Jīngāngdǐng yīqiè rúlái zhēnshí shè dàshèng xiànzhèng dàjiàowáng jīng 金剛頂一切如來真實攝大乘現證大教王經 (recension B)
Sūtra of the Great-Teaching-King for the Manifest Realisation of the Mahāyāna, the True Compendium of All Tathāgatas of the Vajraśekhara (alternative recension; T874) by 不空 (Amoghavajra, 譯)
About the work
A two-fascicle alternative recension of the Vajraśekhara-sūtra under the same title as KR6j0024 (T865), preserved in the Taishō under T18n0874. The Taishō header notes the cross-references “[cf. Nos. 843, 875]” — confirming this as a parallel recension within the Vajradhātu corpus. Where T865 (KR6j0024) gives the 3-fascicle Vajradhātu Mahā-mandala chapter of the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha, T874 gives a 2-fascicle alternative arrangement focused on the Shēnmiào mìmì jīngāngjiè dà sānmèiyé xiūxí yújiā yí 深妙祕密金剛界大三昧耶修習瑜伽儀 (“ritual procedure for the cultivation-yoga of the great Vajra-realm samaya, profoundly-secret”).
Prefaces
The colophon gives Amoghavajra’s title in shortened form: 唐特進試鴻臚卿三藏沙門不空奉詔譯 — “Translated by imperial decree by Tripiṭaka-master Bùkōng, Tèjìn and Acting Director of the Court of State Ceremonial of the Tang.” The text proper opens with the chapter heading 深妙祕密金剛界大三昧耶修習瑜伽儀第一.
Abstract
T874 is one of several alternative recensions of the Vajradhātu material that circulated in the Tang Esoteric tradition — distinct from but parallel to the canonical T865 (KR6j0024). Its 2-fascicle structure represents an alternative arrangement of the Vajradhātu sādhana, focused on the xiūxí yújiā yí (cultivation-yoga ritual) rather than the full mandalic exposition.
The text’s relationship to T865 has been the subject of scholarly investigation. The two texts share a substantial body of content but differ in structural arrangement and the specific mantra-mudrā prescriptions. T874 may represent: (i) an earlier draft by Amoghavajra; (ii) an alternative recension for a specific ritual context (e.g., the abridged Vajradhātu sādhana); or (iii) a later editorial reorganisation of the original translation.
The composition dates from Amoghavajra’s mature Chángān period (746–774). The text is transmitted as a canonical Vajradhātu recension and was studied in both Tōmitsu and Taimitsu Japanese traditions.
Translations and research
- Goble, Geoffrey C. Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra. New York: Columbia UP, 2019.
- Giebel, Rolf W. Two Esoteric Sutras. BDK English Tripiṭaka. Berkeley: Numata Center, 2001.