Translating the Ta: Pagoda, Tumulus, and Ritualized Mahāyāna in Seventh-Century China. (1st January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Miller, Tracy
• Is Part Of: Tʿang studies. Volume 36(2018)
• Page Start: 82
• Page End: 120
• Publication Date: 2018-01-01
• Subjects: ta -- pagoda -- tomb -- stūpa -- maṇḍala -- mountain -- Woncheuk -- Tathāgatagarbha thought; China -- History -- Tang dynasty, 618-907 -- Periodicals; China -- Civilization -- 221 B.C.-960 A.D -- Periodicals; 951.017
• DOI: 10.1080/07375034.2018.1535236
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0737-5034

Abstract

Abstract : This essay examines the relationship between pagodas and tombs in Medieval China through a close reading of the "Preface to the Sūtra on the Merits of Constructing a ta, as Spoken by the Buddha" ( Foshuo zaota gongde jingxu 佛說造塔功德經序), written by the Silla monk Woncheuk 圓測 (613–696), and an investigation into the cultural environment of the monk himself. Working in and around the cosmopolitan world of court-sponsored Buddhism in both Chang'an and Luoyang, Woncheuk was strongly influenced by Tathāgatagarbha thought, and his interpretation of Yogācāra Buddhism ultimately became very influential in Tibet and Korea. By placing the pagoda in the context of Woncheuk's thought, as well as recent research on amulets, architecture, and other thaumaturgical devices in the early medieval ritual praxis of South Asia and North China, I argue that Woncheuk's equation of ta to fen suggests the monuments had more than a memorial or symbolic function. Rather his "Preface" reflects a belief that the two types of architecture were operating on the same technological principles—they were both designed as tools to channel natural, even cosmic, energies through "mountains" and into powerful remains in order to aid in personal and societal salvation.