Esoteric, Chan and Vinaya Ties in Tang Buddhism

Abstract

This paper explores the reconstruction of the ordination platform in the Huishan monastery on Mount Song in 767 in the context of the reinforcement of pro-Buddhist policies at the court of Emperor Daizong (r. 762–779). The vinaya monks and state officials who engaged in this platform’s reconstruction are identified as associates of two prominent monastic figures: Amoghavajra (Bukong jin’gang; 704–774), an Esoteric leader at the imperial court; and Songshan Puji (651–739), regarded as the seventh patriarch in the Northern Chan tradition. The key roles played by disciples of these two masters in the reconstruction of the Huishan platform attest to significant congruence in ritual practices between proponents of the Esoteric and Chan groups in Tang dynasty China, primarily in the areas of precept conferral and monastic ordination.