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ABSTRACT
Mārīcī (Molizhi tian 摩利支天) originated in India and spread throughout various Indian religious traditions. She is also the subject of a cross-cultural cult which spread to Central Asia, China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia and generated different iconographies and cults. In each locale, Mārīcī underwent localization or syncretisation with indigenous traditions. The first section of this paper will explore Mārīcī’s textual transmission from India to China, including scriptures on Mārīcī in Chinese translations of Buddhist texts, and investigate the characteristics and implications of Mārīcī worship. The second section analyzes texts related to Doumu 斗母-Mārīcī, focusing on iconographies, rituals, and spells. By reading the Yuyin qianyuan dantian leifa玉音乾元丹天雷法 [Thunder Methods of the Cinnabar Heaven of the Jade-Toned Primordial Heavens] and the Xiantian Doumu zougao xuanke 先天斗母奏告玄科 [Posterior-Heaven Ritual of Doumu’s Proclamation to the Profound], this paper investigates the process through which Doumu rituals were transformed into Dipper-proclamation rites, how new Doumu rituals were formed using the framework of Dipper-proclamation rites, and how they had a significant influence on later Doumu proclamation.
Abbreviations
| B | = | = Dazang jing bubian 大藏經補編. See Secondary Sources, Lan (comp.). |
| BZ | = | = Dai Nihon Bukkyō zensho 大日本佛教全書; see Secondary Sources, Suzuki Gakujutsu Zaidan, ed. |
| DZ | = | = Zhengtong daozang 正統道藏. See Secondary Sources, Xinwenfeng chuban gongsi, comp. |
| P | = | = Chinese manuscripts from Dunhuang in the Pelliot Collection, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Pictures of many of these manuscripts available on the website of the International Dunhuang Project (idp.bl.uk). |
| S | = | = Chinese manuscripts from Dunhuang in the Stein Collection, British Library, London. Pictures of many of these manuscripts available on the website of the International Dunhuang Project (idp.bl.uk). |
| T | = | = Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經; see Secondary Sources, Takakusu & Watanabe, et al (eds.). |
| TZ | = | = Taishō shinshū daizōkyō zuzō 大正新修大蔵経図像; see Secondary Sources, Takakusu & Ono, et al, comps. |
| XDZ | = | = Xu Daozang 續道藏. See Primary Sources. |
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Davidson, Indian Esoteric Buddhism.
2. Hall, Marishiten; idem, ‘Martial Aspects of the Buddhist Mārīcī in Sixth Century China’; idem, ‘Marishiten.’
3. Shinohara, Spells, Images, and Maṇḍalas.
4. See Payne et al., Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia, 13, 14, 18. The term ‘Esoteric’ comes from Greek and refers to that which is inner or hidden. In the nineteenth century, the Theosophical Society was the first to use the term Esoteric to translate mijiao 密教, and the scholar of religion Max Müller (1823–1900) also used this in his Sacred Books of the East. In Western academia, scholars later opted to use the term Esoteric Buddhism rather than ‘Tantra’ when referring to mijiao. However, post-colonial scholars recognized that ‘Esoteric Buddhism’ was itself a western academic construct. In Japanese scholarship it is worthwhile to refer to Tachikawa & Yoritomi, Chūgoku mikkyō.
5. Sharf, ‘On Esoteric Buddhism in China’; McBride, ‘Is There Really ‘Esoteric’ Buddhism?’
6. Strickmann, ‘The Seal of the Law’; idem, Chinese Magical Medicine. Xiao, Daojiao xingdou fuyin yu Fojiao Mizong; idem, Daojiao yu Mizong; idem, Daojiao shuyi yu Mijiao dianji. Robson, ‘Signs of Power’; Mitamura, ‘Daoist Hand Signs and Buddhist Mudrās’; Mollier, ‘In Pursuit of the Sorcerers’; Davis, Society and the Supernatural in Song China. Yu, Shendao renxin; idem, Zhonggu yixiang. Copp, ‘Altar, Amulet, Icon’; idem, ‘Notes on the Term ‘Dhāraṇī’ in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Thought’; idem, The Body Incantatory. Osabe, ‘Dō-Mitsu kanken’; idem, ‘Ryūju gomyōron shōkō.’ Iwasaki, ‘Dōkyō to Mikkyō.’ Sakade, ‘Shoki Mikkyō to Dōkyō no kōshō.’ Esposito, ‘Shindai dōkyō to mikkyō.’ Capitanio, ‘Sanskrit and Pseudo-Sanskrit Incantations in Daoist Ritual Texts.’
7. Wan, “Fodian hanyi liucheng.” Orzech, “Looking for Bhairava.”
8. Hsieh, ‘Hanchuan Zhunti Fomu jingdian zhi shanbian.’
9. Payne et al., Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Orzech, ‘Looking for Bhairava.’
10. Hsieh, Daomi fayuan.
11. This article uses textual analysis to approach ritual texts related to Doumu-Mārīcī, focusing especially on analyzing the historical development of religious texts. There have been many fruitful studies using textual analysis, especially in the analysis of the Christian bible which uses a text’s underlying context to investigate its expansion, redaction, growth, and fusion throughout history. This mode of research has recently been used to read Daoist scriptures. Robert Campany believes that medieval hagiographies of sages were formed out of a certain underlying context of knowledge and texts. This analyzes the text’s ‘reshaping process,’ or ways in which texts at the time were intentionally changed, collated, reframed, recreated, and re-narrated. Through this approach, it is possible to reveal how authors of the hagiographies were affected by contemporary understandings and practices when they revised these texts. If we use this concept to rethink how scriptures are a unique characteristic of ritual texts, then their later developments and transformations can allow us to go deeper into understanding the transmission of the text. Perhaps it was in the face of new environments and challenges or concepts and understandings which made it necessary to innovate a novel ritual form. These concepts are extremely helpful in helping us understand why Daoist ritual texts needed to incorporate Esoteric elements. Company, Making Transcendents, 11, 217.
12. Tachikawa & Yoritomi, eds., Chūgoku Mikkyō, 284–300.
13. Sharf, ‘On Esoteric Buddhism in China.’
14. Shaw, Buddhist Goddesses of India, 206.
15. Foshuo Da Molizhi pusa jing, T no. 1527, 21: 1.262c25-28.
16. See Shaw, Buddhist Goddesses of India, 208.
17. Ibid., 327.
18. Book I of the Rig Veda mentions a praise to Uṣás, the goddess of light, in Sukta VIII (XCII). The Rig Veda was compiled between the sixteenth and eleventh centuries bce. See H. H. Wilson, trans., Classics Rig-Veda-Sanhitá: A Collection of Ancient Hindu Hymns (London: Elibron Classics, 2004), pp. 235–239. Other subsections include 48 (XLVIII), 49 (XLIX), (92) XCII, 113 (CXIII), 123 (CXXIII), and 124 (CXXIV). Among these, the section ‘Dawn’ in chapters 92 (XCII) and 113 (CXIII) describe when Uṣás appears as shining light, emitting purple beams of light upon her surroundings, similar to the cow she rides. She also steers a war chariot of purple horses to bring dawn into the world.
19. Hall, Marishiten; idem., ‘Martial Aspects of the Buddhist Mārīcī in Six Century China’; idem, ‘Marishiten.’
20. Regarding the charioteer, it is similar to that the Indian god Sūrya, where the charioteer is the one-legged Aruna. In front of Mārīcī’s seat is the one-legged Rāhu.
21. Lü, Molizhi tian, 27–28.
22. Cai, comp., Zhonghua dazang jing zong mulu, B no. 194, 35: 3.243a1.
23. Li, ‘Tang Song Molizhi tian pusa xinyang yu tuxiang kao,’ 5.
24. Gao, ‘Tang Song shiqi de Molizhi tian xinyang ji qi liuxing.’
25. Ibid.
26. Foshuo Da Molizhi pusa jing, T no. 1257, 21: 1.262a29-b1.
27. Lü, ‘Molizhi tian, Doumu Xinyang liubian yu miaoyu fenbu yanjiu,’ 60.
28. Li, ‘Tang Song Molizhi tian pusa xinyang yu tuxiang kao,’ 6–7.
29. Li, ‘Tang Song Molizhi tian pusa xinyang yu tuxiang kao’; Liu, ‘Dunhuang shiku Molizhi tian mantuluo tuxiang jieshuo’; Li, ‘Molizhi tian xinyang yu tuxiang.’
30. Foshuo Da Molizhi pusa jing, T no. 1257, 21: 267a.
31. Ibid, 269a–b.
32. Bhattacharyya, The Indian Buddhist Iconography, 207–214.
33. Li, ‘Molizhi tian xinyang yu tuxiang,’ 40–41.
34. Li, ‘Tang Song Molizhi tian pusa xinyang yu tuxiang kao.’
35. Li, ‘Tang Song Molizhi tian pusa xinyang yu tuxiang kao,’ 28.
36. Deng, ‘Daojiao Doumu dui Mijiao Molizhi tian xingxiang de jieyong.’
37. See Franke, ‘The Taoist Elements in the Buddhist Great Bear Sūtra’; Sørensen, ‘The Worship of the Great Dipper in Korean Buddhism’; Mollier, Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face, 134–173.
38. Foshuo beidou qixing yanming jing (T no. 1307, vol. 21); Beidou qixing humo fa (T no. 1310, vol. 21); Taishang xuanling beidou benming yansheng zhenjing (DZ vol. 341).
39. Hong Kong Daoist Association, et al, Daojiao yu xingdou xinyang. Xiao, Taisui yuanchen yu nanbei douxingshen xinyang 7.
40. Hsieh, ‘Qiyuan sanhui, minghui dongyao’; Lü, Molizhi tian, Doumu xinyang liubian yu miaoyu fenbu yanjiu, 64.
41. Ma, Zhongguo Daojiao zhushen, 68–72; Liu, ‘Zhongxing hongfu de Doumu shen,’ 54–55; Wang, Cong Beidou zhenjun dao Jiuhuang dadi; Li, ‘Cong Molizhi tian dasheng xiantian Doumu yuanjun kan Fo Dao de xianghu ronghe’; Esposito, ‘Doumu, Mother of the Dipper.’
42. Xiao, ‘Shilun Beidou Jiuhuang, Doumu yu Molizhi tian zhi guanxi’; Xiao, ‘Cong xingdou zhi mu dao cibei jiudu nüshen: Doumu xinyang yuanliu kaocha.’ Xiao Dengfu takes a linear approach to the historical study of Doumu, arguing that China has a long-standing tradition of worshipping the Northern Dipper, whereas Doumu only emerged in the Song dynasty. His paper focuses on the Yuqing wushang lingbao ziran beidou bensheng zhenjing 玉清無上靈寶自然北斗本生真經 [True Scripture on the Jade Purity’s Supreme Numinous Treasure and the Natural Northern Dipper’s Original Birth] (abbreviated to Beidou benshen zhenjing) and the Taishang xuanling Doumu dasheng yuanjun benming yansheng xinjing 太上玄靈斗姆大聖元君本命延生心經 [The Core Scripture on the Supreme Profound Deity, Great Sage Doumu, Original Lord who Prolongs One’s Life] (abbreviated to Doumu xinjing). These two texts are similar and lack Buddhist influence. Mārīcī enters the scene beginning with Liang dynasty translations, Amoghavajra’s many Tang dynasty translations, and Song dynasty translations. These all developed separately and it was not until the Yuan dynasty that the cult of Doumu merged with that of Mārīcī and the depictions of Doumu as Mārīcī emerge. Building on Xiao Dengfu’s work, Xiao Jinming continues in discussing an important topic. First is that the Beidou bensheng zhenjing and the Doumu xinjing are not entirely the same and in fact have many differences. From its contents, the Beidou benshen zhenjing focuses more on fasting and rituals, whereas the Doumu xinjing emphasizes cultivation and refinement of the neidan. Furthermore, these two scriptures are related to Esoteric Buddhism in both name and content. The Jiuguang zhenjing 九光真經 [True Scripture of Nine Lights] promoted in the Beidou benshen zhenjing equates the Primordial Lord with Esoteric Buddhism’s Vairocana Buddha, which is a clear tie to Esoteric Buddhism. Furthermore, Tao Jin 陶金 has already raised the unique origins of Doumu Dipper-proclamation rituals; see Tao, ‘Xiantian bawang zougao keyi chutan’; idem, ‘Suzhou Xiantian bawang zougao keyi chutan’; idem, ‘Suzhou, Shanghai gaodou keyi zhong qishi jieci chutan’; Zhang & Tao, ‘Jiangnan Daojiao Zhengyipai gaodou keyi de daofa chutan.’
43. Hsieh, Daomi fayuan, 131–164.
44. Capitanio, ‘Sanskrit and Pseudo-Sanskrit Incantations in Daoist Ritual Texts.’
45. Ibid.
46. Li, ‘Tang Song Molizhi tian pusa xinyang yu tuxiang kao’; Deng, ‘Daojiao Doumu dui Mijiao Molizhi tian xingxiang de jieyong.’
47. The Doumu jigao xinzhang includes various texts and talismanic incantations. The texts include Doumu jigao xinzhang 斗母急告心章 [Core Text of Doumu’s Urgent Proclamation], Xuantian beijidong zhang 玄天北極洞章 [Cavern Text on the North Pole of the Profound Heaven], Gao beiji langxing zhang 告北極狼星章 [Text on Proclamation to the Wolf Star of the North Pole], and Qidao xi shi 祈禱檄式 [Form for Dispatching Prayers]. The talismanic incantations include the “Shida weishen zhao zhou” 十大威神召咒 [Incantation of Summoning the Ten Fierce Spirits] and the Ziguang xuanzhuan yuwen 紫光玄篆玉文 [Jade Text of the Profound Seal of Purple Radiance]. These texts are mostly related to thunder ritual rituals and Dipper-proclamation rituals with ties to Doumu. I have an article discussing the contents of these texts.
48. Guan, ‘Chengqi ganying: Qin’andian daochang.’
49. The Daoist ritual network is a charitable website started by a group of young and middle-aged eminent Daoist priests from the Zhengyi school in areas such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan. Its mission is to promote traditional Daoist scriptures and ritual liturgies, continuing the traditional contents of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. It preserves Daoist music, liturgies, and classics to restore Daoist traditions of internal and external cultivation. Also see Wu, ‘Wuxi Daojiao yinyue de lishi kaocha yanjiu.’
50. Foshuo Molizhi tian pusa tuoluonijing, T no. 1255a, 21: 260a1–6:
The mantra for inviting Mārīcī is also called the mantra of Mārīcī’s body. The mantra goes: namo laduonaduolayeye molizhilituoye, mopodiyishami, duozhita, polali, potuoli, polahemuxi, sapotuseshi, pantuopantuo, suopohe. 奉請摩利支天呪, 一名摩利支天身呪. 呪曰: “娜謨囉跢那跢囉夜耶, 摩唎支唎馱耶, 摩婆帝移沙彌, 跢姪他, 婆囉梨, 婆馱梨, 婆囉呵目溪, 薩婆徒瑟誓, 槃馱槃馱, 娑婆呵.”
51. Daofa huiyuan fasc. 95, Leiting feijie shizhe dafa 雷霆飛捷使者大法 [Great Ritual of the Expedient Flying Attendant of Thunder].
52. Yuyin Qianyuan dantian leifa, Daozang no. 1209, vol. 51.
53. T no. 1255a, 21: 259c12–19.
54. In his paper, Tao Jin mentions this incantation, but the sentence breaks I use differ from his. Tao Jin writes it ‘jiji yiru yuanshi shangdi, yanchi erjiao heyi’ (急急一如元始上帝, 嚴勑二教合一). I believe it should be ‘jiji yiru yuanshi shangdi yanchi, erjiao heyi an’ (急急一如元始上帝嚴勑, 二教合一唵). The full text in the Yuqing yuanshi xuanhuang jiuguang zhenjing 玉清元始玄黃九光真經 is:
In the past, the Primordial Lord abided in the Heaven of Original Blue and proclaimed the True Voice of Great Heaven ‘Spiritual Incantation to Universally Rescue the Myriad Spirits,’ which goes: ‘An! The Primordial gives birth to heaven. An! The Primordial gives birth to earth. An! The Primordial gives birth to humans. The Three Entities assume their positions and the myriad things spread and disperse. Humans do not maintain their life, and thus transform into yin spirits. Because their spirit energy is not full, they flow downward to become lesser ghosts. An! Lesser ghosts, upon hearing my jade voice, your ghastly forms disappear. Abandoning your ghastly forms, be born in my heavenly residence. An! Humans, upon hearing my jade voice, immediately discard your human actions and be born eternally among the spirits and immortals, with lifespans equal to that of heaven and earth, shining together with the sun and moon. Your one body will be blessed with fortune and your seven generations of ancestors will be glorified. The past seven generations of your ancestors will have bodies of Jade Purity. An! Heavenly beings, upon hearing my jade voice, your heavenly blessings will suddenly increase and your past karma will be forever exhausted. You will never fall from the heavens and will forever abide in Jade Purity. Quickly, quickly, be one in accordance with the strict commands of the Primordial Emperor! The two teachings merge into one! An! Quickly, quickly, be one in accordance with the commands of the pure Dharma body, the Great Sagely Lord Vairocana!’ This incantation is called the ‘Spiritual Incantation of Mixing the Primordial Eons into One and Universally Liberating the Myriad Beings’ and is the ancestor of the myriad spirits, essence of the one energy. An is the source of the true energy of the world. This mantra can protect one’s life, for there is nothing it does not subdue, nothing it does not accomplish. It gives life to the heavens and to the earth, transforms and nurtures all beings, is the basis of blessings and wisdom, and can avert calamities while prolonging life. 昔元始天尊嘗居始青天內, 說大梵真音〈普度萬靈神咒〉曰,『唵元始生天, 唵元始生地, 唵元始生人, 三才備位, 萬物紛紜. 人不保生, 化為陰神, 神炁不全, 流為下鬼. 唵下鬼聞我玉音, 鬼形即滅, 舍彼鬼形, 生我天宅. 唵人道聞我玉音, 頓捨人業, 長生神仙, 與天地同壽, 與日月合明, 一身被福, 七祖蒙榮, 既度七祖身劫玉清. 唵天道聞我玉音, 天福頓增, 宿業永盡, 不墜下天, 常居玉清. 急急一如元始上帝嚴勑, 二教合一唵, 急急一如清净法身毗盧遮那大聖主勑. 』此咒名曰〈混元劫一普度萬靈神咒〉, 萬神之祖, 一炁之宗. 唵為世界種真之炁, 咒而保命, 無所不辟, 無所不成, 生天生地, 化育群品, 為福惠基, 解厄延壽.
55. Foshuo Molizhi tian jing, T no. 1255b, 21: 1.260c5.
56. Shangqing tianxin zhengfa, DZ no. 561, vol. 10: 5.33b.
57. Ibid, 5.34a.
58. The Incantation of the Three Lights is used widely in the Shenxiao school. For instance, ‘Xiantian yiqi huolei Zhang shizhe qidao dafa’ 先天一炁火雷張使者祈禱大法 [Great Ritual to Pray to the Former Heaven One Energy Fire and Thunder Attendant Zhang]. In Daofa huiyuan 82. ‘Tiangang shengsha dafa’ 天罡生煞大法 [Great Ritual to the Dipper-Handle Stars for Birthing and Killing]. In Daofa huiyuan 211: 5a–5b.
59. From the ritual incantations in these Dipper-Handle Stars Rituals, we can see that ‘an hong hong jundali suohe’ is one of the heart incantations of the Great Sage of the Dipper-Handle Stars. In the ‘Tiangang shengsha dafa,’ one of the incantations for the stars of the Dipper handle is: ‘The Heavenly Sovereign explains the text and wears the Dipper-handle stars. Violent and evil demons of the five directions all disappear and die. With a flying immortal’s single inhalation, the myriad demons are subdued by the treasury.’ The extension to this includes reciting ‘an hong hong junnudali suohe’ three times.
60. Campany, ‘On the Very Idea of Religions.’