fascicle reference compendium of the names (míngháo 名號 — designations, epithets, secret names) of the principal deities of the Garbhadhātu mandala — Mahāvairocana, the four directional Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas, the vidyārājas, and the protective deities — as established in the Chángān Qīnglóngsì Esoteric tradition. Compiled by Yìcāo 義操 (義操) at the Qīnglóngsì East-Pagoda Cloister (青龍寺東塔院). The Sanskrit-transliterated form of his name appears in the colophon: 阿囉他捺哩荼 (A-ra-tha na-li-tu = Arthanirṇa / Arthadara?), with the Chinese gloss 唐云義操 (“[the Tang form is] Yìcāo”).
Prefaces
The colophon reads: 青龍寺東塔院沙門阿囉他捺哩荼(唐云義操)集 — “Compiled by the śramaṇa Arthanirṇa (in Tang [Chinese]: Yìcāo) of the East-Pagoda Cloister of the Chángān Qīnglóngsì.”
Abstract
The Tāizàng jīngāng jiàofǎ míngháo is a working reference compendium giving the systematic secret-names of the Garbhadhātu mandala deities — each deity has a secret name (mìngmíng 命名) used in abhiṣeka and sādhana practice that is distinct from the public/exoteric name. The text catalogues these names systematically:
- 大毘盧遮那如來 (號遍照金剛) — Mahāvairocana, secret name Biànzhàojīngāng “Universally-Illuminating Vajra”
- 東方寶幢如來 (名福聚金剛) — Eastern Ratnaketu, secret name Fújùjīngāng “Merit-Heap Vajra”
- 南方開敷花如來 (號平等金剛) — Southern Saṃkusumitarāja, secret name Píngděng jīngāng “Equality Vajra”
- 西方無量壽如來 (號清淨金剛) — Western Amitāyus, secret name Qīngjìngjīngāng “Pure Vajra”
— and continuing through the full Garbhadhātu pantheon (the eight Bodhisattvas of the central court, the vidyārājas of the Vidyādhara-court, the protective deities of the outer courts).
The compendium is a key working text for the Esoteric ācāryā who needed to know the secret-names of all mandala deities for the abhiṣeka ritual. As a documentary witness it is also a uniquely valuable source for the mandalic onomastic tradition of the Chángān Qīnglóngsì lineage in the immediate post-Huìguǒ period (after 805).
The dating bracket (805–824) reflects Yìcāo’s documented active period as Huìguǒ’s successor and teacher of Fǎquán; precise composition date is unknown.
Translations and research
- Orzech, Charles, et al. (eds.). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Leiden: Brill, 2011. — Treatment of the Tang Esoteric mandalic onomasticon.
- Snodgrass, Adrian. The Matrix and Diamond World Mandalas in Shingon Buddhism. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 1988. — Detailed iconographic survey of the Garbhadhātu mandala deities.