The Vaults of Buddhas

Explores the magical practices of early medieval Buddhist preachers.

In this groundbreaking study of early medieval Mahāyāna Buddhist preachers, Ryan Richard Overbey explores a neglected sixth-century Chinese Buddhist homiletical manual, The Great Lamp of the Dharma Dhāraṇī Scripture. The preachers of the Great Lamp learn of the magical power of letters as they study the abecedary. They recite magical spells to enter into the Vaults of Buddhas, where they can access all the wisdom of Buddhas past, present, and future. They use rhetoric and stagecraft to convince themselves and their audiences that they are living Buddhas. Ultimately, their innovations in the technologies of represencing would lay the foundation for the rise of esoteric Buddhism and Chan. The Vaults of Buddhas draws exciting new connections in the intellectual and ritual history of Mahāyāna Buddhism.