Chinese Esoteric Buddhism

Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist Zhenyan tradition from 716 to 720 during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. It employed mandalas, mantras, mudras, abhiṣekas, and deity yoga. The Zhenyan tradition was exported to Japan as Tendai and Shingon Buddhism by Saichō and Kūkai, as well as influencing Korean Buddhism and Vietnamese Buddhism. The Song dynasty saw a second diffusion of Esoteric texts. Esoteric Buddhist practices continued to have an influence into the late imperial period and Tibetan Buddhism was also influential during the Yuan dynasty period and beyond. In the Ming dynasty through to the modern period, esoteric practices and teachings became absorbed and merged with the other Chinese Buddhist traditions to a large extent.
In Chinese these traditions are also termed Mìjiào, Mìzōng or Tángmì.

Terminology

In China and countries with large Chinese populations such as Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism is commonly referred to as Tángmì, or Hànchuán Mìzōng, sometimes abbreviated as Hànmì.
Its manifestation through a reimportation of the teachings via Japanese transmission is sometimes referred as Dōngmì "the Esoteric Buddhism of Tō-ji", that is, the Esoteric Buddhist teachings brought to and promulgated in Japan at Tō-ji, a temple in Kyōtō, by the Japanese monk Kūkai.
During the Tang dynasty the actual term widely used to refer to these teachings by Tantric masters was "mantra teaching" and "path of mantras". Chinese tantric masters like Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra also used the term Vajrayana.
In a more general sense, the Chinese term Mìzōng "Esoteric Tradition" and Mìjiào are popular Chinese terms used when referring to any form of Esoteric Buddhism.

History

According to scholars such as Henrik Sørensen, Esoteric Buddhism emerged in India out of Mahayana Buddhist ritual and magical practices. Esoteric teachings followed the Silk Road and the Southeast Asian Maritime trade routes into China, linking Chinese Buddhism with Indian, South Asian and Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism. The use of mantras and dhāraṇīs dates at least to the 2nd century. Tantric materials with mantras and dharanis begin to appear in China during the fifth century. Early Chinese Buddhists include the like of Zhu Lüyan, who translated the first text containing dhāraṇīs, the Modengqie jing. Others such as Fotudeng served Chinese emperors with mantras and rituals.
The use of mandalas in China as goes back to the sixth century. While these elements were present, it is with the rise of esoteric Buddhism during the Tang dynasty that a full ritual system arose.

Tang dynasty

The Tang dynasty saw the growth to prominence of Chinese Tantric Buddhism. Early Tang translators such as Atikūta, Bodhiruci, Yijing, and Manicintana worked on esoteric texts promoting mantras and dharanis such as the Collection of Coded Instructions, early versions of the Heart-dhāraṇī of Avalokiteśvara-ekadaśamukha Sūtra, the Cintāmaṇicakra ''Dhāraṇī Sūtra and various sutras related to Amoghapāśa translated by Bodhiruci which contain the Mantra of Light.
These early esoteric works focus on dharani recitation. Koichi Shinohara has argued that the earliest layer consisted of sutras that promoted simple recitation of dharanis and that more complex elements were added to this core practice over time. The complexity of the rituals continued to increase until reaching the "full" or "pure" tantric texts like the Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra. As Shinohara notes, the early "esoteric" texts were not initially considered a separate category of "tantric" or "esoteric" sutras, and they were not seen as separate from mainstream Mahayana.
During the eighth century, three great masters came from India to China: Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. These three masters brought the esoteric teachings to their height of popularity in China. Major tantric texts introduced by these masters included the Vairocanābhisaṃbodhi Sūtra and the Vajrasekhara Sutra, as well as numerous commentaries and ritual manuals. It was at this point that "esoteric Buddhism" began to be seen as a distinct and unique system of its own, with special rites of consecration or initiation.
File:Portrait of Amoghavajra, 14 century, National Museum, Tokyo.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Amoghavajra, fourteenth century, Tokyo National MuseumAs Charles D. Orzech writes, outlining the growth of this tradition:
According to Geoffrey C. Goble, Amoghavajra was the most influential of these and is to be considered as the true founder of the Zhenyan or Mantra Tradition. He translated the largest number of texts, performed rituals for the royal family, taught disciples from Japan and Korea and was the first to be bestowed Tang imperial titles. Goble also argues that the reason that Tantric Buddhism became popular in this period lies in the similarity between their Buddhist rituals and pre-existing Tang state rites which were supposed to support the emperor by granting political stability and imperial longevity.
Amoghavajra assisted the Tang dynasty state against the An Lushan rebellion. He carried out Vajrayana rituals which were ostensible effective in supernaturally attacking and destroying An Lushan's army including the death of one of An Lushan's generals, Zhou Zhiguang.
Amoghavajra used his rituals against An Lushan while staying in Chang'an when it was occupied in 756 while the Tang dynasty crown prince and Xuanzong emperor had retreated to Sichuan. Amoghavajra's rituals were explicitly intended to introduced death, disaster and disease against An Lushan. As a result of Amoghavajrya's assistance in crushing An Lushan, Estoteric Buddhism became the official state Buddhist sect supported by the Tang dynasty, "Imperial Buddhism" with state funding and backing for writing scriptures, and constructing monasteries and temples. The disciples of Amoghavajra did ceremonies for the state and emperor. Tang dynasty Emperor Suzong was crowned as cakravartin by Amoghavajra after victory against An Lushan in 759 and he had invoked the Acala vidyaraja against An Lushan. The Tang dynasty crown prince Li Heng also received important strategic military information from Chang'an when it was occupied by An Lushan though secret message sent by Amoghavajra.
There is less information about the Tantric Buddhists that came after Amoghavajra, like his descendants Huilang and Huiguo. Prajña was one of the last great translators of the Tang, known for his translation of the Gaṇdavyūha sūtra''. Despite lacking the strong patronage it enjoyed under Emperor Daizong, there is evidence that Zhenyan practices and rituals continued to be a key part of Chinese Buddhism throughout the ninth century. Even after the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution initiated by Emperor Wuzong of Tang, the Zhenyan tradition continued to transmit and practice the yoga of Mantrayana well into the early Song Dynasty, as shown by the records of Japanese pilgrims.

Influence

Due to this newfound influence and prestige, Esoteric Buddhism strongly influenced the rest of Chinese Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. This prestige also drew East Asian pilgrims to esoteric centers such as Qinglong Temple and Daxingshan Temple. The Mantrayana tradition also influenced other Chinese Buddhist schools like Huayan, Tiantai, Chan Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism, through the adoption of mantras, dhāraṇīs, ritual forms as well as the construction of altars. This prestige also influenced the popularization of esoteric deities such as various forms of Avalokiteśvara and Vajrapāṇi which became the focus of wider devotion.
In Chinese Buddhism there was no major distinction between exoteric and esoteric practices and the Northern School of Chan even became known for its esoteric practices of dhāraṇīs and mantras. Śubhakarasiṃha's most eminent disciple, Yi Xing, who was an influential Zhenyan figure in his own right, later practiced Chan Buddhism. The followers of the Baotang school of Chan, founded by Baotang Wuzhu also seem to have had a strong affiliation with the Zhenyan tradition.
On the other hand, while the East Asian Yogācāra school of Xuanzang and the Tiantai of Zhiyi already included certain esoteric practices and texts before the rise of Tang Mantrayana, the influence of esoteric elements of these schools seems to have grown during the era of Tang esoterica.
There is also evidence that esoteric Buddhist practices also influenced developments in Taoism.
The growth of esoteric practice in the Tang era is also evident outside the Chinese heartland such as in Dunhuang, Central Asia, Yunnan and Nanzhao.

Spread outside China

Before the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution, Master Kūkai, also known as Kōbō Daishi, came to Tang China from Japan to learn the complete esoteric teachings expounded by the three Indian masters. Kōbō Daishi was taught by the great Master Huiguo. It is claimed that he learned the complete teachings in two years before returning to Japan. The transmission to Japan later became Shingon Buddhism, which is often referred to in Chinese as Dōngmì, "Eastern Esoterica", because Japan is east of China geographically. The term refers to the temple Tō-ji at Kyoto, Japan, where Kōbō Daishi established the Shingon school of Buddhism. This differentiates it from the Esoteric practices that Saichō brought to Japan that became the Japanese lineage of Tendai, which is called taimitsu. Tōmitsu and Taimitsu are the two main systems of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan.
Esoteric Buddhism also entered the Korean kingdom of Goryeo.

Liao, Song and Jin era

The Zhenyan tradition continued through the end of the Tang into the early Song dynasty, though in a more limited capacity than under the Tang, as noted by Zanning 贊寧, a Chan Buddhist of the Fayan school who also embraced esoteric teachings, unlike Linji Chan who championed a Chan that was "outside the scriptures". Song emperors did continue to patronize Buddhism and translations efforts. Esoteric deities like Mahavairocana, Thousand-armed Guanyin and Mārīcī also continued to be popular as well as the use of spells and dharani. The prestige of the esoteric tradition influenced other schools of Chinese Buddhism such as Chan and Tiantai to adopt esoteric practices as well, leading to a merging of teachings between the various schools which continued on through the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties to the modern period.
Esoteric Buddhism was also present in the Khitan Liao dynasty and the Tangut Western Xia. The Xia in particular adopted Tibetan Buddhist influences and produced many translations into the Tangut language and artistic works, many of which have been preserved in the findings at Khara-Khoto. Following the Liao, the Jin dynasty saw a continuation of the forms of Buddhism that existed in the Liao.