Fó shuō chìshèngguāng dàwēidé xiāozāi jíxiáng tuóluóní jīng 佛說熾盛光大威德消災吉祥陀羅尼經
Sūtra of the Great-Powerful Calamity-Eliminating Auspicious-Inducing Dhāraṇī of the Blazing-Light (Tejaprabha-buddha-mahāparipūrṇa-cintāmaṇi-cakra-rāja?) by 不空 Bùkōng (Amoghavajra, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Esoteric dhāraṇī scripture by Amoghavajra (不空) on the Blazing-Light Buddha (Chìshèngguāng fó 熾盛光佛 — Tejaprabha-buddha) — the Esoteric form of the cosmic-Buddha presiding over the astrological deities (the nine planets, the 28 lunar mansions, and the twelve zodiac signs). The Blazing-Light Buddha cult is one of the most popular Esoteric devotional traditions in East Asia, particularly for calamity-elimination (xiāozāi) and auspicious-induction (jíxiáng).
Abstract
The text presents the Esoteric dhāraṇī-practice for invoking the Blazing-Light Buddha to eliminate astrological calamities (eclipses, ill-omened conjunctions, malign planetary influences) and induce auspicious outcomes. The Blazing-Light cult is closely associated with the Buddha-Crown / uṣṇīṣa tradition; in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, the Blazing-Light Buddha (Shijōkō Bukkyō 熾盛光佛經) is one of the principal protective deities of the imperial state.
The composition dates from Amoghavajra’s mature Cháng’ān period (746–774).
Translations and research
- Sørensen, Henrik H. “Astrology and the Worship of the Planets in Esoteric Buddhism of the Tang.” In Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia (Brill, 2011).
- Mollier, Christine. Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2008. — Discusses the Buddhist astrological deities.
Links
- CBETA T19n0963
- Kanseki DB
- 不空 Bùkōng DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (CBETA / Taishō; date: 750)