Of Lust and Bones: Transformative Experiences in Esoteric Manuals

This paper examines how medieval Chinese esoteric manuals create transformative experiences through the harnessing of emotions and the enactment of ritual procedures. I use the Sādhana of the Great Yakṣiṇī Mother Joy and Priyaṅkara, a manual centered on Hārītī, as a case study to demonstrate the importance of controlling emotions and the centrality of physical actions in esoteric rituals. Specifically, I analyze one warning and one technique that encapsulate two strong feelings: lust and fear. The text warns the practitioner against developing lustful thoughts towards Hārītī, or the ritual will fail. While repressing sexual desire is necessary for the ritual to succeed, the text allows the practitioner to unleash other intense emotions, like fear and revenge, by empowering a human skull that can frighten one’s enemies. These instructions offer a window into how Buddhist texts bring about transformative experiences, which are often dictated by strong sentiments, whether wholesome or not.