Dōubù tuóluóní mù 都部陀羅尼目
General Index of Dhāraṇīs by Family by 不空 (Amoghavajra, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle systematic catalogue of dhāraṇīs organised by family (bù 部 = the five Esoteric families: Buddha, Vajra, Lotus, Jewel, Karma) by Amoghavajra (不空). The text is a working reference for the Esoteric ācāryā who needed to find dhāraṇīs by deity-family-affiliation.
Abstract
The Dōubù tuóluóní mù organises the principal dhāraṇīs of the Tang Esoteric corpus by family — Buddha-family (with Mahāvairocana and the cosmic Buddhas), Vajra-family (with Vajrapāṇi and the Vajra-bodhisattvas), Lotus-family (with Avalokiteśvara and the Lotus deities), Jewel-family (with the Ratna-deities), and Karma-family (with the Karma deities). For each family, the text gives a sequential listing of the principal dhāraṇīs with brief identifying notes.
The text is one of Amoghavajra’s working scholarly reference compositions; together with KR6j0073 (the theoretical Zǒngshì tuóluóní yì zàn), it gives the Tang Esoteric tradition’s twin theoretical-and-practical framework for dhāraṇī practice.
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.