Zǒngshì tuóluóní yì zàn 總釋陀羅尼義讚
Comprehensive Explanation and Praise of the Meaning of Dhāraṇī by 不空 (Amoghavajra, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Esoteric exposition by Amoghavajra (不空) on the comprehensive meaning (zǒngshì yì 總釋義) of dhāraṇī — the doctrinal-theoretical exposition of why dhāraṇī-recitation has its soteriological efficacy. The text is one of Amoghavajra’s principal theoretical-doctrinal Esoteric compositions distinct from his pure-translation work.
Abstract
The Zǒngshì tuóluóní yì zàn presents a unified theoretical framework for understanding dhāraṇī practice: the four-fold typology of dhāraṇī (法陀羅尼 fǎ-tuóluóní dharma-dhāraṇī, 義陀羅尼 yì-tuóluóní meaning-dhāraṇī, 咒陀羅尼 zhòu-tuóluóní mantra-dhāraṇī, 忍陀羅尼 rěn-tuóluóní patience-dhāraṇī), the relationship between the dhāraṇī’s phonetic form and its doctrinal content, and the soteriological efficacy of dhāraṇī in the abhiṣeka ritual context. The text is foundational for the East Asian Esoteric theoretical tradition’s understanding of dhāraṇī as a multi-layered semantic-soteriological phenomenon.
The composition dates from Amoghavajra’s mature Chángān period (746–774).
Translations and research
- Goble, Geoffrey C. Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra. New York: Columbia UP, 2019.
- McBride, Richard D. “Dhāraṇī and Spells in Medieval Sinitic Buddhism.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 28 (2005): 85–114. — Theoretical treatment.