Summary
s.1The Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions is a Kriyātantra scripture that presents a series of practices and rites that can be employed in diverse Buddhist ritual contexts, rather than for a specific deity or maṇḍala. The tantra records a conversation between the Buddhist deity Vajrapāṇi and the layman Subāhu, whose questions prompt Vajrapāṇi to share a wealth of instructions on ritual practices primarily intended to bring about the accomplishment of worldly goals. The rites described in The Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions address concerns about health, spirit possession, the accumulation of wealth and prosperity, and warding off destabilizing and obstructing forces. Special attention is given to rites for animating corpses and using spirits and spirit mediums for divination purposes. Despite the generally worldly applications for the rites explained to Subāhu, Vajrapāṇi is careful to establish the Mahāyāna orientation that must frame them: the quest for complete liberation guided by ethical discipline, insight into the faults of saṃsāra, and the motivation to alleviate the suffering of other beings and assist them in reaching awakening.
s.1《蘇跋呼所問密續》是事部密續的經典，呈現了一系列可用於各種佛教儀軌修行脈絡中的修持與儀式，而非專為特定本尊或壇城而設。這部密續記錄了佛教本尊金剛手菩薩與在家人蘇跋呼之間的對話，蘇跋呼的提問促使金剛手菩薩分享豐富的儀軌修行教導，主要目的是為了成就世間成就。《蘇跋呼所問密續》中所述的儀式涉及健康、鬼魅附身、財富與富裕的積累，以及消除違緣障礙等事項。特別強調的是起屍術的儀式，以及利用靈媒進行占卜的方法。儘管賜予蘇跋呼的儀式應用普遍具有世間性質，但金剛手菩薩仍然謹慎地確立必須框架化這些儀式的大乘取向：追求透過戒律引導的完全解脫、對輪迴過患的觀察，以及為了減輕他人苦難並協助他們達到覺悟的動機。