Wen’gu and Tang Esoteric Buddhism

Abstract

Wen’gu 温古, known as “Wen’gu, the Śramaṇa of Mt. Song” 嵩岳沙門温古, put into writing the translations of the Jin’gangding yujia zhong lüechu niansong jing 金剛頂瑜伽中略出念誦経 and the Qijuzhi fomu Zhunti daming tuoluoni jing 七俱胝仏母准提大明陀羅尼経 made by Vajrabodhi (671–741) at the Zisheng-si in the eleventh year of Kaiyuan (723). From his introduction to the Darijing yishi 大日経義釈, we learn that Wen’gu received the teachings of the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra from Śubhakarasiṃha as his disciple, and also details on how those teachings were transmitted in China. Accordingly, Wen’gu was involved in the transmission in China of the lineages of both the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi-sūtra and the Vajraśekhara. Wen’gu shared a common ancestor with the brothers Wang Wei (王維699–761) and Wang Jin (王縉700–781), and was a cousin to them. Wang Wei mentions the Zisheng-si and Qinglong-si monasteries in his poems, and can be conjectured to have had an interest in esoteric Buddhism. Wang Jin supported Amoghavajra’s concept of esoteric Buddhism to protect the state, and provided financial assistance to the construction of Jin’ge-si 金閣寺. It may be assumed that both Wang Wei and Wang Jin were influenced by Wen’gu and had an interest in esoteric Buddhism. In these regards, Wen’gu contributed to the development of Chinese esoteric Buddhism.