This study investigates the constitutive elements of a prototantric scripture, the Mahamayuri Vidya-rajni sutra (MMVR) in its Chinese translations. The Scripture of the Great Peahen, Queen Protectress consists of long lists of indian divinities, most of them non-Buddhist, followed by Sanskrit magical spells (dharaṇi) which were used in ritual to bring rain, conquer enemies, cure sickness, and eliminate a host of other obstacles. The language of the text is hermetic and describes a pantheon of gods and goddesses which were completely alien to the Chinese patrons who sponsored the performance of the rites of the MMVR by Buddhist specialists. Despite this, there were no less than six known Chinese translations, dating from the 4th to the 8th centuries, and Japanese historical chronicles testify to its continued use till the 13th century in Japan. This essay offers a complete translation of the Scripture, and explores the rationale of the text. It seeks to analyze the tradition of the Pali protection spells (paritta) and tries to understand the role of non-Buddhist divinities within the Buddhist context of magical protection and the Chinese traditions of invocation and propitiatory spells. By reviewing influential theories about the evolution of Buddhist esotericism, the author tries to ascertain the place and role of the Scripture and its central divinity, the Great Peahen (Mahamayuri), in the formation of Tantrism.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.38179 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | DesJardins, J. F. Marc. |
| Contributors | Dean, Kenneth (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of East Asian Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001871917, proquestno: NQ78675, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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