Xī màntúluó jí 西曼荼羅集
Collection on the Western Maṇḍala by 覺超 (撰)
About the work
A single-fascicle compendium on the “Western Maṇḍala” — i.e., the Vajra-realm maṇḍala (which traditionally occupies the western position in the dual-maṇḍala arrangement) — by Kakuchō 覺超 (960–1034). The work is the Vajra-realm counterpart to KR6t0100 and treats the four maṇḍala-types as they apply to the Vajra-realm cycle. The CANWWW record transcribes the title as Xī màn-tú-luó chāo (with 抄), but the source text uses 集 (“collection”); both readings refer to the same work.
Abstract
Authorship and date as the companion Kakuchō works: 990–1034 CE.
The work opens with the standard Vajra-realm citation: “The Tantra-King-Sūtra says: ‘At that time, the Bhagavān, the Great-Holding Vajra, having heard the words of praise of all Tathāgatas, entered the All-Tathāgata Samaya-Arising-Empowerment Vajra Samādhi and preached the Vajra-realm Great Maṇḍala.’ [Verse] “Next I universally preach the Excellent Great Maṇḍala — compendium.”
The work then proceeds systematically through the Vajra-realm maṇḍala-cycle: the four-type maṇḍala (great-form, samaya-symbol, seed-syllable, action-act) for each of the nine assemblies of the Vajra-realm (Body-Completion, Karma, Four-Seal, Single-Seal, Liberation-Wheel, Subduing-Vajra, Triple-Family-Triple-Body, Worship, and the central Mahāvairocana-Five-Wisdom Assembly).
The work bears the same copy colophon as KR6t0100 (also dated Jōkyō 2 = 1685, deposited in the Hōman repository) — confirming that the two works were transmitted as a paired set in the Edo-Tendai esoteric scholarship.
Translations and research
- No complete Western-language translation located.
- Misaki Ryōshū 三崎良周, Taimitsu no kenkyū (Tokyo: Sōbunsha, 1988).