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INFORMED TEXTUAL PRACTICES? INFORMED TEXTUAL PRACTICES? A STUDY OF DUNHUANG MANUSCRIPTS OF CHINESE BUDDHIST APOCRYPHAL SCRIPTURES WITH COLOPHONS By RUIFENG CHEN, B.Ec., M.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University © by Ruifeng Chen, September 2020 McMaster University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2020) Hamilton, Ontario (Religious Studies) TITLE: Informed Textual Practices? A Study of Dunhuang Manuscripts of Chinese Buddhist Apocryphal Scriptures with Colophons AUTHOR: Ruifeng Chen B.Ec. (Zhejiang Normal University) M.A. (Zhejiang Normal University) SUPERVISOR: Professor James A. Benn, Ph.D. NUMBER OF PAGES: xv, 342 ii ABSTRACT Taking Buddhist texts with colophons copied at Dunhuang (4th–10th century C.E.) as a sample, my dissertation investigates how local Buddhists used Chinese Buddhist apocrypha with respect to their contents, and whether they employed these apocrypha differently than translated Buddhist scriptures. I demonstrate that not all of the practices related to Buddhist scriptures were performed simply for merit in general or that they were conducted without awareness of scriptures’ contents. Among both lay Buddhist devotees and Buddhist professionals, and among both common patrons and highly-ranking officials in medieval Dunhuang, there were patrons and users who seem to have had effective approaches to the contents of texts, which influenced their preferences of scriptures and specific textual practices. For the patrons that my dissertation has addressed, apocryphal scriptures did not necessarily meet their needs more effectively than translated scriptures did. I reached these arguments through examining three sets of Buddhist scriptures copied in Dunhuang manuscripts with colophons. In Chapter One, I explore the relationships between colophons for, and the contents of, three Chinese Buddhist apocryphal scriptures. In Chapter Two, I focus on a bhikṣuṇī local to Dunhuang and her commissioning of a set of Buddhist scriptures (including both apocryphal and translated scriptures) for her aspirations to become a man, and to achieve Buddhahood. Lastly, in Chapter Three, I concentrate on a prince, who had control over Dunhuang, and his commissioning of the Scripture of Perfection of Wisdom for Humane Kings as well as other Buddhist texts at different occasions, in order to explore his rationale for invoking the Heavenly Kings by employing these Buddhist texts for his own aspirations. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I completed my dissertation at McMaster University and Kyoto University. I am grateful to my supervisor, Dr. James Benn, and my host supervisor, Dr. Funayama Tōru, for their advice and support. Dr. Benn is well known as an effective supervisor. I often wonder how he is always able to respond to students promptly, while also accomplishing exceptional academic work and undertaking important academic service. We met every fortnight for my research, and these regular meetings continued during my visiting program in Japan via Skype. Those meetings were an indispensable motivation for my writing. Dr. Funayama is famous for his achievements in Buddhist studies and his proficiency in language. Many times he introduced me useful sources that I was not familiar with, and pointed out significant details that I overlooked in my writing. I have been fortunate to study under these two prominent scholars. I am grateful for the many suggestions on this dissertation that I have received from my committee members and teachers, Drs. Shayne Clarke and Mark Rowe, from my external reader, Dr. Stephen Teiser, from my shixiong, Dr. Christopher Jensen, and from my shijie, Dr. Zhang Xiaoyan, who have all examined the entire dissertation. My special gratitude is to Dr. Jensen, who carefully read every word of this dissertation, and generously offered abundant comments, which have made this present version look much better than the drafts. I am similarly indebted to Drs. Bryan Lowe, Stephanie Balkwill, John Kieschnick, Kuramoto Shōtoku, and Jeffrey Kotyk for their valuable comments on different chapters. My deepest thanks are also directed to Dr. James Robson, the co-editor of T’oung Pao, and two anonymous readers for T’oung Pao. My journal article, which is based on Chapter One of this dissertation, has been accepted by T’oung Pao, therefore both my article and this iv dissertation have benefited substantially from their professional advice. I owe a debt of gratitude to Drs. Takata Tokio and Wang Meng for sharing their materials with me, and to the British Library for providing me with high resolution colour images. Thanks to the other libraries and institutes which granted me permission to use their images. Looking back to 2013 before my Ph.D. programme, it was Dr. Chen Jinhua who introduced Dr. Benn to me. Dr. Chen offered me many opportunities to attend the summer programmes and conferences that he organized. What good fortune for me to have been the constant beneficiary of his teaching and of his massive collaborative project—Frogbear. I am similarly fortunate to have been a student of Dr. Zhang Yongquan, my M.A. supervisor, who always offers me support me whenever I need it. Thanks to Dr. Sun Yinggang for hosting me in China for a short visiting programme. When I first arrived in McMaster University, my colleague, Gerjan Altenburg, introduced me to the campus. Later, he became my faithful ally. I am often amazed by how friendly and considerate he is. Li Lan, Crystal Beaudoin, Zhao Shanshan, Rein Ende, Christopher Handy, Yao Fumi, Mark Novak, Marcus Evans, Sum Cheuk Shing, and other colleagues have all been wonderful companions on my arduous journey through this Ph.D. programme. Especially, Li Lan deserves individual mention for sharing her delicious Chinese food with me in Canada, and for helping to manage my miscellaneous issues time and again when I am away from Canada. I owe much to my teachers Andy Crowell, Dr. Eileen Schuller, Dr. Iwai Tsuneko, Dr. Harada Fumiko, Dr. Paul King, Dr. Louis Mangione, Les Lauber, and to my friends Liao Zhicong, Mu Xiaoyu, Dr. Li Xuan, Zhao Ye, Dr. Ōtani Ikue, John Hayashi, Dr. Ma Qian, Chang Yuxi, Gao Yingying, Dr. You Yundi, Dr. Hu Chao, Mr. and Mrs. Yamada, Li v Yueyue, and others, for walking me through this long journey with their wise counsel and warm encouragement. My friends in academia, who share interests with me, Drs. Li Jingjing, Chen Zhiyuan, Wu Shaowei, Chen Ruixuan, Amanda Goodman, Rev. Phra Kiattisak Ponampon, Yu Xinxing, Tong Yitong, Xu Hanjie, and my academic family in China, including Bao Zongwei, Fu Jisi, Dr. Guo Jingyi, Dr. Jing Shengxuan, Dr. Luo Mujun, Dr. Qin Hualin, Qin Longquan, Dr. Weng Biao, Dr. Xu Hao, Dr. Xu Jian, Dr. Zhang Lei, Dr. Zhao Dawang, Dr. Zhu Ruoxi, and others, provided me with insightful advice and sources that I need for this project. Doreen Drew, Sheryl Dick, and Jennifer Nettleton, as staff of the Department of Religious Studies at McMaster University, have always been considerate and helpful. I could not have completed my programme without their support. Okamura Jun, a kind and patient staff member at Kyoto University, helped me with all administrative issues, and therefore made my life at the Institute for Research in Humanities much easier. My research benefitted from McMaster Graduate Scholarship, Chinese Government Scholarship, BDK Canada Graduate Scholarship, Tianzhu Global Network Graduate Student Fellowship, Foguang Shan Graduate Scholarship, Chung-Hwa Institute Fellowship, Mitacs Globalink Research Award, and Khyentse Buddhist Studies Scholarship. I hope that all of these generous benefactors are proud of the results of my programme. Lastly, I cannot thank my parents enough, as they love me selflessly and are always ready to help me. I deeply appreciate the generosity of my younger uncle and aunt who acted as my guarantors for my reception of Chinese Government Scholarship. This dissertation is also dedicated to my grandfather and elder uncle, who cared much about me and were so proud of me, but left too soon that I cannot share my joy with them. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents vii List of Figures ix List of Tables xi Abbreviations and Conventions xiii Introduction 1 Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha 1 Dunhuang Manuscripts of Chinese Buddhist Scriptures with Colophons 2 Research Questions 6 The Scholarly Context 7 Methodological Considerations 18 1. Why Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha with Colophons? 18 2. Agents 19 3. Influence from Popular Scriptures, and Methods for Identifying Links between Texts and Practices 23 4. Categorizing the Colophons 26 5. Sets of Scriptures 28 6. Forgeries 29 Outlines of the Three Body Chapters 32 Chapter One: Three Short Chinese Indigenous Buddhist Scriptures 35 Introduction 35 Previous Studies 44 S.622 and the Relationship between the Xin Pusa Jing and the Quanshan Jing 49 For Pestilence or Disease 55 For Safety or for Exemption from Disaster 66 For Reciting the Name of Amitābha Buddha 74 For Protection of the House 78 For Other Purposes 81 Combining Scriptures and Making More than One Copy of a Scripture 84 Conclusion 91 Chapter Two: A Bhikṣuṇī Commissions Scriptures for Becoming a Man and a Buddha 93 Introduction to, and Analysis of Bhikṣuṇī Jianhui’s Colophons 93 Previous Scholarship 106 Three Dunhuang Nuns Commission the Scripture on the Great Extinction 111 Other Buddhist Scriptures Commissioned by Jianhui 134 1. The Scripture of Law-blossom 136 vii 2. The Scripture of Queen of the Wondrous Garland 143 3. The Scripture of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life 147 4. The Extensive Scripture 151 5. The Scripture for Humane Kings 156 6. The Scripture of the Medicine Master 158 Conclusion 162 Chapter Three: A Prince Commissions Copies of the Scripture for Humane Kings and Invokes the Heavenly Kings 164 Introduction 164 Previous Studies of the Scripture for Humane Kings 167 Yuan Rong’s Use of the Scripture for Humane Kings 175 Yuan Rong’s Invocation of the Heavenly Kings 188 1.
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