Dàizōng cháo zèng Sīkōng Dàbiànzhèng Guǎngzhì sānzàng héshàng biǎozhì jí 代宗朝贈司空大辨正廣智三藏和上表制集
Collection of Memorials and Imperial Edicts of the Tripiṭaka-master “Greatly-Discerning, Correct, of Vast Wisdom” (Bù-kōng), Posthumously Granted [the Title] Sī-kōng during the Reign of Emperor Dài-zōng
compiled by 圓照 (Yuánzhào, fl. 778–800, 集), preserving the memorial-and-edict correspondence of 不空 (Bùkōng / Amoghavajra, 705–774)
About the work
A 6-juan documentary compilation, assembled by the Tang Buddhist bibliographer Yuánzhào 圓照 (fl. late 8th c.) of Xīmíngsì 西明寺 in Cháng’ān, of the memorials, court submissions, imperial edicts, and replies exchanged between the great Tantric translator Bùkōng 不空 (Sanskrit: Amoghavajra, 705–774) and the Tang imperial court — chiefly Xuánzōng 玄宗 (r. 712–756), Sùzōng 肅宗 (r. 756–762), and Dàizōng 代宗 (r. 762–779). The compilation, in 144 documents organised by reign and chronologically within each reign, was prepared by Yuánzhào at imperial request to memorialise Bùkōng’s institutional achievements and to fix the documentary record of his state-clergy relationship as the model for Tang esoteric-Buddhist court ceremonial. Transmitted in Taishō 52 as T2120.
Prefaces
Yuán-zhào’s compiler’s preface opens: “The Tripiṭaka [master] of the Dà Xìng-shàn-sì of the Great Tang, taboo-name Zhì-zàng, hào Bù-kōng Jīn-gāng, in Sanskrit Amoghavajra: a man originally of the Western Regions. He served the great propagator of the teaching, the Vajra-Tripiṭaka [Vajrabodhi], receiving from him the Mantras; for twenty-four years, raising his robe in salutation, he requested instruction. After his master’s death, he again returned to the Five Indias; and through the Sanskrit-original *Yoga[-tantra]*s he made his way completely. He toured the [whole region] thoroughly. Then he returned to the Imperial Capital — at times instructing in Hé-xī, at times returning to within the Passes. In the late years of Tiān-bǎo, the Hú-horses entered the passes; in Zhì-dé 2 [757] the capitals were re-conquered. The héshàng personally received the imperial edict, and meticulously established the maṇḍala-platform, becoming the abhiṣeka-master. Three reigns favoured him; the memorials of thanks and the imperial responses, the master-disciple succession — in great total, 144 pieces. They are now divided into six juan, that they may circulate to posterity, that the eager students may come to know his aspirations.”
Abstract
The work is the principal documentary archive of Tang esoteric Buddhism in its formative imperial-court phase, and the chief source for the institutional history of the introduction of vajrayāna into China. The 144 documents — divided across the Sùzōng and Dàizōng reigns — cover:
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The relic of imperial-Buddhist intimacy under Sù-zōng: Bù-kōng’s congratulatory memorials on the recovery of Cháng’ān (757) and Luò-yáng from the An Lù-shān rebels; the imperial edict authorising the search for Sanskrit manuscripts throughout the empire; the establishment of the Dà Xìng-shàn-sì abhiṣeka-platform (灌頂道場); imperial gifts of incense, vestments, and religious paraphernalia.
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The Dài-zōng-Bù-kōng relationship as the model of Tang esoteric-Buddhist patronage: the imperial sponsorship of Bù-kōng’s translation projects, the imperial visits to Xìng-shàn-sì, the ritual conduct of abhiṣeka on behalf of the imperial family, and the use of esoteric ritual for state-protective ends — particularly in connection with the Tibetan and Uighur threats of the 760s.
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The institutional foundations of esoteric Buddhism: the foundation of the Wén-shū [Mañjuśrī] cult at Wǔ-tái-shān 五台山 (the Jīn-gé-sì 金閣寺 foundation); the establishment of permanent abhiṣeka halls in major Tang monasteries; the institutional machinery for the recruitment, training, and certification of esoteric-Buddhist ācāryas.
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Bù-kōng’s death and the imperial response (774): the dying memorial; the imperial edicts of mourning, including the posthumous title Sī-kōng 司空 (“Minister of Works”) and the canonical shì-hào Dà-biàn-zhèng Guǎng-zhì sān-zàng 大辨正廣智三藏 (“Greatly-Discerning, Correct, of Vast Wisdom Tripiṭaka”) that names the present work.
The work was originally presented to the throne in stages: the first portion, covering the Sùzōng and early Dàizōng reigns, was assembled in Jiànzhōng 建中 2 = 781; the full six-juan compilation was completed by Zhēnyuán 貞元 16 = 800 at the latest, when Yuánzhào’s larger project of compiling the 《貞元新定釋教目錄》 Zhēnyuán xīndìng shìjiào mùlù (T2157) had been completed. The dating bracket is therefore 781–800.
The Biǎozhì jí is the indispensable companion to the biographical sources for Bùkōng — the Sòng gāosēng zhuàn j. 1 and Zhào Qiān’s 趙遷 contemporary stele inscription 《不空三藏行狀》 Bùkōng sānzàng xíngzhuàng — and supplies the only surviving direct documentary record of the early-Tang esoteric translation bureau and its imperial-state context.
Translations and research
- 中田美絵, 《不空三蔵研究》(Tōkyō: Daizō shuppan, 2007) — the standard modern monograph on Bù-kōng, drawing throughout on the Biǎo-zhì jí.
- 中田美絵, 〈代宗朝贈司空大辨正廣智三藏和上表制集の編纂と圓照〉, 《佛教史學研究》43.2 (2000): 1–22 — the principal philological study of the compilation.
- 大村西崖, 《密教発達志》(Tōkyō: Bukkyō kankōkai, 1918) — Tang esoteric Buddhism in institutional perspective.
- 巖崎日出男, 〈不空三藏の出身に関する一考察〉, Mikkyō bunka 167 (1989): 1–23.
- Charles Orzech, Politics and Transcendent Wisdom: The Scripture for Humane Kings in the Creation of Chinese Buddhism (University Park: Penn State Univ. Press, 1998) — uses the Biǎo-zhì jí extensively.
- Charles Orzech, Henrik Sørensen, and Richard Payne, eds., Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia (Leiden: Brill, 2011) — the standard reference work.
- Geoffrey Goble, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism: Amoghavajra, the Ruling Elite, and the Emergence of a Tradition (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 2019) — the most recent monograph, drawing centrally on the Biǎo-zhì jí.
- Martin Lehnert, “Amoghavajra: His Role in and Influence on the Development of Buddhism,” in Charles Orzech et al., eds., Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia: 351–359.
Other points of interest
The work preserves a suite of imperial-edict prose of high literary quality, including pieces drafted by such Tang chancellery figures as Zhāng Yuè 張說, Xiāo Yǐngshì 蕭穎士, and others — making the work a documentary source not only for Buddhist history but also for mid-Tang imperial-edict literature and for the diplomatic-protocol vocabulary of Tang state-clergy interaction.
Links
- CBETA: T52n2120