Fó shuō Shèng Bǎozàngshén yíguǐ jīng 佛說聖寶藏神儀軌經
Sūtra of the Ritual Manual of the Holy Treasure-Treasury Spirit, Spoken by the Buddha by 法天 (Fǎtiān, Dharmadeva, 譯)
About the work
A two-fascicle Esoteric ritual scripture (儀軌經) translated by Dharmadeva (法天, d. 1001), parallel to and probably from the same Sanskrit source-cycle as KR6j0514 (T1283). Both texts are Sòng-period renderings of the Jambhalajalendra-yathālabdha-kalpa tradition (per CANWWW, Sanskrit reconstruction Jabhalajalendrayathālabdhakalpa); KR6j0514 gives the maṇḍala-and-mantra programme in greater detail, while this text — distinguished by the addition of Holy (聖) to the deity-title — focuses on the homa-rite (護摩法則) and broader liturgical programme of Bǎo-zàng-shén 寶藏神 (Skt. Jambhala).
Abstract
The text opens with a four-line invocation verse (歸命一切佛菩薩 / 頂禮依法寶藏神 / 藏神歡喜令求者 / 成就牟尼一切事), followed immediately by the body of the manual — there is no narrative scene-setting frame, in contrast to KR6j0514’s Laṅkā setting. The text declares itself the “vast ritual manual and homa-procedure for the Treasure-Treasury Spirit” (寶藏神廣大儀軌護摩法則).
The practitioner must first take refuge in the Three Treasures and receive abhiṣeka (灌頂); he then practises the rite “for all sentient beings” (為一切眾生). The manual proceeds through:
- the construction of the homa-altar (護摩壇) and the fire-rite (homa) procedures for the four operative aims;
- the recitation-and-visualisation programme;
- the catalogue of accomplishments (anuśaṃsā) — primarily wealth, prosperity, abundant grain, success in business, removal of obstacles, and protection from yakṣa-class demonic afflictions;
- the broader ritual context of Buddhist wealth-deity practice within Sòng Tāntric Buddhism.
The dating bracket follows Dharmadeva’s tenure at the Sòng Institute for the Translation of Sūtras (982–1001). Together with KR6j0514 this text is the principal canonical witness for the Jambhala cult in Sòng Buddhism, and the textual basis for its onward East Asian reception.
Translations and research
- Bhattacharyya, Benoytosh. The Indian Buddhist Iconography. 2nd ed. Calcutta: Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1958 — Jambhala iconography and ritual.
- Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600–1400. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2003 — for Dharmadeva’s place in the Sòng Translation Institute.
- Jan Yün-hua. “Buddhist Relations between India and Sung China.” History of Religions 6, no. 1 (1966): 24–42 and no. 2 (1966): 135–168.
- Misaki Ryōshū 三崎良周. Taimitsu no kenkyū 台密の研究. Tokyo: Sōbunsha, 1988.