Fódǐng zūnshèng tuóluóní niànsòng yíguǐ fǎ 佛頂尊勝陀羅尼念誦儀軌法

Recitation Ritual Manual for the Buddha-Crown Victorious Dhāraṇī by 不空 Bùkōng (Amoghavajra, 譯)

About the work

A one-fascicle Esoteric ritual manual by Amoghavajra (不空) for the recitation of the Uṣṇīṣa-vijaya-dhāraṇī. Where the five Táng translations KR6j0144KR6j0148 give the sūtra text containing the dhāraṇī, Amoghavajra’s T972 gives the ritual framework within which the dhāraṇī is to be recited — the mudrā-mantra-visualisation triplets, the offering sequences, and the meritorial-soteriological dedication.

Abstract

The text codifies the daily-practice and ceremonial-occasional Uṣṇīṣa-vijaya-dhāraṇī recitation in the Táng Esoteric ritual framework. As a working liturgical manual, it became the standard reference for the Uṣṇīṣa-vijaya practice in both the Táng Tángmì tradition and the Japanese Shingon-Tendai derivatives. The composition dates from Amoghavajra’s mature Cháng’ān period (746–774).

Translations and research

  • Copp, Paul. The Body Incantatory. New York: Columbia UP, 2014.