Conjuring the Buddha

In Conjuring the Buddha: Ritual Manuals in Early Tantric Buddhism, Jacob P. Dalton embarks on an ambitious journey of narrating the transmission and transformation of early Indian tantric Buddhism. This much-contested story of how Indian tantric Buddhist rituals took root outside India is supported by his meticulous study of ritual manuals and surrounding materials at Dunhuang. Sitting at a once vibrant crossroad of diverse cultures in Central, South, and East Asia and known for its grotto caves, Dunhuang was a fertile ground for ritual and textual innovations in tantric Buddhism. The sizable cache of documents in Cave 17 (or the “Library Cave”) in particular, sealed in the 11^th century and rediscovered only in the 20^th century, provides a rare glimpse into the early stage of tantric Buddhist literature.

This highly localized project requires familiarity and expertise in classical Buddhist tantra and in the specificities of religious life in Dunhuang. With decades of experience examining these manuscripts, especially the Tibetan collection, Dalton leverages his mastery of this rare collection of lived texts to present a convincing case of ritual manuals as “the DNA of early tantric Buddhism” (7), and should be considered as a site of creative articulation for Buddhist literature and ritual in general. Ritual manuals are, according to Dalton, demonstrative of the process of localization that occurs as Buddhism migrates across diverse cultural, historical, and geographical domains. These texts are constantly produced, used, changed, and changed yet again by the local community based on their own needs and conditions. The adaptability and openness to innovation of these texts “helped make tantric Buddhism possible” (28) and contributed to the successful spread of Buddhism in general. In addition to its contribution to our knowledge of early tantric Buddhism, this case study also invites broader considerations outside the study of Buddhism. These considerations include advocating for a methodology of textual study that evolves around localized and extra-canonical exemplars, as well as on an approach in ritual studies that incorporates these written materials.

Chapters in this book progress through the stages of development of tantric literature and narrate a story that gradually elevates the practitioner from earlier to later, and higher, stages of tantra. The first chapter, “Ritual Manuals and the Spread of the Local,” opens with the canonical genre of dhāraṇī, or spells. Many such texts are found in Dunhuang, providing evidence of the presence of practices such as copying and recitation of these spells. The Dunhuang Tibetan texts also contain examples of mixing dhāraṇī sutras and tantras together, as well as the creation of dhāraṇī ritual manuals. These all speak to a theory of the growth of tantra as a gradual, cumulative process, based on pre-existing canonical literature, but also spearheaded by the flexible genre of ritual manuals.

The subsequent chapters follow the same query into the continuities and innovations in Dunhuang ritual manuals, and aim to chart the growth and development of tantric Buddhist literature according to their respective textual focuses. Beginning with the initiation ritual, which introduces practitioners into the tantric circle, the early tantric literature shows textual links to dhāraṇī texts that are evident in IOL Tib J 439/712, two manuals examined in chapter 2. Once moving into the post-initiation space, the practitioner then works their way through sādhana rituals that call for the deities, invite the practitioner to identify with them, and allow direct experience of the ultimate bliss. These form the main discussion in chapters 3 and 4, where Dalton delves into the shift in tantric literature from prose to verse forms, and from descriptive and instructional to evocative and poetic language. The path culminates in the final chapter on the perfection-stage subtle breathing practice, exemplified by Pelliot tibétain 626 and 634, two Mahāyoga commentaries that fully embrace poetic language to create a vast space for imagination.

Dalton’s argument is supported by rigorous textual scholarship and keen attention to detail. Chapters 2 through 5 are all accompanied by a full translation of the text that is the main focus of the chapter. All the chapters are aptly illustrated with images of the Dunhuang manuscripts as well as other relevant materials such as murals and paintings, which directly impress the readers with the visual nature of ritual manuals and the interconnection between texts, objects, and ritual action. I would also like to note Dalton’s consistently close attention to philological details, including how tense, person, and grammar prescribe the relationship between ritual participants (64–68), and how syllabic change could hint at a text’s composite nature (180).

Instead of offering a definitive, sweeping claim, this history of early tantric rituals presents itself within the confines of Dunhuang manuscripts. However, several aspects of this history—the root of some tantric rituals in dhāraṇī literature, the move from prose to verse, and the rise of poetic language in association with later-stage practices—will certainly inspire future research on tantric literature in other contexts. Some might consider this book to be highly specific, but I would argue that its focused attention on Tibetan ritual manuals from Dunhuang is par for the course, and should be considered a merit. While it is not meant to be an overview of Buddhist tantra, I could see this book being assigned in a graduate seminar on research methods in manuscript studies or ritual studies beyond the context of tantric Buddhism, or in an advanced Tibetan language class where portions of this book could prove highly instructive. In addition to those interested in tantric Buddhism and Dunhuang Studies in particular, readers who wish to gain a fresh perspective on the thematic threads of ritual manuals or religious migration in general would also find this book useful.

Jue Liang is an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Case Western Reserve University.

Jue Liang

Date Of Review:

March 13, 2024