Richard D. McBride

The Vision-Quest Motif in Narrative Literature on the Buddhist Traditions of Silla

Iryŏns Samguk yusa preserves several accounts of Buddhist monks of the ancient Korean state of Silla encountering supernatural beings in what may be termed vision-quests. Information of this kind has hitherto been understood by scholars as evidence of the persistence of ancient Korean shamanism. As context, this article problematizes the idea of shamanism and its relationship to Tantric Buddhism and provides evidence for the visionquest motif in Sino-Indian Buddhist literature. It focuses on examples of this motif in the Samguk yusa to suggest that connections between ancient Korea, China, and India are closer than previously believed. The motif does not demonstrate the rapprochement between indigenous shamanism and Buddhism so much as attest to an ancient approach to religious experience.

Koryŏ Buddhist Paintings and the Cult of Amitābha: Visions of a Hwaŏm-Inspired Pure Land

Many paintings of Amitābha were commissioned for devotional use by elites in numerous votive shrines and temples, and others probably played a role in the abundant Buddhist festivals and ceremonies of the Koryŏ period. Images of Amitābha and Amitābha triads functioned in a variety of devotional settings and the inscriptions on some icons suggest their use to enable all living beings in the dharma realm to be reborn in the Pure Land. Some images might have been used in deathbed rituals enabling believers to visualize Amitābha coming to escort them into the Pure Land. Inscriptional and visual evidence strongly suggests a Hwaŏm context for many paintings of Amitābha. Although aspirants sought rebirth in Amitābha’s Pure Land, the Hwaŏm doctrine of the interpenetration of all things in the dharma realm inferred the ultimate non-duality between Sukhāvatī and the Lotus Storehouse Realm. The cult of Amitābha in Koryŏ was closely associated with Hwaŏm Buddhism, particularly the “Practices” chapter at the end of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra in forty rolls. The genre of Amitābha and the Eight Great Bodhisattvas are linked to this version of the Avataṃsaka though verses and dhāraṇīs appended to manuscripts of the text and associated commentaries. The concept of the dharma realm that interpenetrates all things provides context for unique images, such as the Transformation Tableau of the Hwaŏm Pure Land, which both visually and symbolically interfuse the aspiration for rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitābha with the Hwaŏm path of bodhisattva practice. Other transformation tableaux of the sixteen visualizations of the Visualization Sūtra demonstrate knowledge of varied doctrinal positions that circulated in China on the types of people who are reborn in the nine classes of rebirth in the Pure Land. Such transformation tableaux functioned in the context of education and edification, along with devotion, encouraging lay people to become bodhisattvas or reminding them that they can be reborn in the Pure Land.

Practical Buddhist Thaumaturgy: The Great Dhāraṇī on Immaculately Pure Light in Medieval Sinitic Buddhism

The Great Dhāraṇī on Immaculately Pure Light (Wugou jingguang da tuoluoni jing, T 1024) was used extensively in Korea during the middle and late periods of Silla (668-935) after its introduction in the early eighth century. Although some scholars maintain that it provides evidence of Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism or the synthesis of Pure Land and Tantrism in Silla, my research indicates instead that the dhāraṇī and ritual procedures contained in this sūtra were mainstream Mahāyāna practices more closely associated with repentance practices in medieval East Asian Buddhism. Tantric/Esoteric Buddhism should be defined as consisting of ritual procedures such as initiations or coronations, graduated systems of meditation, and procedures using dhāraṇī in the recreation of the body, speech, and mind of the Buddha. The language of the Great Dhāraṇī provides little internal evidence of such conclusively Tantric or Esoteric elements, especially because many of the procedures and spells it describes—like most medieval Sinitic Buddhist ritual literature—attempt to resolve practical religious concerns for individuals and to protect states from harm, both internal and external: eradicating sins and extending ones lifespan; recovering from serious illnesses; avoiding rebirth in the evil paths and achieving rebirth in heavens; receiving predictions of the attainment of buddhahood; acquiring the spiritual penetrations and not backsliding in spiritual progress; generating merit and wholesome roots; destroying all obstacles and unwholesome karma and enabling practitioners to fulfill all their vows; and acquiring a fullness of the six perfections in ones life.

The Impact Of Translated Esoteric Buddhist Scriptures On Chinese Buddhism

The influence of esoteric Buddhist scriptures on Chinese Buddhism is a matter of considerable opinion and debate. The primary problem facing researchers is the general lack of conclusive evidence on how Chinese monks, exegetes, and laypeople responded to these new scriptures from India that outlined the procedures for powerful rituals. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that these scriptures stimulated innovations in Buddhist doctrine, contributed to the already widespread Chinese interest in ritual practices, reemphasized the relationship between the state and the Buddhist church, promoted worship of new forms of Avalokiteśvara, and contributed to rapprochement between Buddhism, Daoism, and popular religions. This chapter briefly assesses the impact of this new strand of Mahāyāna literature and practice in China and presents something of the historical context. Although the connections between Daoism, popular religion, and esoteric/tantric Buddhism are compelling, there is little evidence that shamans and practitioners read or knew of the translated Buddhist materials. Keywords: China; Chinese Buddhism; Daoism; translated esoteric Buddhist scriptures