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Chapter Five Tantric Transfer in Sukhāvatī Pure Lands in the Tibetan Canon The term “Vajrayana” describes a heterogeneous collection of arcane texts and practices that evolved over time and came to represent the most ritually complex expression of Indian esoteric Buddhism. Tantric teachings are said to have been imparted either by Buddha Śākyamuni or by other enlightened expositors, such as the buddhas Vajradhara, Vajrasattva, Mahāvairocana , and so on, who are sometimes described as tantric manifestations of Śākyamuni.1 Tantra was at its peak from the eighth to eleventh centuries, but its origins can be traced back to as early as the third century CE, depending on how scholars wish to define the term. In The Social History of Indian Esoteric Buddhism, Davidson distinguishes between an early engagement with mantras, maṇḍalas, fire sacrifices, and so on and a ritualized Vajrayana corpus that emerged in the second half of the seventh century CE and was adopted by Buddhist monastic institutions in India.2 Indian Buddhist tantrism came with a new set of rules, imposing restrictions on the spread of doctrines in a manner not previously witnessed .3 Institutional esotericism and secrecy flourished in Tibet, embracing a unique body of tantric literature centered on religious cultures that relied on an immutable master-disciple bond, elaborate initiations, covert transmissions, royal acts of consecration, and the use of intricate maṇḍalas in which meditators transformed themselves into buddhas. [In India p]roponents of the system composed a new class of scriptures that taught the transmission and recitation of mantras. Calling themselves “possessors of mantras or sceptres” (mantrin/vajrin), they developed rituals (particularly fire sacrifice) for the purpose of a codified series of soteriological and nonsoteriological acts and ultimately institutionalized this material in Buddhist monasteries where texts were copied, art produced, and rituals performed.4 During the second spread of Buddhism to Tibet, an influx of Indian tantric lineages and their esoteric literature gave rise to the foundation of 139 the New Buddhist Schools. The consolidation of new Indian teachings with old texts from Tibetan imperial times formed a widely accepted collection of scriptures, divided into the Kanjur (bKa’-’gyur), the words of the Buddha, and the commentaries, the Tanjur (bsTan-’gyur).5 The Kanjur and Tanjur contain thousands of religious scriptures; in comparison, texts with a Pure Land orientation constitute a marginal, though representative, section . In addition to the Sukhāvatīvyūha sutras in the mDo section of the Kanjur, there are some allied works in the Tantra (rGyud) division. In Chapter Two we discussed one such text, the Tshe-mdo located in the rGyud section. In addition to the Ārya-aparimitāyur-jñāna-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra there are other works with Pure Land content preserved in the gZungs and rGyud sections of the Kanjur, to which we will now turn our attention. First, there are several dhāraṇī-type scriptures that do not center on the principal deities of the Sukhāvatī tradition but nevertheless contain aspirational prayers for birth in Amitābha’s Pure Land. For example, a text with a generic Pure Land prayer is the Cloud of Offerings Dhāraṇī dating to the time of the Tibetan empire.6 The dhāraṇī assures that its recitation will lead those who die to take birth in Sukhāvatī. As we have seen, it was a commonplace practice in Indian religious literature (and in Tibetan texts of later centuries) to conclude with a Pure Land aspiration and dedication of merit. There are other dhāraṇī sriptures, such as the Dhāraṇī in Praise of Im measurable Qualities, a short canonical text that promotes a number of Mahayana incentives, including an encounter with Buddha Amitābha.7 Typical of works of this kind, the dhāraṇī starts with a short homage to the buddhas and bodhisattvas. It follows with a description of the benefits associated with its recitation (brjod-pa). If it is uttered once, it will purify karmic obscurations accumulated over 100,000 eons (bskal-pa). If it is repeated three times daily, it will purify one’s wrongdoings and reinforce the generation of root virtues. If it is recited twenty-one times, it will cleanse the four transgressions (ltung-ba bzhi). If one wishes to come in contact with the buddhas, one must perform 100,000 recitations and will then behold Ārya Maitreya; with 200,000 recitations, one will meet the Lord of the World Avalokiteśvara; and with 300,000 recitations he...

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