The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva

3. Indigenous and Accretionary Scriptures

81 chapter 3 Indigenous and Accretionary Scriptures Between the sixth and tenth centuries, a small corpus of scriptures foregrounding the Bodhisattva Dizang appeared in china. to a greater or lesser extent, this set of “Dizang scriptures” reflects broader patterns of religious and cultural amalgamation that existed at the time.1 each scripture connects Dizang to varied aspects of chinese religion that cannot be reduced to any singular theme. If not the focus of the scripture, Dizang appears frequently and the text endeavors to integrate Dizang worship with its main subject. according to this definition, those scriptures that mention Dizang’s name but do not treat the bodhisattva substantively will not be included within the purview of Dizang scriptures. the scriptures discussed in this chapter are: 1. Zhancha shan’e yebao jing 占察善惡業報經 (Scripture on Divining the retribution of Skillful and Negative actions; henceforth, Scripture on Divination), ascribed to putideng 菩提燈 (Bodhidîpa?, d.u.). t839:17.901c–910c. . Dizang dadao xin quce fa 大道心驅策法 (the exorcism Method of Dizang’s aspiration toward Great awakening; henceforth, The Exorcism Method).3 t1159a:0.65c–655a. 3. Dizang pusa yigui 地藏菩薩儀軌 (a ritual Manual on the Bodhisattva 1. Note that my usage of “Dizang scriptures” is specific to the definition I have given above. I am not employing the phrase as it is used in modern chinese Buddhism, where Dizang jing 地藏經 often functions as a designation for the three key scriptures of the Dizang cult: Shilun jing, Zhancha jing, and Benyuan jing. Dizang jing may also serve as the abbreviated title for the Benyuan jing (e.g., Zhengyan 003). . another chinese text recovered from Dunhuang known sometimes by the title Dizang pusa shizhai ri 地藏菩薩十齋日 (S 568, transcribed in t850:85.1300a–b) is also frequently discussed in relation to Dizang literature. Because its title mentions Dizang, it is commonly assumed that this text deals with Dizang worship. however, Dizang’s name did not appear in earlier versions; it was added later, most likely in response to the mention of the observance of the ten Feast Days (shizhai ri 十齋日) in the Benyuan jing. Because the Dizang pusa shizhai ri did not develop as part of Dizang literature and its contents moreover do not particularly discuss the role of Dizang, it will not be examined in this chapter. 3. Dizang* indicates a phonetic reconstruction of two anomalous characters. I have transliterated them as “Dizang,” following a convention set by premodern and contemporary Buddhist scholarship. 8 Multiple Images Dizang; henceforth, A Ritual Manual), ascribed to Šubhakarasiœha or more commonly Šubhakara (ch. Shupojialuo 輸婆迦羅, also known as Shanwuwei 善無畏, 637–735). t1158:0.65a–c. 4. Foshuo Dizang pusa jing 佛說地藏菩薩經 (Scripture on the Bodhisattva Dizang). Dunhuang manuscript S 657 DHBZ 3:484, transcribed in t909:85.1455b–c. 5. Dizang pusa benyuan jing 地藏菩薩本願經 (Scripture on the past Vows of Dizang Bodhisattva; henceforth, Scripture on the Past Vows), ascribed to Šikºânanda (Shicha’nantuo 實叉難陀, 65–710). t41:13.777c–790a. as the title of this chapter indicates, these Dizang scriptures can be classified into indigenous and accretionary works. “Indigenous scripture” is used here as an equivalent to the more commonplace “apocrypha.” as a category of religious literature, “apocrypha” has strong overtones of the western Judaeo -christian tradition for which the term was coined.4 to avoid western connotations, I employ “indigenous scripture” instead. calling attention to this neglected genre of Buddhist literature, erik Zürcher defined chinese Buddhist apocrypha as “works produced in china by (obviously anonymous) chinese” that pretend to be “translations” of non-chinese texts. Zürcher described them as generally short texts “written in a primitive and rather incoherent language, with little doctrinal sophistication, and full of references to ideas and beliefs that are not of Buddhist origin but are part and parcel of the chinese indigenous tradition.”5 although some of these works have made their way into the transmitted Buddhist canons, many were considered heretical, unorthodox, morally subversive, and even politically dangerous. Since Zürcher there has been considerable progress in the study of indigenous chinese Buddhist scriptures, and their relevance for understanding chinese Buddhist history has been acknowledged.6 the Scripture on Divination is a “canonical” indigenous composition; the Scripture on the Bodhisattva Dizang is a text recovered from Dunhuang manuscripts . Scholarly consensus regards both titles as indigenous scriptures composed in china.7 The Exorcism Method and A Ritual Manual were retrieved from Japanese archival copies and reprinted in modern editions of the chi4 . On the problems of the use of “apocrypha...