Abstract:
The text of Buddhist classics carries not only Buddhist thoughts and principles but also information and clues of the history of Buddhist development, which deserves more concern from Buddhist historians. A comparative study of Powell’s written version of The Scripture of Mahā-mayūrī-vidyā-rājan unearthed in the Buddhist Pagoda in Kaqa of Xinjiang with the existing versions shows that the existing version of The Scripture of Mahā-mayūrī-vidyā-rājan was developed based on a smaller-size core text. The core text was a combination of two Bunsen stories, that is, the story of Buddha’s being bitten by the snake and that of Peacock King, which were retained in Powell’s version written in the 4th century. Later, based on this smaller-size text, The scripture gradually extended into The Scripture of Mahā-mayūrī-vidyā-rājan with abundant and miscellaneous content and detailed and complete ceremonies and proprieties. This process of extension vividly reproduced the shaping and development of Vajrayana and its dissemination in China.
