Miàojíxiáng píngděng guānmén dàjiàowáng jīng lüèchū hùmó yí 妙吉祥平等觀門大教王經略出護摩儀
Abridged Homa-Ritual Extracted from the Mañjuśrī-Equality Visualization-Gate Great Sūtra-King by 慈賢 (Cíxián, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle ritual extract from the same Liáo-period Mañjuśrī Equality cycle (cf. KR6j0418, KR6j0419) — specifically the homa (fire-offering, 護摩) ritual sequence — translated by Cíxián (慈賢). Colophon: 宋大契丹國師中天竺摩竭陀國三藏法師慈賢譯.
Abstract
The text opens with the standard verse-prelude: “I bow to all the Buddhas / The great bodhisattva multitude / I now expound the homa / The various forms of its ritual / First, recite the mantra…”
The body of the text gives the practical sequence of the homa (fire-offering) embedded in the Mañjuśrī Equality cycle. The structure includes:
- The four standard homa types — śāntika (peace-making, 息災), pauṣṭika (prosperity-increasing, 增益), vāśīkaraṇa (subjugation, 敬愛), and abhicāra (subjugation/destruction, 降伏);
- The fire-altar architecture and orientation appropriate to each;
- The wood-types, oblations, and mudrā-mantra sets specific to each homa mode;
- The deity-summons and visualization for each rite.
This is the standard “Four-Homa” framework familiar from many Tang and Sòng Esoteric texts, here applied within the Mañjuśrī-Equality register. The text functions as an ancillary homa manual for KR6j0418 / KR6j0419 and would have been used by adepts of the cycle alongside the body-visualization manual.
The dating bracket follows Cíxián’s Liáo-period activity (1030–1080).
Translations and research
- Payne, Richard K. The Tantric Ritual of Japan: Feeding the Gods, the Shingon Fire Ritual. Delhi: Aditya, 1991. (For the broader homa tradition that this text exemplifies.)
- Strickmann, Michel. Mantras et mandarins. Paris: Gallimard, 1996.
Links
- CBETA T21n1194
- Kanseki DB
- 慈賢 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (1000) — T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014.