Interpretation of the Unique Dhāraṇīs: Focusing on the Shi Moheyan lun 釋摩訶衍論

ABSTRACT The Shi Moheyan lun 釋摩訶衍論 is the commentary on the Awakening of Mahāyāna Faith 大乘起信論. Kūkai 空海 (774–835), the Shingon founder, placed this text in a key position in Shingon Teachings. Later, Emperor Daozong 道宗 (r. 1055–1101) of Liao 遼 also valued the Shi Moheyan lun. One of the common reasons why Kūkai and Daozong paid attention to the Shi Moheyan lun is that it includes elements of both exoteric and esoteric Buddhism. The Shi Moheyan lun’s various mantras are described in Fascicles 8 and 9. The distinct feature of these mantras is its characters’ unique shape, which is only found in the Shi Moheyan lun. Therefore, it is hard to understand exactly what this means and where they came from. Through this study, I examine the meaning of the unusual mantras of the Shi Moheyan lun with its commentaries of Chinese and Japanese books in the tenth and thirteenth centuries. From this, I determine not only their meaning but also their origin, and reveal the relationships and tendencies of esoteric Buddhism in China and Japan.