Tibetan Texts from Khara-Khoto on Acala and Jvālāmukhī Preserved at the IOM, RAS

Abstract

The paper deals with two Tibetan manuscripts from Khara-Khoto that contain instructions on a variety of Tantric rites connected with the wrathful deity Acala treated here as Bhagavān, i.e. an Enlightened one, and the demoness Jvālāmukhī (Kha ’bar ma). Summarized contents of all the fragments are introduced in the paper. Both manuscripts mention the 11th c. Indian guru Vajrāsana whose Tibetan disciple Bari Lotsāwa is said to have brought his instruction on the Jvālāmukhī torma offering to Tibet. Another line of transmission of this practice goes back to Atiśa. The practice was certainly shaped by the first half of the 12th c. but the Indian authenticity of the demoness who gave it her name seems to be somewhat dubious.

Full Text

The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (IOM) of the Russian Academy of Sciences preserves a great number of texts found in Khara-Khoto by P.K. Kozlov (1863–1935) during his famous Mongolia and Sichuan expedition (1907–1909). Texts in Tangut compose the bulk of his findings, texts in Chinese are also quite numerous. In comparison with them the Tibetan part is relatively small, the items being mostly fragments of manuscripts.¹ The recent cataloguing work carried out by a group of the IOM researchers² has shown that the collection has about 90 texts of various size³ that can be safely attributed to Khara-Khoto. About one half of this number is covered by texts on Tantric rituals. Since all of them are fragments it is not always possible to clearly identify which deities they are devoted to. However, three groups of manuscripts that relate to the cults of several major Tantric deities were defined, namely those on 1) Cakrasaṃvara and Vajravвrвhо, 2) Vajrapāṇi, 3) Mahākāla and Śrī Devī. One manuscript presents a collection of texts on Acala, a less famous Tantriс deity, but treated as Bhagavān, i.e. an enlightened one.⁴ Another manuscript contains instructions on the torma (ritual cakes) of Jvālāmukhī (Kha ’bar ma in Tibetan), a demoness or minor goddess who gave her name to this practice but whose actual role in the rites described is not quite clear.

This paper is aimed at considering the manuscripts on Acala and Jvālāmukhī (both have references to the 11th c. Indian master Vajrāsana the Younger⁵) while each of the three major groups deserves a separate analysis. The main purpose of the paper is to provide scholars of Tangut Buddhism with concrete data on Tantric rites attested in the Tibetan sources from Khara-Khoto. The Tibetan texts of the manuscripts are to be presented in full in the forthcoming catalogue, therefore only few samples of them are published here. To avoid some difficulties that an entire translation of the texts would have caused I decided to summarize their contents, securing thus a larger corpus of information to be available at once to the colleagues.

I. The collection of ritual texts on Acala: ХТ-19 and ХТ-173

Although presently Acala does not belong to the circle of most popular objects of worship in Tibetan Buddhism, it is certainly a recognized figure. There are numerous texts (hymns, sādhanās, etc.) that deal with him, some of them being canonical translations found in the Bstan ’gyur. Six forms of his are included in the Seventh Panchen Lama’s (1782–1853) album of Buddhist iconography known as Rin byung.⁶ The first of them is also attested in the Tangut icons brought by Kozlov from Khara-Khoto and held in the State Hermitage.⁷ It is the most standard form of Acala with two arms that grasp a sword and a lasso and with two legs, the left knee resting on the earth. Most probably, it was this form that the Tibetan texts from Khara-Khoto were devoted to. However, it may be only an assumption since the fragments we have contain no description of the deity.⁸

The extant manuscript consists of twelve numbered folios, almost all of them (nos. 7, 11–20) belong to ХТ-19 while one folio (no. 10) belongs to ХТ-173. The folios are of small pothi format, about 19×9 cm in size. Each folio is made of two layers, paper is brownish. The text is written quite clearly in the dbu med script, seven lines per page. However, some syllables cannot be read easily because of damage made by water; f. 15 misses a small fragment with the text on the right side. There are no frames drawn, but the foliation is written to the left of the text area on the recto sides. It is difficult to date the manuscript, but I think it could be produced during the Xi Xia time, i.e. in the 12th or early 13th cc.

We cannot know how many folios the manuscript used to consist of, and whether it was devoted solely to Acala. All the present texts belong to his cult, only one of them being complete. The contents of each part can be summarized as follows.

1. Bcom ldan ’das myi g.yo’ ba’i chu sbyin gi cho ga

F. <...>7a1–7a8.

This is the ending of the text called in the colophon The Ritual of Water Offering to Bhagavān Acala. One visualizes the space in front to be filled with sentient beings and irradiates shining from a bīja (seed syllable) in one’s heart. Just by touch of the light all sentient beings are purified of their sins, then all get transformed into the body of Acala. A three-pointed vajra on his tongue serves as a pipe through which amṛtā (divine nectar) is pulled and consumed. Acala is visualized as being full of splendor and shining. All people present dedicate their roots of virtues to the purpose of the Enlightenment, and then the water offering is over. The body of Acala gets invisible, the water (that was used) is poured on earth.

2. [Instructions concerning a protection circle]

F. 7b1—7b7<?>.

Only the beginning is available since this fragment can hardly belong to the same text with the following fragment. Homage is paid to Bhagavān Acala. The topic of the text, i.e. the protection circle aimed at pacifying all the obstacles, is defined. The instructions on how this magical object should be produced are set out. The preparatory aspects include time (the day of the constellation of Puṣya⁹ or the Planet Jupiter), materials for drawing (silk or paper), for making a reed pen (palm tree bark) and ink (based on elephant bile, mixed with ‘male’ white sandal and ‘female’ saffron). The schematic description of the protection circle with the name of the object of the protection written in the middle is provided. It was certainly followed with the instructions on the consecration of the circle, but only the beginning of this passage is available to us.

3. Ma ’dal gi cho ga

F. <…>10a1–10b4.

The extant fragment of the text called in the colophon The Maṇḍala Ritual starts with a remark that ends up the topic of the maṇḍala consecration, the brief and extensive maṇḍalas being mentioned. Then the maṇḍala of nine deities is exposed, their names, locations and mantras being provided. Acala is placed in the center, Vairocana (white) in the east, Ratnasambhava (yellow) in the south, Amitābha (red) in the west, Amoghasiddhi (green) in the north, Buddhalocanā in the southeast, Māmakī in the southwest, Pāṇḍaravāsinī in the northwest, Tārā in the northeast.¹⁰ Offerings are made to each of the nine deities and concluding manipulations with the jñānasattva and samayasattva performed,¹¹ the latter being dissolved in one’s heart. This is the end of the fragment concerning the extensive maṇḍala, this phrase preceding the colophon. It is not clear whether the text contained a part on the brief maṇḍala, too.

4. Myi g.yo’ ba’i sbyin sregs kyi cho ga

4a. °rnal ’byor ba’i don du <kya?>ng dum du byas pa

F. 10b5–14b8.

This text and the following one are treated here as two parts of the same entity although each of them has its own colophon. Both of them, however, have the same title, The Ritual of the Fire Offering to Acala, appended with different additional characteristics that rather look like as commentary remarks than parts of the original titles. The addition to the first text states that it is “divided into fragments for a yogin’s convenience”.

The text begins with a homage to the Protector Acala and designation of its aim as pacification of the vighna and vināyaka demons of obstacles. The hearth should fit this kind of ritual. Thus, it must be white and round, of certain size in width and depth, anointed with fragrant water, etc. The ritual utensils, offering substances and materials for making fire (including fragrant firewood, half a cubit in length) are briefly discussed. The yogin, full of compassion, takes a seat, facing the east, wearing white clothes and crown with skulls; he eradiates white mantras and light. He visualizes himself as the wrathful king (apparently, Acala), this process being outlined. Then the actual ritual starts, the fire being “taken from the saṃgha”, i.e. the yogin’s assistants light it. Oil is poured three times, and in the flaming hearth the deity of fire is generated. The process is described in some details, including iconographic features (the color of his body is reddish-yellow, he has one face and four arms, the right two holding the hearth and beads, the left two — the curved stick) and a stanza to be recited to invite the jñānasattva of the deity:

Arrive here, come here, Great Spirit,

King of Fire, Supreme Ascetic!

To taste the food thrown in fire,

Please, take the flaming seat!

Afterwards, the offerings are made with mantras and hymns. Between the five offerings and offerings of various seeds, etc., the quality of fire is inspected. Any obstacles found are removed by means of the Wrathful King’s mantra and white mustard seeds.

When this stage is over, the yogin visualizes the hearth as the emptiness, from which appear the syllable PAṂ, that gets transformed into a multicolored lotus, and RAṂ, that gets transformed into a sun; the dark-blue HŪṂ appears atop of them and gets transformed into a sword with the same syllable on its hilt. It produces light that fulfills all the aims of the sentient beings. Then the light returns and gets transformed into the body of the Wrathful King. The invitation of his jñānasattva is described. The offerings to him follow one after another, the substances he receives include red sticks, sesame, straw, white mustard seeds, curds, milk-soup, fruit, barley, wheat, medicines. This topic is discussed at some length; all necessary acts of worship, including a praise and confession of sins, being completed, the yogin expresses pleas to the deity about protecting the sentient beings, fulfilling their aims, granting appropriate siddhis (supernatural powers). Then the jñānasattva leaves for Uru (Dbu ru) in Central Tibet but the yogin asks him to visit their place later again. The samayasattva is dissolved in the yogin’s heart.

The final series of offerings to the deity of fire conclude the ritual, the remaining substances being burnt. The jñānasattva leaves, the samayasattva is visualized as ash in the shape of the deity of fire. Then the torma is shared, the one-hundred syllable mantra of Vajrasattva¹² recited, the ash, etc. collected.

This text is said to be composed in accordance with the Tantra in Nine Chapters (le’u rgu ba’i rgyud)¹³ and instructions of Guru Vajrāsana (’gu ru rdo rje gdan pa).

4b. °bla ma rdo rje gdan pas mdzad pa’

F. 15a1–15b7.

The additional part of the title announces that the text was “composed by Guru Vajrāsana” — the same master (just the word bla ma is used instead of ’gu ru) who was mentioned at the end of the text 4a as one of the two sources of information about the pacifying ritual. The latter belongs to the first of the four types of tantric rites. The text 4b provides the details that are necessary to perform the three other types of rites using the same frame of actions.

The increasing fire offering is made to increase riches and merits. The hearth is rectangular and yellow. The fire is taken from near the king. The firewood must be one cubit and five(?) fingers long. The hearth inside must be cleaned. Four people arrange the substances to be burnt on the four sides. Curds are offered first.

The subduing fire offering is performed to subdue or assemble and put under control any malevolent forces. The hearth is semicircular and red. The firewood is one cubit long. The deity of fire is red. The fire is taken from a prostitute(?)¹⁴.

For the fierce fire offering (aimed at killing, etc. of the malevolent forces if they cannot be simply subdued) the triangular and black hearth is used. The firewood should have thorns. The yogin should face north, his clothes and crown be black. The fire is taken from a cemetery. The deity of fire appears in the middle of the hearth. All lamps should be removed, the “divine cakes” sprinkled with blood, various poisonous substances offered, the torma offerings made black, the linga effigy cut into pieces and offered to the deity.

5. [’Phags pa myi g.yo’ ba’i sbyin sregs]

F. 16a1—20b8<...>.

The text is not full, there is no title at the beginning, it starts with a homage to Bhagavān Acala and an introductory remark used for the heading here (italicized in the quote): “if it is needed to make the fire offering to Bhagavān Acala…”. It is an extensive description of the ritual of the same type as the one exposed in the text 4a. This one is more detailed — the five extant folios exceed by length the four folios of the latter and yet they only get to the point when the jñānasattva of Acala arrives and the yogin starts serving him. This text has some alterations from the previous one but it generally follows the same line, hence my summary will be schematic, with an attention paid to the details that may be notable for certain reasons.

The material aspects are discussed in the first two sections of the text: 1) concerning the hearth (thab bsham pa’o): the measurements and prescriptions how to prepare the hearth, which is of round shape, are provided; it should be covered with white paint mixed with amṛta, the eight-petaled lotus drawn on it and a hand imprint made in its center; the so-called “fire mountain” (constructed with kuśa grass¹⁵ and firewood) is also treated; 2) concerning the substances (rdzas bsham pa’o): offering articles and vessels to hold them are discussed.

The yogin who performs the ritual should put on white crown and clothes, take a sit on the throne in the posture of Maitreya (i.e. with both legs down), facing the east. He makes the preliminary actions that lead to generating the samayasattva of the deity of fire that has a reddish-yellow smiling face, rides a goat and is surrounded with the host of sages (drang srong), in his right two hands he holds a rosary and grants boons, in his left two hands he holds a stick and a hearth. The next stage is the invitation of the jñānasattva. After that, preliminary offerings (of water, flowers, etc.) accompanied with relevant mantras are made to him. The inspection of the fire follows then. A series of actions are prescribed to check whether the fire has some obstructing forces (bgregs bcas mye) which can be recognized by certain signs such as dense black smoke, shining that alternatively takes forms reminding a lance, a basket and a bull’s head, very harsh sounds, the tongues of fire reaching the performer, etc. If obstructing forces are detected, all the substances should be cleansed with purifying water, and oil be offered seven times. Then the offering of the substances starts, each of them being accompanied with its own mantra. It is visualized that the firewood and kuśa grass are offered to the light, oil to the face of the deity of fire, all other substances to his hands. Moreover, each substance, except for sesame, is additionally empowered with a secret mantra (provided in the text). Each substance and each mantra are offered seven times. The yogin performs several other actions such as making the five general offerings, raising a praise while holding a vajra and a bell, and purifying water and all sacrificial articles. Afterwards the jñānasattva of Acala is invited (his iconography is not explained), the offering of washing water, etc. are made, all the substances to be burnt are blessed with the triple OṂ A(Ḥ) HŪṂ and visualized as amṛta, the yogin offers each of them with the mantra OṂ CAṆḌAMAHĀROṢANA HŪṂ PHAṬ| SARVA-PAPAṂ such-and-such ŚĀNTI KURU SVĀHĀ! Once more the general offerings are made, the yogin offers the torma, recites a hymn, makes a confession of faults, expresses his pleas and scatters flowers. The words “Again, whatever small inappropriate things I have committed…” conclude the extant fragment.

II. The manuscript on the Jvālāmukhī torma offering: ХТ-72

This manuscript has the title page with the following heading: Kha ’bar ma’i gtor chen gyi dbu’o, i.e. The beginning of the great torma offering of Jvālāmukhī starts [here]. Although the name of Jvālāmukhī, or Kha ’bar ma (the Flame-Faced One), appears in the title, her presence in the text is almost intangible. Her place in the Buddhist pantheon is not quite clear and deserves a brief tentative survey.

Her figure is attested in the canonical dhāraṇīsūtra available in two versions entitled Yi dags kha nas me ’bar ba la skyabs mdzad pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (The dhāraṇī of the refuge for the pretī Jvālāmukhī) and Yi dags kha ’bar ma dbugs dbyung ba’i gtor ma’i cho ga (The ritual of the torma that relieves the pretī Jvālāmukhī).¹⁶ No Sanskrit titles are provided, no translators or editors named in the colophons; therefore, it is very difficult to date the texts. They tell the same story about the Buddha’s disciple Ānanda who meditated once in a solitary place. At night pretī Jvālāmukhī, a very ugly ghost demoness with the flaming face, appeared to him and said that Ānanda would die in a week (according to the first text) or a day (according to the second text) and get reborn as a preta in that place if he did not make a gigantic offering of food and drinks to a colossal number of the hungry ghosts and please one hundred thousand Brahmanical sages. This offering, if successfully made, could allow Jvālāmukhī herself to die and be reborn in the realm of gods. Terribly frightened, Ānanda ran to the Buddha and told him about this encounter. However, the Buddha comforted him and passed a dhāraṇī that had to be uttered seven times upon the torma offering (a series of other manipulations with the latter were also prescribed, the first text being more detailed in this regard). The rite was declared to be able to magically transform the torma to the extent needed to please Jvālāmukhī and other hungry ghosts and Brahmanical sages and, moreover, bring a lot of other benefits to various sentient beings. The sūtra does not tell the end of the story but, obviously, Ānanda successfully avoided the danger and, thanks to his offering, Jvālāmukhī obtained a better reincarnation.

ХТ-72 contains a reference to this canonical story in its concluding part which may be an appendix to the main text. This part refers to Atiśa (982–1054) as the bestower of the instruction contained in it. The famous Buddhist master seems to have treated the Jvālāmukhī torma offering as an important practice if we are to believe The Blue Annals according to which one of Atiśa’s disciples, ’Dzeng Dgon pa pa (1016–1082), obtained it from him before all other instructions and, therefore, he also taught it first to his own disciple Sne’u zur pa.¹⁷ Atiśa’s tradition is also attested in the Snar thang brgya rtsa collection compiled by Mchims nam mkha’ grags (1210–1285): it contains a short ritual text attributed to Jo bo rje lha gcig, the honorific name of the great Indian paṇḍita.¹⁸

In the history of transmission of the Jvālāmukhī torma rites in Tibet another Indian master, namely Vajrāsana [the Younger], played a significant role. He instructed his Tibetan disciple Bari Lotsāwa¹⁹ to use this practice to escape harm that a tīrthika (non-Buddhist practitioner) named Bhavyarāja could inflict on him; the ritual resulted in the latter’s death. ХТ-72 is said to contain the instructions taught by Bari Lotsāwa and transmitted through four consequent masters. It is not clear if this tantric tradition knew about the canonical dhāraṇīsūtra, but the Buddha Śākyamuni possesses an important place in the ritual, since he is visualized in the center of the maṇḍala being surrounded by his fourteen disciples.

To make the situation even more complicated we find another tradition from approximately the same period that deals with the protective deity Black Flaming Mouth (Kha ’bar ma nag po). It refers to the Tibetan yogin and translator Rngog lo tsā ba Blo ldan shes rab (1059–1109) and seems to have no relation to Indian sources; the deity is evoked in the death-deceiving rituals by means of “the large torma comprising all five pleasures”.²⁰ She obviously acts as a dharmapāla in this tradition. The Khara-Khoto manuscript also mentions that Vajrāsana treated his Flame-Faced goddess as a dharmapāla, but does not refer to her as a deity involved in the visualization of magical actions. It is also true to the other texts I was able to check. Thus, according to the Sakya hierarch Bsod nams brtse mo (1142–1182), the master who performs the rite can generate “the pride” of any personal deity (yi dam) he likes, while his mantric assistant (sngags g.yog) — “the pride” of any wrathful deity he likes.²¹ XT-72 names Amṛtakuṇḍali in this regard, while several other texts prefer Vajravidāraṇa.²² Moreover, the later Sakya master Zhu chen Tshul khrims rin chen (1697–1774), who composed a text about a white form of the deity (Kha ’bar ma dkar mo), instructs the yogin to generate “the pride” of the Buddha Śākyamuni,²³ emphasizing the Indian origins of the practice.

In the colophon to his text Zhu chen Tshul khrims rin chen claims that he relied on the 9th c. great Indian yogin Padmasambhava’s instructions which had been concealed by him in Lho brag gnam skas can, a place in the south-east of Tibet, and discovered by Guru Chos kyi dbang phyug (1212–1270). Padmasambhava’s contribution to the spread of the practice is also treated by Tāranātha in his extensive study of the Jvālāmukhī torma offering. However, according to the colophon, it follows basically Bari’s instruction²⁴ that became known thanks to Bsod nams rtse mo’s text²⁵.

Thus, many recognized Tibetan authors claimed that the rituals connected with the Flame-Faced goddess/demoness had been imported from India; two texts on this topic were even included in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. However, in the first case we have to believe Tibetan hagiography only, and in the second there are no direct textual evidences of the Indian origin of the two versions of the dhāraṇīsūtra. The black goddess from Rngog lo tsā ba’s text seems to be of local Tibetan origin. There are also some Tibetan (both Buddhist and Bön) lists of demonic beings that include a female figure with the name Kha ’bar ma or Kha la me ’bar ma.²⁶ Perhaps, the simplest way to explain confusion that appear in connection with these multiple images would be to assume that an autochthonous Tibetan demoness was included by the 11th to 12th cc. Tibetan yogins in their magical practices and it was sanctified by reference to venerable Indian masters. However, other options cannot be ruled out. A more detailed investigation is needed for the clarification of this issue.

The Khara-Khoto text XT-72 may be the earliest known manuscript that contains information on the Jvālāmukhī torma offering. It consists of seven numbered folios (1–2, 6–8, 10, 12), five more (3–5, 9, 11) are missing. The folios are of small pothi format, about 18×7 cm in size, except for the last folio (12) which is a little shorter. Paper is multi-layered, thick and yellowish. The text is written quite clearly in dbu med script, seven lines per page, there are numerous interlinear glosses. There are no frames drawn, but the foliation is written to the left of the text area on the recto sides. Unlike the bulk of the texts identified as those from Khara-Khoto this manuscript does not have features of old orthography. Nevertheless, there are several reasons to treat XT-72 as a text from the Tangut dead city: 1) paleographically the text is very much similar to the Tantric texts from this stock; 2) it follows the peculiar way of presenting the syllable OṂ with the a chung letter subscribed as an indicator of a long vowel — it is normally superfluous since in Sanskrit the vowel o is already long, but it could make sense for the Tanguts who had a different phonetic paradigm (this explanation was kindly suggested by Sh. Arakawa); 3) as the primary source of the ritual it names Vajrāsana who is also mentioned in the manuscript on Acala; apparently, he was an important figure for both Tibetan and Tangut Buddhists. The fact that the new orthography is used in the manuscript can refer to its relatively later dating — it is known that the Khara-Khoto library contained some texts from the 14th c.²⁷. Since this time is supposed to be the period when the new Tibetan orthography started disseminating, we can presume that XT-72 was produced in the 14th c.

At the beginning of the manuscript five parts of the text are listed in the following sequence (without the numbers which are added by me for the convenience): 1) gtor ma mi glud du gtang ba’i sgo nas ’chi ba bslu ba (The deception of death by means of giving the torma as a ransom effigy); 2) pha rol gyi byad bzlog pa (The reversing of external curses); 3) gri gug la brten te dgra bgegs gsad pa (The killing of hostile demons by means of a karttṛka chopper); 4) chu zor ’phang ba la brten te gzhan gyi mkhar gzhig pa (The destruction of the others’ citadels by throwing cursed water); 5) rgyun du tshogs bsag pa (The constant gathering of accumulations).

However, in reality the sequence of the parts is different: 1–4–[2?]–5–3 + a concluding part not mentioned in the list. Although ff. 3–5 are missing it can be assumed that ff. 6–7 (recto) contain the ending of pt. 1. Thus, it is the longest part that provides the frame for other possible applications of the Jvālāmukhī ritual. It is followed with a fragment on the transmission of the instructions given to Bari Lotsāwa by Vajrāsana. This fragment looks like a colophon that emphasizes the primal role of pt. 1 in the structure of the manuscript. The extant folios do not contain the heading of pt. 2. Perhaps, it followed pt. 4 and occupied the entire f. 9 which is missing.

The verso of f. 10 has a picture of two footed vessels, in the left one there are two seated figures with the captures zhi ba’i gtor ma (the torma for pacification) and gtor ma’i ’gron (a guest of the torma); in the right one there is one standing figure with the capture pha rol gyi byad bzlog pa (reversing of external curses). The first illumination relates to one of the two additions to pt. 5 (see below) while the third one to pt. 2. We can only guess whether the figures relating to the remaining parts were drawn on the recto side of the missing f. 11. It is also difficult to say if these illuminations marked the end of the main part of the text, separating it from the concluding part. Perhaps, they were simply drawn on the blank side of the last folio since the concluding part, which is attributed to Atiśa (982–1054), could be a later appendix. This assumption seems to be supported by the fact that f. 12 is a little shorter than the other folios.

The contents of the extant fragments of the manuscript are summarized below, their sequence being marked with Roman numerals.

I: pt. 1. The deception of death by means of giving the torma as a ransom effigy (gtor ma mi glud du gtang ba’i sgo nas ’chi ba bslu ba; ff. 1b4–2b6 <…> 6a1–7a6).

The maṇḍala is smeared with fragrant water, petals of flowers are assembled in fifteen little heaps. In a cauldron or metal dish (katora) a cubit size effigy of the diseased person is made of five kinds of grain, at its right shoulder a “female” wooden plank is placed, at its left shoulder a “male” plank is placed.²⁸ If the harm from the dön demon is severe, eight bits of dough (chang bu)²⁹ made of five kinds of grain supplied with a liṅga effigy [of the dön] should be put to the right of the performer of the rite. If the harm is very severe, liṅgas should be put in the middle of each of these bits. To all of them the mixture of “three whites” and “three sweets”³⁰ and medicines is applied.

Then the bodhicitta (the mind striving for the enlightenment) is generated. In the maṇḍala placed in front of the yogin the fifteen heaps of flower petals are visualized as fifteen deities (lha bcwo lnga) who are, in fact, the Buddha and his fourteen major disciples. In its center Bhagavān Śākyamuni is seated resting his back on the tree of the Enlightenment. In front of him the yogin himself should be visualized with the palms enclosed, making a plea. To the right of Śākyamuni there are Maudgalyāyana, Subhūti, Kāśyapa, Ānanda, Katyayana, Anuruddha, Upāli; to the left there are Ājñātakauṇḍinya, Bākula, Vaṣpa, Aśvajit, Mahānāman (two names are missing). The offerings to them are to be made in the state of deep meditation (samādhi). On the words “be that pacifying or fierce” (they refer to the types of rites) the text breaks, three next folios are missing.

The next extant folio (6) starts with an additional inscription written above the first line. It contains an incantation directed to the malevolent forces who threaten the life of the sick person. They are asked to be satisfied with the ransom since, unlike the sick person who “has no skandhas, no dhātus, no āyatanas”, the ransom has all these psycho-physical elements of an individual being. The main text also contains some threatens addressed to an unspecified great being (bdag nyid chen po) which will be turned to dust if not faithful to the Buddha’s word. Thus, it is said, you, a great demon (bgegs chen), go and do not break the samaya vow. It is visualized that the dön spirit takes the torma as the sick person’s effigy and carries it away. Then it is visualized that the harming demons are burnt in the blazing mass of fire spreading from the body of the wrathful deity and the remains of grass are brought away by wind. Amṛtakuṇḍali’s mantra is recited to scare the demons of obstacles. The yogin, having “the pride” of the personal deity, delivers the torma; if delivered for the sake of another person the hṛdaya of Śākyamuni written in vermillion should be attached to the top of his or her head. Several concluding details are provided then.

II. A brief story of the transmission of the ritual (7b1–8a1).

It goes back to the hagiography of Bari Lotsāwa who traveled to India and, on his way there, had a dispute with the tīrthika Bhavyarāja (Skal ldan rgyal po),³¹ defeated him and said some harsh words. Bhavyarāja became angry and hinted that something would happen to Bari in a week.³² Bari tried to appease him by offering gold and showing respect but remained alarmed and, when coming to his teacher Vajrāsana, told him this story. The latter realized that Bhavyarāja was a dangerous magician. He threw a torma to counteract the curse and ordered a bastard boy to deliver it. It was done secretly and, in a week, the tīrthika died.

The instruction on the ritual was passed by Vajrāsana to Bari who passed it to Bla ma rgya dar seng, that — to Lce dben tsha, that — to Gnyan ston gser zhing ba, that — to “me”, i.e. the author of the text represented in XT-72.³³ The interlinear inscription at the end of the text tells that “Vajrāsana’s Dharmapāla was Jvālāmukhī, the queen of all yakṣas, etc.”

III: pt. 4. The destruction of the others’ citadels by throwing cursed water (ff. 8a2–8a6).

In a non-iron footed vessel four ingredients (barley, wheat, beans, buckwheat) are put inside water, and five precious substances are added there. A mantra should be recited seven times above this water and the latter thrown towards the citadel (it may be simply a house). It is visualized that the precious sixteen vowels and thirty-two consonants get inside the citadel, start growing and filling it and finally make it burst up.

IV: pt. 5. The constant gathering of accumulations (ff. 8b1–8b2).

A very short instruction that prescripts the mantra to have no triple OṂ and a bit of dough without any figure (effigy) be thrown as the torma at a river’s shore. This very brief text is followed by two additions (8b3–8b4; 8b5–8b8). The first of them says that the torma of pacification has a hood with five heads of snakes and that two big effigies are put in front, they are offered as objects to which harm may be caused (see the illumination). The second addition provides some details on Wrathful Amṛtakuṇḍali. He seizes the demon of obstacles and puts him into the mass of fire through an opening(?) in it; he seizes with a hook, frightens with various weapons; when bringing the torma one should stop at the distance of forty steps and go away without looking back.

V: pt. 3. Killing of hostile demons by means of a karttṛka (ff. 10a1–10a5).

The liṅga effigies of the demons of obstacles that bear their name(s) are put upon one hundred and eight bits of dough. The effigies are animated and visualized as having flesh and blood of the demons. With the incantation maraya (Kill!) they are offered to the Dharmapāla Ḍākinī. The liṅga effigies are cut with an iron or wooden karttṛka (chopper).

VI: A concluding part (ff. <11>–12b4).

Although the beginning is missing it is clear that the fragment describes a ritual during which the torma is thrown to water. The first extant sentence prescribes to deliver the great water torma to various guarding deities, then to those demons(?) who cause sicknesses and, finally, to all six classes of sentient beings. Then a sermon is given to the monks and a prayer made for the extension of a sick person’s life and pacification of the causes of the sickness and demonic obstacles. Even if the span of life has come to an end, it can be prolonged this way for a week. This power of the Jvālāmukhī torma is said to be connected with the Buddha Bhagavān who once prolonged the life of Ānanda. To make its effect irreversible the essence (hṛdaya) of Prajñāpāramitā should be recited.

At the end the colophon is found that provides the title of this part of the manuscript: The Divine Lord’s [instruction on] the Jvālāmukhī torma that presents the sequence [of actions] for oneself and the ācarya (Jo bo rje lha 1 gis rang dang slob dpon gyi rim gror mdzad pa’i kha ’bar ma’i gtor ma). The name of the Divine Lord (jo bo rje lha gcig) refers to Atiśa that allows us to consider this part as an appendix to the manuscript, reflecting another tantric tradition.

Samples of folios

XT-19/XT-173: f. 10 recto — the description of the nine-deity Acala maṇḍala

XT-72: f. 7 verso — the story of how Bari Lotsāwa obtained the instructions from Vajrāsena

XT-72: f. 10 verso, illuminations to the rites described in the manuscript

Conclusions

1. The two incomplete manuscripts analyzed in this paper are united with references to the eminent 11th c. Indian master Vajrāsana who had a number of Tibetan disciples, including Bari Lotsāwa, and who passed them numerous secret teachings and instructions. Some of them were, apparently, transmitted to Tangut Buddhists.
2. The first manuscript (tentatively dated from the 12th to early 13th cc.) deals with the cult of Acala who is applied to perform various protective actions by means of four types of tantric rites, from pacifying to fierce ones. Acala is treated as Bhagavān, i.e. the Enlightened one, and takes the place of Akṣobhya in the nine-deity maṇḍala. One of the texts includes a plea to him to return again from Central Tibet to the place where the rite was performed. Perhaps, Xi Xia was meant although it is impossible to prove.
3. The second manuscript contains instructions on the torma rites associated with Jvālāmukhī, the Flame-Faced demoness, who is supposed to have the Indian origin although the authenticity of such an attribution may be put under question. Nevertheless, the two traditions of the practice that appeared in Tibet are claimed to have come from the eminent Indian masters, Atiśa and Vajrāsana. The Khara-Khoto manuscript follows mostly the latter’s instructions, but its concluding part (perhaps, a later appendix) adds Atiśa’s instructions as well. The manuscript is likely to have been produced in the 14th c. but the text it represents must have appeared at the end of the 12th c. The author does not name himself, and we can only guess whether he had any relation to Xi Xia.
4. The two manuscripts discuss a variety of rites that include making protective amulets and maṇḍalas, fire and torma offering, deception of death, several fierce rites, all typologically well-known and described in literature on Buddhist tantra³⁴. However, I hope the details provided in this paper may be important for defining features of Tantric Buddhism practiced among Tanguts and other inhabitants of Khara-Khoto during the 12th to 14th cc.

1] Fragments of only two block prints are found, see Hamanaka & Sizova 2020; Turanskaya 2021.

² The project (supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research) was carried out by A. Zorin, A. Sizova, A. Turanskaya in 2018–2020.

³ From single items to rather big fragments, the biggest one consists of almost 90 folios. The presence of such items makes the IOM collection different from the one kept in the Bri­tish Library that does not have any lengthy fragments. Takeuchi & Iuchi 2016.

⁴ He is associated with the Buddha Akṣobhya, both names having the same meaning ‘Unmovable’, ‘Unshakable’.

⁵ See his profile at the BDRC: https://library.bdrc.io/show/bdr:P8224 (access: 22.12.2021).

⁶ Willson & Brauen 2000: nos. 173–178. According to Tāranātha (1575–1634), whose collection of sādhanās was used by the Seventh Panchen Lama for his album, Blue Acala is a “remover of internal obstacles among the six Vajrāsana Yidam Deities”. Ibid.: 282.

⁷ Access numbers: XX-2375, XX-2376, XX-2378, XX-2379; there is also a block printed icon XX-2537; their digital copies and descriptions are available on the website of the State Her­mitage: https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage?lng=en (access: 22.12.2021).

⁸ The Hermitage collection has an icon XX-2374 that presents a four-handed form surrounded with four minor figures; it does not have a corresponding form in Rin byung.

 [9] One of the twenty-eight “lunar mansions” in Indian astrology (the system was adopted by the Tibetans), it mostly corresponds with the constellation of Cancer.

¹⁰ Acala takes the place of Akṣobhya in this paradigm, both names having the same meaning ‘Unmovable’, ‘Unshakable’. The four female deities located at the intercardinal directions are treated as divine consorts of the four Buddhas respectively.

¹¹ Samayasattva is an imaginary body of a deity visualized by the yogin who then invites the real deity, called jñānasattva, to come from their abode and animate the imaginary body (a special procedure is used for this).

¹² This mantric prayer is considered the quintessence of the mind of all the Buddhas and is used in many Buddhist practices.

¹³ Apparently, the following canonical dhāraṇīsūtra that consists of nine chapters is meant: Āryācalanāmadhāraṇī / ’Phags pa mi g.yo ba zhes bya ba’i gzungs. See Dpe bsdur ma 2008: vol. 91: 255–301.

¹⁴ Tib.: mye smad btsong nang gis blang.

¹⁵ Poa cynosuroides or Desmostachya bipinnata; this grass is considered sacred in both Buddhism and Hinduism.

¹⁶ Dpe bsdur ma 2008: vol. 91: 475–483, 484–490.

¹⁷ Roerich 1949–1957: vol. I: 312. The Blue Annals mention also that another representative (judging by his name) of the ’Dzeng clan, ’Dzeng Dharmabodhi, or Tshul khrims rgyal mtshan (1052–1168), obtained the Jvālāmukhī offering instruction from  a certain Snubs the “Big-Nosed” (Shangs po che). Ibid.: 177.

¹⁸ Mchims nam mkha’ grags 1976. Snar thang brgya rtsa was used by the Seventh Panchen Lama as the source for the second part of his album of Buddhist iconography. However, its order deviates from that of the original version, see Willson & Bauer 2000: 379, and has no visual representation of Jvālāmukhī.

¹⁹ Bari’s studies under Vajrāsana are touched upon in Davidson 2005: 298.

²⁰ Mengele 2010: 120–121.

²¹ Bsod nams brtse mo: vol. 4: 199. The eighth Karmapa Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507–1554) also instructs that the yogin should apply any appropriate deity to this practice. See Mi bskyod rdo rje [2004]: 2a1.

²² Tāranātha 2008: 268; Bstan ’dzin phrin las 2005: 3a5.

²³ Zhu chen Tshul khrims rin chen 2000: 1a5–6.

²⁴ A most detailed version of the story about Vajrāsana and Bari Lotsāwa is provided at the beginning of the text.

²⁵ Tāranātha 2008: 281. The collection of magical texts attributed to Bari Lotsāwa known as Ba ri be’u ’bum, see Bari Lotsāwa 1974, does not contain this practice. Therefore, it is possible that its earliest record belongs to the Sakya hierarch.

²⁶ Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998: 308.

²⁷ See the lists of dated and undated Chinese texts from Khara-Khoto kept at the IOM, RAS, in Menshikov & Chuguevsky 1984: 467–468, according to which the latest safely dated texts were produced in 1371 while the items hypothetically dated to the 14th c. include many Tantric texts. The presence of the 14th c. Chinese texts allows us to assume that some Tibetan manuscripts also could be produced in or brought to Khara-Khoto after the downfall of Xi Xia.

²⁸ Wooden planks to which pictures of a man and a woman are glued serve as magical substitutes for real people in various rituals.

²⁹ To be more precise, a portion of dough squeezed out between the fingers.

³⁰ Three white substances include curd, milk and butter, three sweet substances include sugar, molasses and honey.

³¹ Apparently, the well-known Kashmiri Brahmanical paṇḍita who helped Tibetan lotsāwas in the translation of Buddhist treatises on logic; notably enough, the above-mentioned Rngog lo tsā ba Blo ldan shes rab, the author of the text on Kha ’bar ma nag mo, was also one of his students. See Jackson 2012: 92–95.

³² Another version of the story presented by Tāranātha does not mention Bari’s victory in any dispute but claims that Bhavyarāja wanted Bari to be his translator in Tibet. Bari refused this proposal because he did not want to propagate non-Buddhist ideas. See Tāranātha 2008: 266. On the similar doubts Rngog lo tsā ba had concerning the theory of pramāṇa (logic and gnoseology) see Jackson 2012: 92.

³³ Rgya dar seng and Lce bande dben tsa are named among the four main disciples of Ram rtsan can who, in turn, was one of the main disciples of the eminent Bka’ brgyud master Rngog Chos sku rdo rje (1023–1090). See Ducher 2017: 238. The third person, Gnyan ston gser zhing ba, as well as the author of the text who preferred not to name himself remain unidentified. However, it is most probable that the text of XT-72 was composed at around the end of the 12th c.

³⁴ See Nebesky-Wojkowitz 1998; Mengele 2010, etc.