Jiànlì màntúluó hùmó yíguǐ 建立曼荼羅護摩儀軌
Mandala-Construction and Homa Ritual Manual
About the work
A one-fascicle Esoteric ritual manual covering both mandala-construction and homa (fire-offering) procedures. The text is anonymously transmitted in the Taishō (no author/translator-attribution colophon survives) but stylistic and content features place it in the late-Tang Chángān Esoteric tradition. Modern Japanese-Esoteric scholarship has tentatively attributed the work to Fǎquán 法全 (法全, fl. 824–859) on the basis of the work’s terminology and structural overlap with his other ritual codifications.
Abstract
The text combines the mandala-construction sequence (preparation of the site, drawing of the mandala lines, consecration of the mandala-altar, invitation of the deities) with the homa sequence (preparation of the fire-altar, offering substances, four-fold karman practices). The integrated structure suggests the text was designed for the Esoteric ācāryā preparing a single ceremony combining both elements — typically the multi-day abhiṣeka ceremony, which begins with mandala-construction and concludes with homa offerings.
The dating bracket reflects the most likely Chángān late-Tang origin (early-mid 9th c.).
Translations and research
- Strickmann, Michel. Mantras et mandarins. Paris: Gallimard, 1996.