A Study Of ārya-mahā-māyūrī ’s Beliefs In The Tang And Song Dynasties

《ārya-Mahā-Māyūrī Vidyā-Rāj?ī》 was introduced to China in the Eastern Jin Dynasty,and various translations were popular.During the Tang and Song dynasties,the belief in the Peacock King reached its peak.The origin of the Chinese translation of the Peacock King Sutra is controversial in academic circles.The subsequent translations by Yi Jing,Bhikong and Sinhala are the same and different translations,but the gradual rituals have been improved.As for the path by which the belief in the Peacock King was introduced into China,the two translations of the Pali Middala were introduced through the Silk Road on land,while the Sinhala translation was introduced through the Silk Road on sea,and the Yi Jing and Bu Kong translations received the influence of the rituals popular along the Silk Road on sea.The content of Powell’s Peacock King Sutra is almost identical to that of the Sinhala translation,which proves that the belief in the Peacock King spread along the Western and Southeast Asian countries after its origin in India.The content and rituals of ārya-Mahā-Māyūrī Vidyā-Rāj?ī and related issues are mostly obscure,but when we consider the relevant texts,we can see that the core mantra is the Peacock King Mantra.The origin of the Peacock King Mantra originated from the popular peacock mantra in ancient India,and later,When comparing the Peacock King Mantra in Tantra with the Peacock King Mantra in the Hongsheng Sutra,they are very different in terms of the object of holding the mantra,as well as the content and function of the mantra,except for the storyline of the Peacock King Hongsheng which is very similar.If we look at the translation of the Chinese pseudepigraphic scriptures by Hatemarosh,we can see that its formation dates back to the Northern Zhou Dynasty,and it was first a summary text,the contents of which were copied from Buddhism and also from Taoism,so we can see that this scripture had a connection with Taoism at the end of the Northern Dynasty.During the Tang Dynasty,the belief in the Peacock King was even more prevalent,and Bukong was revered by the Tang court for praying for rain with the Peacock King Sutra.The Peacock King Sutra contains a large number of names of dragon kingswhich are related to praying for rain,and they coincide with the Chinese tradition of praying for rain by worshipping dragons,so the Tantric prayers represented by Bhakti often turn to the classics related to dragon kings.The Tantric mantra reached a certain level and naturally possessed an all-powerful function,except for the scattered records of rain praying in Tang dynasty history,the process of how Bukong and others used the Peacock King mantra to pray for rain was often left untouched.Fortunately,during the Tang and Middle Tang dynasties,there were Japanese monks who brought back many Tantric classics from the Tang dynasty,and there are more records of the Japanese imperial court honoring the Peacock King in accordance with the Tang system,so it is possible to observe the status of the beliefs of Bukong and the Tang family in honoring the Peacock King.It is easy to see that at that time,the Peacock King was worshipped among the royal nobility for the purpose of dispelling diseases and eliminating disasters,protecting the country,safe delivery,praying for rain,etc.During the Five Dynasties period,only prestigious monks were seen in the history of the period,and the images of the Peacock King were mainly concentrated in the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang,all of which were built by the Cao family of rebellious soldiers.The images are located at the top of the canals,which are drawn north and south as Cao’s supporters for the purpose of protecting the state and the Dharma.The Cao’s rebellious army existed as an independent regime,so the belief in the Peacock King was mostly confined to the aristocracy at that time and did not reach the people.Through the analysis of literary works such as "Yi Jian Zhi" and the surviving images of the Peacock King in the eastern part of Sichuan Province,we know that after the Song Dynasty,the belief in the Peacock King was not only practiced by the noblemen,but also by the common people,mainly for the purpose of removing diseases and disasters,and recommending the dead,and the specific practices are clearly recorded in Yi Jian Zhi.The peacock images were mainly combined with Guanyin and based on the translation of the classics by Bukong.Therefore,during the Tang and Song dynasties,there were different believers in each stage of the Peacock King’s faith,and it was respected by the royal family and nobles in the Tang Dynasty.