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Tantric Appearances and Non-Tantric Meanings: Four Systems of the “Maṇḍala of Mantra” in the Buddhist Cakrasaṃvara Literature

Recitation is the most common means of practicing mantras, but it is not the only method. Some Buddhist texts belonging to the Cakrasaṃvara scriptural tradition in early medieval India include discourses that teach visualization of the “maṇḍala of mantra,” i.e., a maṇḍala comprised of deities who are anthropomorphized transformations of letters that constitute either a single mantra or group of mantras. Four of the major mantras in that scriptural tradition, viz., the heart mantra of Heruka, the near-heart mantra of Heruka, the mantra of the six yoginīs, and the heart mantra of Vārāhī, are practiced through visualization of the maṇḍala of mantra. This paper analyzes the forms and functions of the four systems of the “maṇḍala of mantra” taught in the Cakrasaṃvara tradition, focusing on the Herukābhidhānatantra, Kambala’s Sādhananidhi, and the Abhidhānottaratantra. Analysis demonstrates that the four systems of the maṇḍala of mantra were developed gradually. Firstly, in the Herukābhidhānatantra, the four mantras were taught for recitation to those who practice for mundane purposes, particularly those inclined toward black or harmful magic. In the Sādhananidhi, the mantras were organized as the maṇḍalas of deities with Tantric appearances. Through visualization, practitioners can serve a wide range of mundane purposes. Finally, in the Abhidhānottaratantra, most deities were correlated to non-Tantric Buddhist concepts, such as the Eight Liberations, and some of the purposes of visualization are more spiritual or supramundane. These suggest that the deities’ Tantric appearances represent their magical and mundane potentials, while the non-Tantric Buddhist concepts represent their spiritual and supramundane potential. These different forms are related to how the visualization effects are theorized.