The Chinese Origins of Dali Esoteric Buddhism 389

Chapter 16

The Chinese Origins of Dali Esoteric Buddhism

Translated by Ilia Mozias and Meir Shahar

Hou Chong

Situated between China, Tibet, and India the Dali 大理 region of Yunnan
Province is home to a living tradition of esoteric Buddhism. The origins of this
esoteric tradition—which is known as the “Religion of the Ācāryas” (Azhali
jiao 阿吒力教, or Asheli jiao 阿阇梨教)—have long puzzled scholars. Each of
the civilizations surrounding it has been proposed as the source of Dali eso-
teric Buddhism. Some have argued that Yunnan inherited its esoteric tradition
from medieval China; others have sought similarities between it and the adja-
cent Tibetan tradition; others still have claimed that the Tantric movement
had been transmitted to Yunnan directly from its native India. Adding to the
confusion, some scholars have highlighted the singularity of the “Religion of
the Ācāryas,” considering it a distinct system in its own right. This supposedly
autonomous tradition is sometimes referred to as Dianmi 滇密 (Yunnan
Esoteric Buddhism).
In this essay I examine the origins of Yunnan esoteric Buddhism from the
perspective of written documents and art works that can be traced back—
directly or indirectly—to the Dali-Kingdom Period (937–1253). I demonstrate
the indebtedness of these documents to earlier Chinese sources. The Dali
scriptures are textually related to Chinese antecedents (some of which have
been discovered at the famed Dunhuang grottoes in Chinese Central Asia).
Hence, I suggest that the foundations of Dali esoteric Buddhism were laid in
medieval China. The Dali religion is an offshoot of the esoteric tradition that
crystallized in medieval China.
The essay is divided into three parts: The first examines three Dali manu-
scripts that outline the esoteric “ritual of feeding the hungry ghosts” (shishiyi
施食儀); the second analyzes the scriptural sources of the famed Kunming
dhāraṇī-pillar (jingchuang 經幢); and the third returns to the above-men-
tioned manuscripts in the larger context of the Water and Land Rites to which
they were intimately related. The three sections alike evince the indebtedness
of the Dali materials to earlier Chinese antecedents. Evidently, the Dali
Kingdom inherited its esoteric tradition from medieval China.
The essay builds upon earlier research projects of mine that have sought to
demonstrate the Chinese origins of Yunnan esoteric Buddhism. In previous

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2017 | doi 10.1163/9789004340503_018

390 Hou

studies I have inspected other texts and art works dating from the Nanzhao 南
詔 (738–902) and Dali Kingdom (937–1253) periods, all of which similarly draw
upon Chinese sources (Hou Chong 1995, 2001, 2006, 2012a, 2012b).

Feeding the Hungry Ghosts

In 1956, Fei Xiaotong 費孝通 and his colleagues conducted field work at the
small village of Beitangtian 北湯天 in the outskirts of Dali. The village was
home to the Dong 董 clan, whose members had served—during the Dali-
Kingdom period—as “national preceptors.” The clan’s ancestral temple yielded
several manuscripts, which shed invaluable light on the evolution of Dali eso-
teric Buddhism. Three of these concern the ritual of feeding the hungry ghosts
(Hou Chong 2006, 2012c):1

a The Esoteric Ritual of Food Distribution [ for the Hungry Ghosts]

Dating from the Dali-Kingdom period (937–1253), this single-scroll (juan 卷)
handwritten manuscript is fastened by “whirlwind binding” (xuanfeng Zhuang
旋風裝). Severely damaged, its opening and ending are missing. It is currently
stored at the Yunnan Provincial Library. It has not been included in any printed
edition of Buddhist canon.
The text consists entirely of the invocation writs (qiqing wen 啟請文) that
are used in esoteric ritual. It carries several titles and colophons including:
“Written by the State Preceptor, the Ācārya [Teacher] Wang Dezhang” (Guoshi
azuoli Wang Dezhang shu 國師阿左梨王德彰書); “The National Preceptor
Abhiṣeka [Initiation] Ācārya [Teacher] Wang Qiande” (Guoshi guanding azuoli
Wang Qiande 國師灌頂大阿左梨王乾德); and “The Food-Distribution [Rituals]
for Averting Calamities and Attaining Purity” (Xizai chujing sanshi 息災觸淨散
食). Hence modern scholars have titled it The Esoteric Ritual of Food Distribution
[ for the Hungry Ghosts] (Mijiao sanshi yi 密教散食儀).

b Rituals for the Dharma Assembly of Unobstructed Lamps and Food

The contents of this early-Ming handwritten manuscript date to the Dali-
Kingdom period. A copy is preserved in the library of the Yunnan Academy of
Social Sciences. The manuscript bears no title and its opening is missing.
Originally in scroll form, it was cut and bound as a book at some unknown

1 On later-period Dali manuscripts that concern the feeding of hungry ghosts see Hou Chong
2008a, 119–126.