Rénwáng bōrě tuóluóní shì 仁王般若陀羅尼釋
Exegesis of the Humane Kings Prajñā(pāramitā) Dhāraṇī by 不空 (Amoghavajra, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle interlinear-glossed exegesis of the dhāraṇīs in Amoghavajra’s Rénwáng jīng recension (T246), giving phrase-by-phrase Sanskrit-Chinese semantic decoding in the zhùyì 注義 / shì 釋 format. Together with KR6j0181 (T994 ritual manual) and KR6j0184 (T995 abbreviated method), the text completes the Tang Esoteric ritual-exegetical apparatus around the Rénwáng corpus.
Abstract
The shì (exegesis) format mirrors Amoghavajra’s Uṣṇīṣa-vijaya zhùyì T974D (KR6j0155) and his Lǐqù shì T1003 (KR6j0193) — providing phrase-level semantic-decoding of the dhāraṇīs to enable their integration with the yoga-tantra visualisation framework. The exegesis pairs each transliterated Sanskrit phrase with its Sino-Buddhist semantic equivalent and adds doctrinal-ritual context. This three-part structure (sūtra → ritual manual → exegesis) became the standard Amoghavajra Esoteric package, making the entire Rénwáng corpus exegetically tractable for the Tang and Heian-period Esoteric exegetical traditions. The principal Japanese exegete who built on Amoghavajra’s Rénwáng commentary was Kūkai (空海) and his Shingon successors.
Translations and research
- Orzech, Charles D. Politics and Transcendent Wisdom. University Park: Penn State UP, 1998.