The article discusses the Vajra-dhatu Mandala (i.e.,the Vajra-dhatu Mandala described in the sutra Jingang-dingjing) said to have been first transmitted in the early Tang Dynasty by Vajramati and Amoghavajra (Bukong).The author looks at the various views,showing how the 27 deities of the original Vajra-dhatu had been rendered iconic and demonstrating that this could not have been a work of the early Tang but was most probably a late 8th or early 9th century work produced by disciples of Amoghavajra,such as Huiguo.The author makes use of historical documents to show that the Vajra-dhatu Mandala by Vajramati and Amoghavajra (Bukong) was loyal to the classic version of Jingang-dingjing because in it the fourth companion of Vairocana,the Fourth Paramita,is depicted in the manifestation of Samaya.But in China in the early 9th century this Vajra-dhatu Mandala depicted the Fourth Paramita as a Bodhisattva and the original manifestation had been discarded.However,when we look at Tibetan Buddhi...
