Chapter 2 Attending to the Elders: Icons and Identities of Dharmatāla and Hva shang across the Sino-Tibetan Buddhist Landscape
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Abstract
When it comes to the two attendants Dharmatāla and Hva shang, who were added into the Sixteenfold Arhat cycle by Tibetan practitioners, scholars have devoted much of their attention to the figures’ identities and iconographies, their sources of inspiration from China, and the historical circumstances in which they were first received by the Tibetans. However, information regarding how these two Sinitic icons ended up in the Tibetan pantheon and what religious and cultural impulses stimulated these additions remains vague. This chapter first sketches the multiple strands of religious impulse embedded within the imagery, sādhana practice, and scriptural sources of the Chinese and Tibetan Sixteen Arhats ritual traditions, respectively. It traces early visual representations of the cult in China, and its densely ritualized context in Tibet. Then, it turns to an evaluation of the two attendants added to the Tibetan roster, concluding that these Tibetan recruitments represent an appropriation of pre-existinent Sinitic iconic identities for ritual ends—a conclusion that presents profound implications for further research on possible Sinitic influences on Tibetan Buddhist ritual practice enacted through the medium of the Hexi religious landscape.