An Illustrated History of the Mandala: From Its Genesis to the Kalacakratantra

534 Pages·2018·42.62 MB·English

by  Kimiaki Tanaka

A UNIQUELY RICH EXPLORATION OF THE
MANDALA’S HISTORY AND MEANING.
T
his book offers a detailed history of the genesis and development of the mandala—
from its prehistory, to the fifth and sixth centuries (when the mandala first emerged in
India), to the tenth and eleventh centuries, when the Kālacakratantra appeared just
before the dissolution of Buddhism in India. The book also includes exemplars of
mandalas from Tibet, Japan, and China.
With thorough, helpful illustrations and charts and particular attention to proper
names, mudras, and mantras that have been overlooked by scholars, Tanaka also
covers topics such as
• geometric patterns,
• the arrangement of deities, and
• the mandala’s colors and their meaning in Buddhist doctrine.
Tanaka’s analysis of the development of the mandala in India is marked by new
discoveries, critical reassessments, and precise illustrations that will advance our
comprehension of this renowned symbol.

Contents
List of Figures
Foreword by Robert A. F. Thurman
Introduction: What Is the Maṇḍala?
1. The Genesis of the Maṇḍala
2. The Emergence of the Garbha-maṇḍala
3. Maṇḍalas of the Prajñāpāramitānayasūtra
4. The Emergence of the Vajradhātu-maṇḍala
5. The Emergence of the Guhyasamāja-maṇḍala
6. Maṇḍalas of the Mother Tantras
7. The Maṇḍala of the Kālacakratantra
8. The Development of the Maṇḍala and Its Philosophical Meaning
Postscript
List of Tibetan Terms
List of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Terms
About the Author
Notes
Bibliography
Index
List of Figures
Chapter 1: The Genesis of the Maṇḍala
Figure Title
1.1 Buddha triad from Ahichatra (National Museum, New Delhi)
1.2 Buddha triad (Chapel 3, Nasik Cave 23)
1.3 Mthong ba don ldan (Hahn Cultural Foundation)
1.4 The Buddha preaching the Dharma (Kanheri Cave 90)
1.5 Maṇḍala for the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra rite (Hahn Cultural Foundation)
1.6 Deities of the maṇḍala for the Bhaiṣajyagurusūtra rite
1.7 Shōugyō mandara (Tōji temple, Kyoto)
1.8 Jeweled Pavilion maṇḍala from Khara-khoto (State Hermitage Museum, St.
Petersburg)
1.9 Arrangement of deities in the Jeweled Pavilion maṇḍala
1.10 The Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha and buddhas of the four directions
1.11 From buddhas of other worlds to the five buddhas
1.12 Four buddha images at Sanchi
1.13 Four-Gate Pagoda at Dongshentongsi (Shandong province)
1.14 Garbha-maṇḍala and eight great bodhisattvas
1.15 Vairocanābhisambodhi (Archaeological Museum, Ratnagiri)
1.16 Trailokyavijaya (Mahant Complex, Buddhagaya)
1.17 Sonshō mandara and eight great bodhisattvas
1.18 Maṇḍalas in the shape of an eight-spoked wheel
Chapter 2: The Emergence of the Garbha-maṇḍala
Figure Title
2.1 Avalokiteśvara (Chapel 3, Nasik Cave 23)
2.2 Vajrapāṇi (Chapel 3, Nasik Cave 23)
2.3 General maṇḍala in 12 cubits of the Tuoluoni jijing
2.4 General maṇḍala in 16 cubits of the Tuoluoni jijing
2.5 Guhyatantra and lords of the three families
2.6a Secret maṇḍala common to the three families in the
Susiddhikaramahātantra
2.6b Maṇḍala for inviting deities to empower an article for effectuation in the
Susiddhikaramahātantra
2.6c Arrangement of the three families
2.7 Maṇḍala of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa
2.8 Maṇḍala of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa
2.9 Vast Emancipation maṇḍala (restored by Tajimi Miyoko)
2.10 Vast Emancipation maṇḍala
2.11 Vairocanābhisambodhi (ASI Storage, Lalitagiri, Orissa)
2.12a Vairocanābhisambodhi (Chapel 4, Ratnagiri)
2.12b Avalokiteśvara (Chapel 4, Ratnagiri)
2.12c Vajrapāṇi (Chapel 4, Ratnagiri)
2.13 Five buddhas at Languli
2.14 Maṇḍala of the eight great bodhisattvas (Ellora Cave 12)
2.15 Sonshō mandara
2.16 Terracotta maṇḍala (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
2.17 Maṇḍala of the Vajrapāṇyabhiṣekatantra
2.18 Tibetan Garbha-maṇḍala (Ngor version)
2.19 Tibetan Garbha-maṇḍala
2.20 Deities of the Tibetan Garbha-maṇḍala
2.21a Garbha-maṇḍala (Labrang monastery, Gansu)
2.21b Line drawing of the Garbha-maṇḍala (Raja monastery, Qinghai)
2.22 Sand maṇḍala of the Garbha-maṇḍala (Raja monastery, Qinghai)
2.23 Deities of the Garbha-maṇḍala in the Amoghapāśa chapel, Great Stūpa of
Gyantse
2.24 Twenty-five bodhisattvas in the third square of the Garbha-maṇḍala
2.25 Taizō zuzō
2.26 Taizō kyūzuyō
Chapter 3: Maṇḍalas of the Prajñāpāramitānayasūtra
Figure Title
3.1 The eighteen assemblies of the Vajraśekhara cycle
3.2 The eighteen sections of the Prajñāpāramitānayasūtra and the eighteen
maṇḍalas
3.3 Sermon Assembly maṇḍala of the Prajñāpāramitānayasūtra
3.4 The seventeen viśuddhipadas and the seventeen-deity maṇḍala
3.5 Seventeen-deity maṇḍala of Vajrasattva (Jampa Lhakhang)
3.6 Seventeen-deity maṇḍala of Vajrasattva
3.7 Wooden statue of Vajrasattva (Ropa temple, Kinnaur; © Christian
Luczanits)
3.8 Vajrasattva and the four inner offering goddesses
3.9 Vajrasattva-maṇḍala at Alchi monastery (Ladakh, India)
3.10 The structure of the Paramādyatantra
3.11 Maṇḍalas explained in the Paramādyatantra
3.12 Maṇḍalas of the Paramādyatantra according to Ānandagarbha
3.13 Paramādya-Vajrasattva maṇḍala (Shalu monastery)
3.14 Paramādya-Vajrasattva maṇḍala
3.15 Structure of the Paramādya-Vajrasattva maṇḍala
3.16 Sarvakula-maṇḍala of the Paramādyatantra (Jampa Lhakhang)
3.17 Sarvakula-maṇḍala of the Paramādyatantra
3.18 Assembly maṇḍala of the Paramādyatantra (“Mantrakhaṇḍa”)
3.19 Deities of the Assembly maṇḍala of the “Mantrakhaṇḍa”
3.20 Mantras of deities of the Assembly maṇḍala given in the “Mantrakhaṇḍa” of
the Paramādyatantra
3.21 Assembly maṇḍala of the Paramādyatantra (Shalu monastery)
3.22 Mahāyānābhisamaya-maṇḍala
3.23 Mahāyānābhisamaya-maṇḍala (Palkhor Chöde)
Chapter 4: The Emergence of the Vajradhātu-maṇḍala
Figure Title
4.1 Sand maṇḍala of the Vajradhātu-maṇḍala (Raja monastery, Qinghai)
4.2a Kue mandara
4.2b Kue mandara (Hasedera; from Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō Zuzōbu)
4.3 The Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha and Kue mandara
4.4 Vajradhātu-Vairocana (National Museum, New Delhi)
4.5 Vajradhātu-Vairocana (Udayagiri)
4.6 The five buddhas of the Vajradhātu-maṇdala (Lima Lhakhang, Potala Palace,
Tibet; © Ulrich von Schroeder)
4.7 Akṣobhya (Jajpur compound)
4.8 Amitābha (Jajpur compound)
4.9 Vajradhātu-Vairocana triad (second story, Ellora Cave 12)
4.10 The thirty-seven deities of the Vajradhātu-maṇḍala
4.11 Vajradhātu eighty-one-deity maṇḍala (Taiyūji temple, Osaka)
4.12 The sixteen great bodhisattvas and eight great bodhisattvas of the
Prajñāpāramitānayasūtra
4.13 The eight great bodhisattvas of the Prajñāpāramitānayasūtra and the
Vajradhātu-maṇḍala
4.14 Shōren’in handscroll (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
4.15 Vajradhātu-maṇḍala at Alchi monastery (© Mori Kazushi)
4.16 Vajradhātu-maṇḍala at Alchi monastery
4.17 The mutual encompassment of the five families
4.18 The Assembly maṇḍala of the Vajraśekhara (south chapel, Shalu monastery)
4.19 The expansion and contraction of the Vajradhātu-maṇḍala
4.20 Model of the great stūpa of Amarāvatī (Archaeological Museum, Amaravati)
4.21 The Vajradhātu-maṇḍala and stūpas
4.22 Sarvatathāgata-trilokacakra-maṇḍala (Palkhor Chöde)
4.23 Sarvatathāgata-trilokacakra-maṇḍala
4.24 The Navoṣṇīṣa-maṇḍala of the Durgatipariśodhanatantra
4.25 Dharmadhātuvāgīśvara-maṇḍala (center)
Chapter 5: The Emergence of the Guhyasamāja-maṇḍala
Figure Title
5.1 The thirteen basic deities of Guhyasamājatantra
5.2 The four wrathful deities of the Guhyasamājatantra
5.3 Nineteen-deity Mañjuvajra-maṇḍala (Tsatsapuri, Ladakh; © Mori Kazushi)
5.4 Nineteen-deity Mañjuvajra-maṇḍala
5.5 Thirty-two-deity Akṣobhyavajra-maṇḍala
5.6 Sand maṇḍala of the Akṣobhyavajra-maṇḍala (Raja monastery, Qinghai)
5.7 The differentiation of the body into one hundred clans
5.8 Forty-two peaceful deities
5.9 Mañjuvajra (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
5.10 Doctrinal categories assigned to deities of the Guhyasamāja
5.11 Basic structure of skandhadhātvāyatana in the Guhyasamājatantra
5.12 Kṛṣṇayamāri-maṇḍala and Vajrabhairava-maṇḍala
5.13 Māyājāla-maṇḍala (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
5.14 Māyājāla-maṇḍala
5.15 Four buddha statues from Haripur
Chapter 6: Maṇḍalas of the Mother Tantras
Figure Title
6.1 The structure of the Samāyogatantra
6.2 Samāyoga-maṇḍala (Kyilkhor Lhakhang, Palkhor Chöde)
6.3 Arrangement of the six families in the Samāyoga-maṇḍala
6.4 From the Paramādyatantra to the Samāyogatantra
6.5 Two-armed Heruka (Bangladesh National Museum)
6.6 The twenty-eight dbang phyug ma and the consorts of twenty deities in the
Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha
6.7 Brahmā, Kumāra, and their consorts in the Trailokyavijaya-mahāmaṇḍala
(Vairocana chapel, Alchi, Ladakh; © Katō Kei)
6.8 Hevajra (Paharpur, Bangladesh)
6.9 Nine-deity Hevajra-maṇḍala and fifteen-deity Nairātmyā-maṇḍala
6.10 Doctrinal categories assigned to deities of the Hevajra cycle
6.11 Cakrasaṃvara (Patna Museum)
6.12 Sixty-two-deity Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala (Shey monastery, Ladakh; © Mori
Kazushi)
6.13 Sixty-two-deity Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala
6.14 Names of deities in the sixty-two-deity Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala
6.15 Names of deities in the Body maṇḍala of the Saṃvara cycle
6.16 Doctrinal categories assigned to deities of the Saṃvara cycle
6.17 The sixty-two-deity Cakrasaṃvara-maṇḍala and thirty-seven prerequisites
for the attainment of enlightenment
Chapter 7: The Maṇḍala of the Kālacakratantra
Figure Title
7.1 Kings of Śambhala: Yaśas, Puṇḍarīka, and Bhadra (Raja monastery, Qinghai)
7.2 Sand maṇḍala of the Kālacakra-maṇḍala (Raja monastery, Qinghai)
7.3 Kāyavākcittapariniṣpanna-Kālacakra-maṇḍala
7.4 Kāyavākcittapariniṣpanna-Kālacakra-maṇḍala (Mind maṇḍala)
7.5 Kālacakra-mahāsaṃvara-maṇḍala
7.6 Names of deities in the Kālacakra-mahāsaṃvara-maṇḍala
7.7 Kāyavākcittapariniṣpanna-Kālacakra-maṇḍala and thirty-seven prerequisites
for the attainment of enlightenment
7.8 Cosmology of the Kālacakra-maṇḍala
7.9 Correspondences between the four circles and the Kālacakra-maṇḍala
7.10 Thirty-six basic deities of the Kālacakratantra
7.11 Basic structure of skandhadhātvāyatana and action organs in the
Kālacakratantra
Chapter 8: The Development of the Maṇḍala and Its Philosophical Meaning
Figure Title
8.1 Three basic patterns of the maṇḍala
8.2 Arrangement of deities in the Vajradhātu-maṇḍala
8.3 Color schemes of the courtyard (A–D)
8.3 Color schemes of the courtyard (E–H)
8.4 Parts of the maṇḍala and the thirty-seven prerequisites for the attainment of
enlightenment
8.5 Kālacakra-maṇḍala seen from a philosophical viewpoint
8.6 Historical development of Indian esoteric Buddhism