University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting

THE WORSHIP OF MEDICINE MASTER BUDDHA IN MEDIEVAL CHINA

YUJING CHEN

A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2017

To my parents and teachers

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My academic life has brought me into contact with many kind-hearted people.

This study would not have been possible without the aid of those who generously give me their support. I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to my teachers and advisers at the University of Florida, who inspire me in various ways. I am especially grateful to Mario Poceski for giving me solid training of Chinese religious studies and offering kind advice. He has truly embodied the role of mentor. His guidance, encouragement, and support have been instrumental in my completion of the graduate program. Richard Wang has introduced me into many aspects of Daoist tradition and shaped my views of historical studies. Guolong Lai has given me helpful and incisive suggestions for the study of Chinese art. I am thankful to Ying Xiao who has been very supportive by offering her wisdom to guide me to think about my research and my long- term academic goals.

Several scholars also help me greatly by providing their sources and sharing their professional expertise. David Hickey read part of the manuscript and made comments on it. Wang Huimin shared his knowledge on Medicine Master Buddha worship when I visited Dunhuang in 2015. Li Yumin generously provides me with photographs of Medicine Master Buddha statues and other relevant sources. I am also deeply indebted to Yan Juanying of Academia Sinica for introducing me to the joy of studying Chinese art.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the support I received from my friends and monastery. I am grateful to Man Soifer for kindly taking care of me, especially during my last stage of writing the dissertation. Special thanks go to Sally Lin, Laura Chang, and

Taili Xi for their incessant compassion and generosity that always support me in various

ways. I also want to express my greatest gratitude to my spiritual teachers, Ven.

Kuanqian and Ven. Houzhong, for their encouragement and guidance.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... 4

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...... 8

ABSTRACT ...... 9

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 11

Recent Research on Buddhist Divinities ...... 13 Methods and Sources ...... 17 Chapter Summary ...... 20

2 SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATIONS ...... 23

Extant Versions of Medicine Master Buddha Scripture ...... 24 Central Claims of the Shengsi Dedu Jing ...... 33 The Presence of Human Sufferings ...... 34 The Salvific Power of Medicine Master Buddha ...... 40 Devotional Practices ...... 46 Pious Acts Centered on the Scripture ...... 47 Recollection of the Buddha’s Name ...... 51 Making the Buddha’s Image ...... 52 Setting up Lamps and Banners ...... 54 Concluding Remarks...... 57

3 EARLY DEVELOPMENT AND BURGEONING GROWTH ...... 59

The Initial Phase ...... 60 The Buddhist Pantheon during the Northern Dynasties ...... 63 Some Prominent Divinities ...... 64 Worship in the Sixth Century ...... 67 Increasing Popularity of the Cult ...... 74 Commentaries and Exegesis ...... 75 The Buddha as Described in Miracle Tales ...... 78 Patrons at Longmen ...... 82 Pictorial Art at Dunhuang...... 86 Esoteric Ritual Manuals ...... 92 Concluding Remarks...... 97

4 MEDICINE MASTER BUDDHA AS A THIS-WORLDLY SAVIOR ...... 99

Accumulating and Transferring Merit ...... 100

Pursuit of Healing ...... 103 In Search of a Safe Journey ...... 112 Quest for Prolonging Life ...... 120 Female Devotees’ Views and Concerns ...... 126 Fertility and Childbirth ...... 126 Cultural Bias towards Male Heirs ...... 130 Women’s Self-Perception ...... 134 The Buddha as a National Protector ...... 139 Seeking Divine Protection ...... 140 Imperial Rituals ...... 144 Concluding Remarks...... 148

5 BELIEFS AND PRACTICES RELATED TO THE AFTERLIFE ...... 149

Yāma and Infernal Punishments ...... 150 Motif of Returning from Death ...... 157 Placating the Dead and Protecting the Living ...... 164 Family Ethics and Filial Piety ...... 173 Concluding Remarks...... 184

6 THE BUDDHA’S CONNECTIONS WITH THE PURE LAND TRADITION ...... 186

Conception of Otherworldly Realms ...... 186 The Sacred Lands of Medicine Master Buddha and Amitābha ...... 189 Religious Cross-Fertilization ...... 195 Popular Formulaic Expression ...... 205 Pluralistic Ideas of Chinese Buddhists ...... 210 Concluding Remarks...... 218

7 CONCLUSION ...... 222

APPENDIX: BUDDHIST AND DAOIST MEDICINE MASTER REPENTANCE RITES 227

LIST OF REFERENCES ...... 237

Primary Sources ...... 237 Secondary Sources: East Asian Languages ...... 241 Secondary Sources: Western Languages...... 247

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...... 257

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Ch Chinese.

P Pelliot collection of Chinese Dunhuang manuscripts at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.

S Stein collection of Chinese Dunhuang manuscripts at the British Library, London.

Sk Sanskrit.

T Taishō shinshū dai zōkyō 大正新修大藏經. Tokyo: Taishō issaikyō kankōkai 大正一切經刊行會.

X Wan xinzuan xuzang jing 卍新纂續藏經 (reprint of Dai nihon zoku zōkyō 大日本續藏經). Taipei: Xin wen feng 新文豐.

Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

THE WORSHIP OF MEDICINE MASTER BUDDHA IN MEDIEVAL CHINA

Yujing Chen

August 2017

Chair: Mario Poceski Major: Religion

This study explores the historical development of beliefs and practices related to

Medicine Master Buddha in medieval China, with a particular focus on the period from the Western Jin (265-317) to the Tang dynasty (618-907). The research covers the initial establishment of specific forms of worship from the third to the sixth centuries, and the growth of various configurations of the Medicine Master Buddha cult from the sixth to the tenth centuries. By examining a range of pertinent modes of worship, the dissertation analyzes the multifaceted representations of the divinity and investigates the complex development of the cult centered on him.

Additionally, the study examines and questions normative views regarding the main role of Medicine Master Buddha, which perceive him merely as a divine healer whose power primarily has relevance to the procurement of health and healing. It argues that this type of conventional interpretation glosses over the full scope of devotional beliefs and practices centered on the Buddha and oversimplifies his position within Chinese Buddhism. Through a close examination of a wide spectrum of primary sources that shed light on the varied reasons for the veneration of the divinity by medieval Chinese devotees, this work reveals that the complicated mélange of beliefs,

aspirations, and practices centered on this Buddha cannot be approached or understood from only one perspective. Instead, it is more appropriate to situate the worship of Medicine Master Buddha in broader historical, social, and religious contexts by highlighting the multiple roles and functions of the Buddha. In that sense, this study can also be viewed as an effort to explore the assortment of factors and forces that shaped the emergence, growth, and transformation of Buddhist devotional movements in medieval China, which by extension can add further insights into the larger historical trajectories of Chinese religious life.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

The emergence of the Mahāyāna movement in ancient India gave rise to a number of new ideas and practices, including novel formulations of the bodhisattva path, reinterpretations of traditional doctrines, and formation of new models of practice.

That was accompanied with the development of a broad pantheon of Buddhas, associated with new interpretations of cosmology and Buddhology. In general, the

Mahāyāna followers took the position that multiple Buddhas individually preside over different otherworldly realms, which brought about the expansion of a rich pantheon of

Buddhas who were joined by a multitude of celestial bodhisattvas. They also regarded celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas as divine beings who possessed salvific powers, which consequently led to the growth of devotional practices in Mahāyāna Buddhism.

The present study explores the historical development of beliefs and modes of devotion centered on Medicine Master Buddha (Sk. Bhaiṣajyaguru; Ch. Yaoshi fo 藥師

佛), one of the most popular celestial Buddhas in the Mahāyāna tradition. The Buddha is best known in Chinese religion as the embodiment of healing. At present, many pious devotees are involved in the worship of the divinity, especially when suffering from physical pain, hoping for a recovery from illness, or desiring extended lifespan. The religious role of Medicine Master Buddha as a divine healer is taken for granted among contemporary Buddhists and scholars.

However, uncritical acceptance of such conventional views decidedly limits our understanding of the cult centered on this Buddha,1 especially as it developed in the

1 The term "cult," derived originally from the Lain cultus (to worship), denotes veneration associated with a divinity, a saint, or a sacred object. This work does not use the term to refer to a heterodox, deviant, or dangerous religious movement, and the term does not carry negative connotations. Instead, the term in 11

historical context of medieval China.2 This study refutes the conventional view of

Medicine Master Buddha solely as a healing divinity. It emphasizes the multifaceted images and representations of the Buddha, and carefully explores the complex development of the popular cult centered on him. It also raises several crucial questions: How did medieval devotees actually understand and worship Medicine

Master Buddha? What roles did the Buddha play in Chinese religious life? How was the worship developed and transformed beyond the contexts of Buddhism? To answer these questions, this study examines the whole range of pertinent textual sources associated with Medicine Master Buddha, analyzes the extant inscriptional records centered on his worship, and investigates the relevant surviving murals and statues sponsored by medieval devotees.

Analyzing the long process of the development of the cult, the study charts the historical evolution of Medicine Master Buddha worship in terms of two key periods: first, from the Western Jin 西晉 (265-317) to the Northern Dynasties 北朝 (386-581); and second, during the Sui 隋 (581-618) and the Tang 唐 (618-907) dynasties. When

Medicine Master Buddha worship was in its early phase, namely from the third to the sixth century, the Buddha’s religious characteristics and functions were in a state of flux, and not widely appreciated by the Chinese. During the Sui-Tang period, the cult flourished and devotional activities centered on him were performed for diverse

general indicates a widespread and complex system of beliefs and practices inspired by a divine figure or a holy object. For a study of the term, see Isabella Vella Gregory, "Cults," 623-624.

2 The phrase “medieval China” is employed as a convenient usage, which does not imply any Western historical connotations of the Middle Ages. The term “medieval” here is related to the Chinese term zhonggu 中古, literally means “middle antiiquity.”

purposes, including the procurement of this-worldly benefits and desirable rebirth. By situating the development of the Medicine Master Buddha cult in its appropriate historical and religious contexts, this work aims to present a more nuanced and comprehensive picture of the cult and, by extension, enrich our knowledge of the effervescence and complexity of Chinese religious life.

Recent Research on Buddhist Divinities

In contemporary academic circles, an increasing number of scholars are interested in the study of celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Contemporary scholarship has made substantial contributions to topic, especially in relation to the cults of Amitābha Buddha (Amituo fo 阿彌陀佛), Guanyin 觀音 (Avalokiteśvara), and Dizang

地藏 (Kșitigarbha). For example, Julian Pas’ study explores the scriptural descriptions of

Amitā bha’s Land of Bliss (Sk. Sukhāvatī; Ch. Jile 極樂), and Luis Gomez’s study investigates the contents of the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutras.3 Glen Dudbridge examines the connection between the Guanyin cult and the legend of Princess Miaoshan, while Yu

Chunfang presents a comprehensive study of Guanyin and her gender transformation in

China.4 Moreover, Zhiru Ng’s work investigates the position of Bodhisattva Dizang within the religious landscape of China.5 Hank Glassman’s The Face of Jizō examines the icons of Bodhisattva Jizō (Dizang) and explores the history of the Jizō cult in

3 Julian Pas, Visions of Sukhā vatī: Shan-Tao's Commentary on the Kuan Wu-Liang Shou-Fo Ching, 1995; and Luis Gomez, The Land of Bliss: the Paradise of the Buddha of Measureless Light: Sanskrit and Chinese Versions of the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sutras, 1996.

4 Yu Chunfang, Kuan-Yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteś vara, 2000; and Glen Dudbridge, The Legend of Miaoshan, 2004.

5 Zhiru Ng, The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva: Dizang in Medieval China, 2007.

Japanese Buddhism.6 In contrast, despite the fact that the Medicine Master Buddha worship has played a key role in Buddhist religious life since ancient times, it has not received the attention it deserves. This dissertation represents an attempt to fill that lacuna in Chinese Buddhist studies.

Among the few scholarly works related to Medicine Master Buddha, most studies primarily analyze sculptures and paintings of the Buddha. Art historians of Japanese

Buddhism, including Asanuma Takeshi 淺湫毅 and Nagaoka Ryūsaku 長岡龍作, have researched the iconographic depictions of Medicine Master Buddha. Asanuma examines the statue and pedestal of the Buddha at the Yakushi temple in Nara,7 while

Nagaoka surveys the Buddha’s images at the Jingo temple 神護寺, a famous Shingon

Buddhist temple in Kyoto.8 Both Asanuma’s and Nagaoka’s works document the position of Medicine Master Buddha in the historical context of Japanese Buddhist art.

In 2012, Yui Suzuki, a historian of medieval Japanese art at the University of

Maryland, published a book titled Medicine Master Buddha: The Iconic Worship of

Yakushi in Heian Japan, which researches the visual presentations of the Buddha in the

Heian period (794-1185). Particular attention has been paid to the surviving standing images of Medicine Master Buddha made during this period. Suzuki argues that many extant standing images of the Buddha are associated with Saicho 最澄 (767-822), the founding figure of the Tendai 天台 sect. Suzuki points out that Saicho’s standing

6 Hank Glassman, The Face of Jizō : Image and Cult in Medieval Japanese Buddhism, 2012.

7 Asanuma Takeshi, “Yakushiji Kondō honzon daiza no ikeizō ni tsuite” 薬師寺金堂本尊台座の異形像について, 53-71.

8 Nagaoka Ryūsaku, “Jingoji yakushi nyoraizō no isō” 神護寺藥師如來像の位相, 1-27.

Medicine Master Buddha statue became a prototype that was copied by Tendai followers after his death in order to legitimize the religious authority of the Tendai school.9 Like Asanuma’s and Nagaoka’s works, Sukuzi’s study also examines the spread of the Buddha’s images and compares different styles of the sacred images.

Suzuki’s research is valued for its attempt at situating the images within a comprehensive historical context of medieval Japan, which is significant for understanding the history of Japanese Buddhist art.

In Chinese Buddhist studies, several scholars have conducted research on archaeological and cave sites where preserve the images of Medicine Master Buddha.

For example, Luo Huaqing’s 羅華慶 work classifies the main themes found in the

Dunhuang 敦煌 mural paintings of Medicine Master Buddha, which provides the basic groundwork for research of Buddhist art.10 Luo’s investigation is followed by a more systematic study from Li Yumin 李玉珉, a specialist in Chinese art history. Li investigates Dunhuang murals that portray scenes described in Buddhist scriptures centered on Medicine Master Buddha. A number of Li’s observations are insightful, including her discussion of the chronological development of Dunhuang paintings and the comparison of different types of visual representations in relation to scriptures that feature this particular Buddha.11

9 Yui Suzuki, 45-87.

10 Luo Huaqing, “Dunhuang bihua zhong de dongfang yaoshi jingtu bian” 敦煌壁畫中的東方藥師淨土變, 5-18.

11 Li Yumin, “Dunhuang yaoshi jingbian yanjiu” 敦煌藥師經變研究 1-39.

Additionally, Yan Zhihong’s 颜智宏 1997 dissertation at the University of London, titled “Bhaiṣajyaguru at Dunhuang,” surveys the historical development of paintings on the Bhaiṣajyaguru Sutras in the Dunhuang area from the sixth to the thirteenth centuries.12 Yan’s study analyzes how the narratives and descriptions presented by the

Buddhist scriptures were transformed into visual materials. He argues that such transformation attempts to make Buddhist teachings visible.13 To analyze the relations between the scriptures and visual culture, Yan chronologically organizes Dunhuang mural paintings related to Medicine Master Buddha and researches different characteristics of the paintings, from the Sui dynasty to the Western Xia era 西夏 (1038-

1227). He also interprets pertinent Dunhuang artworks currently collected in Paris and

London, which greatly enriches the research of Dunhuang art. In his comparison of mural paintings, Yan concludes that in the Sui-Tang era, the number of paintings of

Medicine Master Buddha slowly increased, peaking during the period of Zhang 張 family’s domination of Northwest China in the ninth and the tenth centuries.14

As noted above, most studies focused on Medicine Master Buddha have been carried out in the field of art history. While many scholars are interested in visual representation related to Medicine Master Buddha, far less attention has been devoted

12 It is problematic that Yan uses the term “Bhaiṣajyaguru Sutra” to indicate the scriptures that were employed by artists to paint the murals of Medicine Master Buddha. It appears likely that the textual sources used in Dunhuang murals were the Chinese versions of scriptures. According to Nalinaksha Dutt and Gregory Schopen, the content of the Bhaiṣajyaguru Sutra, discovered in 1931 near Gilgit, is similar to that of the extant Chinese versions. However, no evidence can prove that the Chinese versions were translated from the Bhaiṣajyaguru Sutra. See Schopen, “Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra and the Buddhism of Gilgit,” part III; and Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts, vol. I, 1-43.

13 See Yan Zhihong, “Bhaiṣajyaguru at Dunhuang,” 5-7.

14 Ibid., 236-262.

to examinations of the Buddha from a religious studies perspective. Among the sparse works available, Raoul Birnbaum’s The Healing Buddha, published in 1989, briefly examines the concepts of healing in Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism. Based on

Pāli sources, Birnbaum argues that in the Theravāda tradition, illness is a metaphor for lust, anger, and delusion. Within that context, the historical Buddha is viewed as a great healer who cured the spiritual diseases of human beings. Analyzing several Chinese

Buddhist scriptures, Birnbaum indicates that Mahāyāna Buddhism developed additional healing figures, such as the Medicine King (Yao Wang 藥王) and Medicine Master

Buddha.

Birnbaum’s Healing Buddha has contributed greatly to the understanding of the textual history of the scriptures that feature Medicine Master Buddha, including the Gilgit manuscripts and relevant Chinese texts. Although the book is the first study concentrated on Medicine Master Buddha in the West, Birnbaum’s survey largely emphasizes the healing context. In addition, the book mainly focuses on English translations of a number of Chinese scriptures and lacks sufficient investigation of the diverse aspects of his cult. Thus, the present research attempts to go beyond this pioneering study, by exploring in detail how medieval Chinese understood this particular divinity, as well as by analyzing how the cult was accepted, developed, and practiced by its devotees.

Methods and Sources

The field of Buddhist studies is broad and is related to diverse academic disciplines or fields of study, including history, sociology, anthropology, comparative literature, and philosophy. Because the worship of Medicine Master Buddha developed

against the complex backdrop of varied historical, religious, and cultural contexts, this study does not fit into any rigid theoretical system, nor can it be adequately understood through a single methodology. This work mainly employs textual analysis, primarily derived from the field of literary studies, as a major method of investigation. Additional iconographic analysis serves as a supporting approach, which helps to examine how ancient Buddhists presented their faith through visual materials. To a substantial degree, the visual presentations of Medicine Master Buddha are closely linked with relevant literary sources, such as Buddhist scriptures, commentaries, and other manuscripts. Thus, the work adopts the two methods of analyses as complementary approaches to systematically reconstruct the historical development of the Medicine

Master Buddha cult.

In the chapters that follow, textual analysis is used in order to explore the narratives, themes, and contents of pertinent scriptures and other sources dealing with

Medicine Master Buddha. In addition to Buddhist scriptures, the study also analyzes non-canonical texts, avoiding the presupposition that the mainstream Buddhist canon is the sole legitimate source for this kind of study. Erik Zürcher, a Dutch Sinologist, critically points out some potential problems of the formation of Chinese Buddhist canon. The creation of Buddhist canon in China was essentially sponsored by imperial courts. The canonical texts were not only subjected to imperial supervision, but also censored by a group of well-educated monks who only represented a small percentage of the Buddhist tradition as a whole.15 Gregory Schopen, a Buddhist scholar who works on early Mahāyāna movements, also argues that religious scholars who solely

15 Erik Zürcher, “Perspectives on the Study of Chinese Buddhism,” 161–176

focus on textual studies can only gain a limited understanding of the religion.16

Canonical texts are important, but they do not completely reflect what believers do in their daily practices, nor can they reveal a more nuanced and comprehensive picture of religious life.

To avoid such drawback, the study surveys historical documents, miracle tales, and indigenous Chinese texts in order to explore the topic from alternate perspectives. It also carefully decodes and contextualizes the pertinent inscriptions commissioned by the faithful, from the third to the tenth century. Through the analysis of these sources, the study aims to investigate the intentions, beliefs, and expectations of Buddhist devotees and donors.

In addition to textual analysis, iconographic analysis plays a crucial role in this research, representing an effort to recover a relatively accurate account of ancient

Buddhist beliefs and practices. That allows the study to investigate how ancient

Buddhists depicted the divine realm of Medicine Master Buddha and presented their faith through visual materials. As David Morgan has noted, visual materials provide significant historical evidence for exploring religious practices and beliefs.17 Ignoring the rich evidence presented in material culture is improper, inasmuch as it implies a neglect of some of the primary ways a religion is understood, experienced, and presented by believers and artists. In order to investigate how the belief in Medicine Master Buddha gradually became a significant part of the religious life for many medieval devotees, the

16 Gregory Schopen, Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks: Collected Papers on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic Buddhism in India, 1-22.

17 David Morgan, The Sacred Gaze: Religious Visual Culture in Theory and Practice, 1-21.

work also examines pertinent paintings and sculptures centered on this particular divinity.

Chapter Summary

This study is organized into seven chapters. The first chapter functions as an introduction and the final one serves as a conclusion. Chapter 2 examines the contents, central claims, themes, and ideas presented in the oldest extant Chinese scripture centered on Medicine Master Buddha. It explores the religious messages implies in the canonical text and analyzes how the text positions the Buddha in select devotional contexts. In principle, the discussion provides the basic framework and serves as a background for the subsequent chapters.

Chapter 3 focuses on the different phases of development and gradual popularity of Medicine Master Buddha worship in China. It demonstrates that, before the sixth century, the Buddha did not become a central object of worship. Rather, he was regarded as an integral part of the larger pantheon of Buddhist divinities. It was during the Sui-Tang period that the Buddha became a renowned divinity and his cult experienced unprecedented growth, as evidenced by the pertinent miracle tales, ritual manuals, exegeses, and paintings.

Chapter 4 and 5 are closely related and complementary to each other. Taken together, they explore the multiple roles that Medicine Master Buddha played in medieval Chinese Buddhism. Chapter 4 demonstrates that the Buddha was not only viewed as a supreme healer, but also as a powerful savior who could bring about a wide range of this-worldly benefits, including personal prosperity, longevity, travel safety, and fertility. Moreover, within a specific political context, the Buddha was venerated as the

protector of the state, especially when the Tang rulers faced the challenge of political upheaval.

Chapter 5 investigates how the Buddha was linked with prevalent beliefs related to the afterlife. It surveys how Buddhist texts present venerating the Buddha as an effective means to rid the dead of judgement and punishment in the netherworld. It then examines the relevant miracle tales that feature the motif of returning from death. By placing the worship of the Buddha within larger social and cultural contexts, this chapter also explores how the faithful responded to the predominant social norms and moral values through the involvement in Medicine Master Buddha worship. It reveals how the worship was not merely observed as a form of religious cultivation, but also as a commendable form of moral action, which was embraced and encouraged by Chinese literati.

Chapter 6 examines the religious cross-fertilization between the Medicine Master and Amitābha cults, as evidenced by pertinent inscriptions, canonical texts, and exegeses and treatises associated with the Pure Land tradition. The chapter examines how Buddhist scriptures aptly present the rebirth in Amitābha’s sacred realm as one of the many putative benefits of Medicine Master Buddha worship. It also analyzes how proponents of the Pure Land tradition incorporated Medicine Master Buddha into the prevalent Amitābha cult. Moreover, to demonstrate the dynamic interaction and mutual influence between the two prevailing cults during the Sui-Tang period, a substantial section of the chapter investigates how the nuanced affiliation between these two

Buddhas was presented in imagery, with a focus on the selected murals from the

Mogao 莫高 grottoes in the Dunhuang area.

The conclusion presents that the Medicine Master Buddha cult should not be interpreted as an independent, exclusive, or isolated religious movement. The Buddha was believed and venerated within a set of fluid of religious frameworks, and the cult was constantly transformed by varied factors. Additionally, the cult was also able to reconfigure its relationship with Chinese devotees. Its adaptability and flexibility in responding to devotees’ various expectations might facilitate its rise to prominence in medieval China.

CHAPTER 2 SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATIONS

The emergence of the Medicine Master Buddha worship was closely linked with the transmission and translation of Buddhist texts in China. From the Eastern Jin 東晉

(317-420) to the Tang dynasty, Buddhist scriptures glorifying Medicine Master Buddha’s salvific efficacy and his unparalleled power were transmitted into China. Some of these texts existed prior to the development of a full-blown cult centered on the Buddha, which are valuable sources for us to comprehend the early picture of his worship.

This chapter analyzes the Fo shuo guanding bachu guozui shengsi dedu jing 佛

說灌頂拔除過罪生死得度經 (Scripture Spoken by the Buddha on Consecration to

Eliminate Faults and Transcend Life-and-Death; hereafter referred to as Shengsi dedu jing). The text is the oldest surviving scripture that introduces the salvific power of

Medicine Master Buddha to a broad Chinese audience.1 Because texts dedicated to the

Buddha generally share similar views and arguments, this chapter does not attempt to examine all the extant versions. It mainly uses the Shengsi dedu jing as an example to delve into the earliest textual representations of the divinity. In this chapter, I explore several interrelated questions: How is this particular Buddha presented in Buddhist literature? Does the Shengsi dedu jing intend to portray the Buddha as a healing divinity? What are the fundamental religious messages described in this scripture?

1 Zhiqian’s 支謙 (fl. 222-253) translation of Fo shuo ba jixiang shenzhou jing 佛說八吉祥神咒經 (The Eight Auspicious Incantations Spoken by the Buddha) mentions a Thus Come One Perfect King of Medicine Master (Yaoshi juzuwang rulai 藥師具足王如來). This might be the earliest Chinese text that mentions an alternative name of Medicine Master Buddha. The text, however, further indicates that his Buddha-field is called “Complete Entire Precious Dharma” (Man yiqie zhenbao fa 滿一切珍寶法), which is not identical with Medicine Master Buddha’s world, traditionally referred to as Lapis Lazuli Pure Land. Although Zhiqian’s text mentions “Medicine Master,” it seems that is not exactly connected to the Medicine Master Buddha cult.

The discussion begins with the survey of a number of Chinese translations that correspond to the Shengsi dedu jing. It then moves on to an analysis of the central claims, themes, and contents of the Shengsi dedu jing, with a focus on its descriptions of the salvific power of Medicine Master Buddha. It also investigates the devotional activities recommended by the scripture. While using the Shengsi dedu jing as the main source to examine the scriptural basis for the Medicine Master Buddha worship in medieval Chinese Buddhism, the survey that follows also pays attention to other pertinent translations and manuscripts, in order to delve into the various portrayals of this particular Buddha.

Extant Versions of Medicine Master Buddha Scripture

Medicine Master Buddha’s position in the early Mahāyāna pantheon was not as prominent as other celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas. Buddhist canonical sources suggest that Medicine Master Buddha played a less significant role in the initial formation of the Mahāyāna movement.2 For instance, the Buddha rarely appeared as either as an audience member or an interlocutor in the Buddhist literature associated with Mahāyāna that was composed prior to the third century.

Medicine Master Buddha’s name is never mentioned in any of the texts associated with the Prajñāpāramitā literature, a collection of texts expounding the teachings of transcendental wisdom that were privileged by the early Mahāyāna proponents. Although the Lotus Scripture (Sk. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra; Ch. Miaofa

2 For studies of the development of early Mahāyāna literature, see Paul Williams, Mahā yā na Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, especially 1-44; Stephen C. Berkwitz, South Asian Buddhism: A Survey, 68- 97; Keishō Tsukamoto, Source Elements of the Lotus Sutra: Buddhist Integration of Religion, Thought, and Culture, 349-384; and Richard Robinson, Buddhist Religions: A Historical Introduction, 82-98.

lianhua jing 妙法蓮華經)—a particularly influential text in the Mahāyāna tradition— includes the account of Medicine King, there is no sufficient evidence to identify

Medicine King with Medicine Master Buddha.3 On the whole, Medicine Master Buddha has hardly any connection with the early Mahāyāna scriptures. In contrast to his renowned status in the later, including contemporary Buddhist communities, it appears that the divinity occupied a relatively marginal position in the early development of the

Mahāyāna movement.4

Nonetheless, a number of scriptures describing the benefits of venerating

Medicine Master Buddha were subsequently introduced to Chinese readers, probably starting with the fourth century. Because of their close resemblance, these Chinese translations are generally called the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture (Yaoshi jing 藥師

經), a generic term that is often used to refer to any individual scripture that is centered on this Buddha. Among these scriptures, only four Chinese translations survive. Listed in a chronological order, they are:

1. Shengsi dedu jing.

2. Fo shuo yaoshi rulai ben yuan jing 佛說藥師如來本願經 (Scripture Spoken by the Buddha on the Merits of the Fundamental Vows of Medicine Master Tathāgata), translated by Dharmagupta (Damo jiduo 達摩笈多, d. 619).

3 It is problematic to claim that Medicine King (Bhaiṣajya-rājā) is identical with Medicine Master (Bhaiṣajya-guru). According to Fo shuo guan yaowang yaoshang er pusa jing 佛說觀藥王藥上二菩薩經, Medicine King Bodhisattva will be named Pure Eye Tathāgata (Jing yan rulai 淨眼如來) at the time when he accomplishes his religious practices. There is no evidence to suggest the link between Medicine King and Medicine Master Buddha. See T 20.662a. For a study of these two figures, see Inoue Hirofumi 井上博文, “Yakuō bosatsu kō” 薬王菩薩考, 909-911.

4 For a discussion on the historical development of Medicine Master Buddha worship, see Chapter 3.

3. Yaoshi liuliguang rulai ben yuan gongde jing 藥師琉璃光如來本願功德經 (Scripture on the Merits of the Fundamental Vows of Medicine Master Buddha, the Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathāgata), translated by Xuanzang 玄奘 (602-664).

4. Yaoshi liuliguang qi fo ben yuan gongde jing 藥師琉璃光七佛本願功德經 (Scripture on the Merits of the Fundamental Vows of the Seven Buddhas, including Medicine Master Buddha of the Lapis Lazuli Radiance), translated by Yijing 義淨 (635-723).

The extant version of the Shengsi dedu jing is preserved in the Guanding jing 灌

頂經 (Consecration Scriptures), a collection of twelve different texts. In the collection, each text is presented in a single chapter under an individual title. Chapter 12 is an independent scripture dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha.

Little is known about why the twelve texts were put together, and the historical formation of the Guanding jing is uncertain. Some medieval Chinese scholars’ opinions on the Guanding jing can be found in Buddhist scriptural catalogues (jinglu 經錄), which belong a genre of Buddhist literature that is supposed to verify textual history, authorship, transmission, and authenticity.5 For example, the Lidai sanbao ji 歷代三寶記

(Record of the Three Gems through Generations), a catalogue compiled in 597, indicates that nine chapters of the Guanding jing were translated into Chinese by

Śrīmitra (Shili miduoluo 尸梨蜜多羅), a monk from Kucha.6

The specific dates of Śrīmitra are unknown. Nonetheless, it seems certain that he came to China in the beginning of the fourth century. According to his biography

5 For a study of Chinese scriptural catalogues, see Tanya Storch, The History of Chinese Buddhist Bibliography: Censorship and Transformation of the Tripitaka, especially Chapter 2.

6 T 49.69a10-23. Kucha, also known as Qiuzi 龜茲, is located on the north of Tarim Basin. For a study of Śrīmitra, see Erik Zü rcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China, 103-104.

recorded in Gao seng zhuan 高僧傳 (Biographies of Eminent Monks), composed by

Huijiao 慧皎 (497-554), we learn that Śrīmitra stayed in China for several decades, sometime during the Yongjia 永嘉 era (307-313) and the Xiankang 咸康 era (335-343).7

However, some contemporary scholars have noted that the Guanding jing may be an apocryphal scripture that was not translated by Śrīmitra. For example, Michel

Strickmann, a specialist in Chinese religion, has argued that many sections of the

Guanding jing were possibly forged by Chinese authors who were familiar with Buddhist teachings and Chinese popular beliefs.8 In the same vein, Wu Xiaojie 伍小劼 makes a similar point.9 Wu also claims that Chapter 12 of the Guanding jing—the Shengsi dedu jing—was initially composed by the Chinese and then translated into Sanskrit when transmitting to India. It later was brought back to China and translated from Sanskrit into

Chinese.10 However, as far as I have been able to establish, there is no adequate evidence to support Wu’s argument.

Although little information can determine the authenticity of the Shengsi dedu jing, we are certain that the text preserves crucial sources for us to study Medicine

Master Buddha worship. It is the oldest surviving scripture that presents Medicine

7 Gao seng zhuan, T 50.327c-328b. When Śrīmitra was active in the propagation of Buddhism at the metropolitan areas of China, he had close relationship with a number of Chinese scholars and aristocrats, including Prime Minister Wang Dao 王導 (276-339). It seems likely that his religious activities were supported by members of the Chinese upper class. Śrīmitra became a resident monk at Jianchu Monastery 建初寺, located at present-day Nanjing. He also spent the rest of his life in China, never returning to his homeland.

8 See Michel Strickmann, “The Consecration Sutra: A Buddhist Book of Spells,” 75-118.

9 Wu Xiaojie, “Da guanding jing de zongjiao lixiang” 大灌頂經的宗教理想, 38-45.

10 Wu Xiaojie, “Guanding bachu guozui shengsi dedu jing yu wenhua huiliu” 佛說灌頂拔除過罪生死得度經與文化匯流, 112-122.

Master Buddha as a central figure of the text. It highlights the Buddha’s salvific power and his special characteristics. More importantly, the major content of the Shengsi dedu jing closely corresponds to the later scriptures devoted to Medicine Master Buddha. At first glance, the title of the text is unusual and seems nothing to do with Medicine Master

Buddha worship. A more relevant title is stated at the end of the text, namely Yaoshi liuliguang fo ben yuan jing 藥師琉璃光佛本願功德經 (Scripture on the Merits of the

Fundamental Vows of Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiance Buddha), which generally resonates with the titles of other scriptures centered on this divinity.11

Several later translations were subsequently done by Chinese and foreign

Buddhist monks, from the fifth to the eighth centuries. According to the Gujin yijing tuji

古今譯經圖紀 (A Record of Past and Present Translated Scriptures), a scriptural catalogue compiled in the Tang dynasty, a monk called Huijian 慧簡 (dates unknown) translated the same text in the first year of the Daiming 大明 era (457) of the Liu Song

劉宋 period (420-479).12 It indicates that Huijian’s translation, titled Guanding yaoshi liuliguang fo jing 灌頂藥師琉璃光佛經 (Scripture on the Consecration of Medicine

Master Lapis Lazuli Radiance Buddha), was completed at Luye Monastery 鹿野寺, located in the Moling 秣陵 area of Jiankang 建康.13

11 T 21.536b3.

12 Gujin yijing tuji, T 55.363a. The scriptural catalogue was compiled by Jingmai 靖邁 (fl. 627-649), a principal disciple of Xuanzang.

13 Jiankang is located at present-day Nanjing 南京, the capital of Wu 吳 (of the Three Kingdoms), the Eastern Jin, the Liu Song 劉宋, the Qi 齊, the Liang 梁, and the Chen 陳 dynasties. Both Śrīmitra and Huijian were active in this area.

Huijian’s version, unfortunately, is lost. Moreover, medieval Chinese scholars had different opinions about this text. Some Chinese exegetes suggested that Huijian’s version was an apocryphal text composed in China, but others confirmed its authenticity as an Indian scripture. Traces of their disagreements can be found in several scriptural catalogues. For example, Sengyou 僧祐 (445-518), in his Chu sanzang ji ji 出三藏記集

(Compilation of Notes on the Translation of the Tripiṭaka), treated Huijian’s text as a suspicious or forged scripture.14 Nonetheless, later Chinese Buddhists in general rejected Sengyou’s opinion. Jingtai’s 靜泰 Zhongjing mulu 眾經目錄 (Catalogues of All

Scriptures),15 and Daoxuan’s 道宣 (596-667) Datang ne idian lu 大唐內典錄 (The

Record of Buddhist Scriptures of the Great Tang), both disagreed with Sengyou’s argument and asserted that Huijian’s text was an actual translation.16

Furthermore, the Kaiyuan shijiao lu 開元釋教錄 (The Kaiyuan Catalogue of

Buddhist Books), compiled by Zhishen 智昇 (fl. 669-740), assumed that Huijian’s version was an excerpt from the Guanding jing, and insisted that it was not an apocryphal scripture.17 While medieval scholars held different opinions on the authenticity of Huijian’s version, it seems certain that his text was circulated in China, although it was subsequently lost. Li Yumin has found a unique version of the text,

14 T 55.38c-39a. The Chu sanzang ji ji is one of the earliest extant Chinese catalogues of Buddhist scriptures that set the basic standard for the later compilations of this genre of literature.

15 Little is known about Jingtai, but the Zongjing mulu indicates that Jingtai compiled the text in 633 at the Jingai Monastery 敬愛寺 under the patronage of Emperor Gaozong 高宗 of the Tang (r. 649-683).

16 Zhongjing mulu, T 55.138c, and Datang neidian lu, T55.334b.

17 Kaiyuan shijiao lu, T55.593c-594a.

related to the worship of Medicine Master Buddha, among the Dunhuang manuscripts.

Li suggests that this unidentified text may be Huijian’s long-lost version.18

In addition to the aforementioned texts, other three translations of the same scripture were made in the Sui and the Tang periods. Dharmagupta (d. 619), a monk from south India, made a new translation in the first half of the seventh century. The preface of the text includes Dharmagupta’s critique of Huijian, for his inadequate, awkward, and unclear translation, which might cause readers to misunderstand the text.

He also argues that Huijian failed to render the original passages of the Sanskrit manuscripts with requisite fidelity.19 Dharmagupta’s dissatisfaction with the existing version finally led to his determination to undertake a retranslation. His work was completed in 615, and it is the second earliest among the extant versions.

During the Tang dynasty, two well-known Chinese pilgrims who made the arduous journey to India—Xuanzang and Yijing—both translated the text under the sponsorship of the Tang court. Xuanzang’s translation, completed in 650, is the third extant Chinese version. It became the most prevalent one from the Tang era onward. It remains one of the most popular texts used in many contemporary Buddhist communities. It also played a remarkably influential role in the spread of the Medicine

Master Buddha cult.

Additionally, in 707, Yijing translated the same text.20 It is important to note that

Yijing’s version is relatively unique among this group of texts. At least two noteworthy

18 Li Yumin, “Dunhuang yaoshi jingbian yanjiu” 敦煌藥師經變研究, 1-39.

19 T 14.401a.

20 For the historical background of Yijing’s translation of the text, see Chapter 4.

features of Yijing’s text deserve our attention. First, this version not only reveals

Medicine Master Buddha’s promise of salvation, but also contains the individual vows of the other six Buddhas in the East. Second, it introduces seven Buddha-fields that are respectively affiliated with the seven Buddhas, including Medicine Master Buddha.21

Yijing’s translation includes a comprehensive portrayal of the seven Buddhas, and his text is the longest version among the Chinese translations.22

Although Yijing’s version contains some minor differences and a few distinctive attributes, the main content of the text generally corresponds to other extant tranalstions. The aforementioned four surviving Chinese texts, to a large extent, express pretty much the same general themes related to the worship of Medicine Master

Buddha. They share a set of similar elements. Pertinent examples include their statements about the twelve vows of this divinity, the Buddha’s promise of freeing devotees from the nine kinds of unfortunate death, as well as the methods of eliminating negative karma and prolonging one’s lifespan. In principle, they provide comparable arguments. Perhaps they are the subsequent developments of the same text. From the sixth century onward, the shared name, Medicine Master Buddha Scripture, become a shortened title commonly used to refer to any one of them.23

21 T 14.409a-418a. For the survey of Yijing’s translation, see Arai Keiichi 新井慧一, “Yakushi kyō: Ichibu kyō to shichibu kyō” 薬師経: 一仏経と七仏経, 124-125 and 213-218.

22 According to Mochizuki Shinkō 望月信亨, there are two Tibetan translations: one is identical with Xuanzang’s version and the other one corresponds to Yijing’s translation. The content of Yijing’s version is very similar to the Tibetan text, Di-bshin-gśegs-pa bdun-gyisnon-gyismon-lam-gyikhya-par rgyas-pa. See Mochizuki Shinkō, Mochizuki bukkyō daijiten 望月仏教大辞典, 4893.

23 This usage first appears in the Zhou shu 周書 or Book of Zhou. For the Zhou shu’s explanation of Medicine Master Buddha, see Chapter 4.

In addition to the Chinese translations discussed above, the text corresponding to Xuanzang’s version was transcribed into several Central Asian languages, including

Khotanese and Sogdian. However, only fragments of these translations survive.24 It is the discovery of the Gilgit version of the Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra that provides a more useful source for the study of Medicine Master Buddha. One full-length Sanskrit manuscript and several fragments were discovered in 1931 near Gilgit, Kashmir.25

Taken together, the extant Khotanese, Sogdian, and Gilgit texts suggest that the belief in Medicine Master Buddha was once diffused in Central Asia, even though it is not clear when and how the belief began to take hold in this region.

Several scholars in the field of Buddhist studies have noted the importance of the

Gilgit version. The full-length Gilgit text and other two nearly complete manuscripts have been edited and analyzed by Nalinaksha Dutt, a scholar of Central Asian Buddhism.

Dutt suggests that the Gilgit manuscripts can be dated to the sixth or seventh century, because they generally correspond to Xuanzang’s Chinese translation.26 Furthermore,

Japanese scholars have also contributed to the comparative study of the Gilgit texts.

For example, Sanada Ariyoshi 真田有美, a scholar who specializes in Pali and Sanskrit languages, and Nagao Kayoko 長尾佳代子, a scholar in Buddhist studies, have compared the four Chinese translations with the relevant manuscripts collected by Dutt.

According to Nagao, the Shengsi dedu jing, in general, is comparable to the Gilgit

24 See Raoul Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 58-60.

25 The photographical copies of these manuscripts can be found at Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra, eds., Gilgit Buddhist Manuscripts, facsimiles 1394-1413.

26 Nalinaksha Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts, vol. I, 1-43.

manuscripts. They have similar contents and share basic statements, although there are also some trivial differences.27

There are several notable English translations based on the Gilgit and Chinese versions of the scripture. For example, Gregory Schopen, in his PhD dissertation titled

“Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra and the Buddhism of Gilgit,” has translated the full-length Gilgit manuscript into English, along with comprehensive annotation.28 While Schopen’s translation is based on the Gilgit manuscript, Raoul Birnbaum’s English translations, published in 1989, follow Xuanzang’s and Yijing’s Chinese texts.29

Central Claims of the Shengsi Dedu Jing

The aforementioned canonical texts centered on Medicine Master Buddha by and large communicate overlapping points. To avoid repetition, I will not provide individual analysis of each text, but mainly focus on the oldest one, the Shengsi dedu jing. By investigating its contents and themes, we can gain insight into how this text promotes the main divinity and disseminates the cult.

The Shengsi dedu jing primarily consists of dialogues featuring Śākyamuni, his principal disciple Ānanda (Enan 阿難), and Mañjuśrī (Wenshu shili 文殊師利), a renowned bodhisattva who represents the embodiment of wisdom. Throughout the text,

Ānanda and Mañjuśrī play the central roles of interlocutors who are curious about

Medicine Master Buddha’s religious cultivation. Their wide-ranging questions—about

27 See Nagao Kayoko, “Girugitto moto yakushi kyō no seirutsu” ギルギット本薬師經の成立, 101-110; and Sanada Ariyoshi, “Bonpon yakushi kyō ni tsuite” 梵本藥師經に就いて, 22-45.

28 Gregory Schopen, “Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra and the Buddhism of Gilgit.” Ph.D. diss., Australian National University, 1978.

29 Raoul Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 115-217.

what Medicine Master Buddha’s great vows are, what specific protection he may provide, how he is able to respond to the needs of the faithful, and the like—are crucial in leading the reader to learn details about Medicine Master Buddha’s special characteristics, aspirations, and cultivations.

The scripture starts with the formulaic phrase, “Thus have I heard,” which is meant to imply that the words that follow had been heard by Ānanda. It then states that the discourse was given when Śākyamuni Buddha dwelt at the monastery in Vaiśālī

(located in present-day Bihar state, India), together with the four-fold assembly and a large number of bodhisattvas.30 The beginning of the text exemplifies a stereotypical pattern that specifies the location, time, and participants in the main discourse. Such narrative features follow the traditional models adopted by the authors of Mahāyāna texts, in part in their search for legitimatizing their authenticity.

After the opening lines, this scripture launches into a discussion of vital information pertinent to Medicine Master Buddha worship. There are two principal themes that run throughout the whole text: first, the presence of human sufferings, and second, the salvific power of Medicine Master Buddha.

The Presence of Human Sufferings

One of the most significant themes recurrently shown in the texts centered on

Medicine Master Buddha is the portrayal of human sufferings, including adversities experienced in this life as well as unfortunate conditions that will arise in the future life.

These descriptions usually highlight the kinds of undesirable afflictions and hardships that give rise to the individual’s anguish and frustration. For example, the descriptions

30 T 21.532b11-21.

about one’s physical pain and weakness caused by diseases can be found in many parts of the Shengsi dedu jing. The text contains dreadful scenes about a fatal illness, by depicting a helpless sick person who is paralyzed and confined to bed for his whole life. The text, drawing on Buddhist theory of karma, argues that the fatal illness is caused by one’s bad deeds in the past, and the torments cannot be stopped until one’s negative karma has been eliminated.31 Such portrayals of human physical sufferings form a notable pattern that recurs throughout the text.

In addition to the key theme of distresses related to illness, the Shengsi dedu jing narrates several types of undesirable circumstances that give rise to various kinds of fear, from being harassed by creditors to being attacked by malicious people.32 It further highlights certain adversities—for example, a sudden loss of family wealth, being unable to make a decent living, and experiencing food deprivation—that may lead to distress.33

Moreover, the text points out gender differentiation in regard to different kinds of sufferings one might experience. While it presents men’s frustration about the failure in pursuit of government’s official jobs, it also indicates the danger and physical pain of women while giving birth to babies.34

Possibly these rhetorical strategies draw on common human experiences. The scripture seems to make an overt attempt to reach out towards those whose ability to

31 T 21.534b1-2 and 535c18-21. Xuanzang’s version further expounds that if one is emaciated by lethal illness, one is unable to eat or drink. Their throats are parched and their lips are dry. It seems that the later version of the text expresses an elaborate portrayal of suffering. See T 14.407b12-18, and Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 151-172.

32 T 21.534a16-19.

33 T 21.534c1-6.

34 T 21.534c4-7.

comprehend sophisticated doctrinal tenets are limited. The scripture describes numerous familiar scenes that recurrently happen in most people’s daily life, which seems to resonate with a broad range of audiences.

Such tactic is also evident in passages that deal with the anxiety related to unnatural death. The text includes the theme of “unfortunate death” (hengsi 橫死), an undesirable way of death that dashes one’s hopes of a peaceful end.35 The Shengsi dedu jing lists nine miserable situations that may accidentally lead to an end of one’s life:

1. Disease.

2. Quarrel.

3. Lawsuit and prison.

4. Being possessed by an evil demon because of breaking precepts.

5. Being terrorized and attacked by robbers and thieves.

6. Drowning in water or burning by accidental fire.

7. Being devoured by wild and vicious beasts.

8. Being bewitched by talismans created by one’s enemies or affected by malefic spirits.36 Therefore, one suffers serious harm that leads to death.

35 Scholars have different translations of the term hengsi. Raoul Birnbaum translates it into “untimely death,” and Yan Zhihong renders it as “violent death.” see Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 167-8; and Yan, “Bhaiṣajyaguru at Dunhuang,” 33. Here it is rendered as “unfortunate death” to denote ill-fated and hapless death.

36 The term fushu 符書, which can be rendered as talisman, appears twice in the scripture. Michel Strickmann argues that the Shengsi dedu jing was forged by Chinese Buddhists, possibly by Huijian in the fifth century, because talismans are closely related to Daoist rites. See Michel Strickmann, “The Consecration Sutra: A Buddhist Book of Spells,” 75-118. However, Strickmann may overstate the “apocryphal” characteristic of the Shengsi dedu jing. The descriptions of these nine types of unfortunate death are explained not only in the text but also in its corresponding Chinese translations and the Gilgit manuscripts. They all indicate that one type of accidental death is caused by sorcery (Kākhorda), including the use of spells, charms, or malediction. It may be more pertinent to suggest that the translator of the text adopted Daoist terminology to render the notions associated with sorcery, which can often be found in literature from this period.

9. Death caused by being involved in black magic that provokes vicious spirits and evil demons.37

Before its appearance in the Shengsi dedu jing, the notion of nine types of unfortunate death had been explained in other Buddhist texts. One of the most remarkable examples comes from the Scripture of Buddha’s Discourse on Nine

Calamities (Fo shuo jiuheng jing 佛說九橫經), translated by An Shigao 安世高 (fl. 149-

168), a Central Asian monk who was active in Luoyang 洛陽, the capital when

Buddhism was initially introduced to China. Unlike the Shengsi dedu jing, however, most types of unfortunate death presented in An Shigao’s text are associated with inappropriate or toxic diets. Although An Shigao’s text also mentions death caused by lawsuit and accidents, it mainly attributes major causes of unfortunate death to untimely eating, binge eating, having non-seasonal or foreign food, and digestive problems.38

Accordingly, the Shengsi dedu jing presents a new list of unfortunate death circumstances that is different from what is expressed in its literary precursor.

It is noteworthy that the Shengsi dedu jing makes an attempt to explain death caused by demons, bewitchment, and sorcery, as described in the fourth, eighth, and ninth types of unfortunate death. According to the scripture, vicious spirits and harmful demons are able to give rise to a number of dreadful events. A misfortune of this type may especially happen to those who violate the precepts of abstaining from provoking quarrels with others. We are told that whoever infringes the precepts will be possessed

37 See T21.535c3-17. The sequence of these nine types of unfortunate death described in the Shengsi dedu jing is different from what is recorded in the Gilgit manuscripts, but their overall contents are similar. See Gregory Schopen, “Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra and the Buddhism of Gilgit,” 368.

38 T 2.833a-b.

by evil spirits.39 Additionally, the scripture explains that when a person causes conflicts and discords with others, his evil rivals may create human effigies, perform witchcraft, use talismans and poison, as well as provoke malefic demons and spirits to bring about damage or mishap. Thereafter the victim is killed by maledictions cast by his/her nefarious antagonist.40

Although magic power and sorcery are not the central foci of Buddhism, the text provides admonitions and solutions for calamities caused by witches. Standing against the practices of sorcery and witchcraft, the text warns to be aware of the unfortunate death associated with black magic and evil demons. The scripture shows a sympathetic attitude towards those who are struggling against bewitchment. Arguably, these forewarnings might reflect Buddhism’s response to witchcraft practices prevalent in medieval society.

While the Shengsi dedu jing lists nine kinds of accidents that may kill one, the general theme of the life after death is also the key topic described in this text. The scripture describes the distress of being reborn in unpleasant realms after death:

There are human beings who like self-flattery due to arrogance and conceit. [They] are bound to fall into the three unfavorable realms. Thereafter they may return to the world of human beings and become slaves and servants who work like oxen or horses. Being reborn in the lowest class of human beings, they do manual labor and carry heavy loads.”41

世間有人､好自稱譽､皆是貢高。當墮三惡道中。後還為人､作牛馬奴婢。生下賤中人､當乘其力､負重而行。

39 T 21.535c6.

40 T 21.533b22-25.

41 T 21.533b14-16.

The scenario described in this passage is closely related to well-established

Buddhist concepts about the six realms of existence. According to Buddhist cosmology, there are six realms where unenlightened beings constantly transmigrate in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Some realms are more pleasurable than others.

Common people who have performed wholesome deeds and have upheld moral principles might be reborn as gods in one of the heavens, demigods, or humans.42

Conversely, harmful actions and various forms of ethical misconducts may lead one to be reborn in one of the three unfavorable places: the realms of hells, hungry ghosts, and animals.43 The three unfavorable realms are traditionally recognized as places where living beings suffer extremely painful existence.

The passage cited above also indicates one’s uncertainty about the next life. It explains that even if one has escaped from the torments that occur in one of the unfavorable realms, such person still cannot enjoy a comfortable life, but must suffer from being reborn in a lower class. Arguably, these statements not only reflect the common fear of undesirable rebirth, but also point to most people’s anxiety about the uncertainty surrounding their life after death.

By describing the various sufferings of the present and future lives, the Shengsi dedu jing integrates familiar themes into its overall narratives. Its elaboration on the calamities and hardships experienced by living beings, however, is not the focal points

42 Some scriptures only indicate the five realms of existence and do not particularly define the demigod or asura, a jealous heavenly being, as an individual type of existence.

43 For the textual and visual representations of the six realms, see Stephen Teiser, Reinventing the Wheel: Paintings of Rebirth in Medieval Buddhist Temples, especially Chapters 1 and 2.

of the scripture. Rather, it serves as a prelude that paves the way for the main point: the presentation of Medicine Master Buddha’s promise of salvation to the faithful.

The Salvific Power of Medicine Master Buddha

The primary concern of the Shengsi dedu jing is to describe and promulgate

Medicine Master Buddha’s role as a powerful and universal savior. Drawing on a rich tradition of celestial Buddhas who occupy key positions in the Mahāyāna pantheon, the text portrays Medicine Master Buddha as one of the most influential deities who can assist devotees in need. Listing a variety of benefits, the scripture unequivocally encourages veneration of this Buddha:

If men and women fast, eat vegetarian diet, and make offerings to venerate Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Buddha for seven days and seven nights, then whatever they wish will be fulfilled. Those who seek long life will gain longevity. Those who seek wealth will obtain prosperity. Those who seek safety will gain protection. Those who seek a child will get a son or a daughter. Those who seek an official position will obtain one. If one wishes to be reborn in a joyful and heavenly realm after death, one shall also revere Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Buddha, the most righteously and fully enlightened one.44

若有男子､女人､七日七夜､菜食長齋､供養禮拜藥師琉璃光佛。求心中所願者､無不獲得。求長壽､得長壽。求富饒､得富饒。求安隱､得安隱。求男女､得男女。求官位､得官位。若命過已後､欲生妙樂天上者､亦當禮敬藥師琉璃光佛､至真等正覺。

The passage is intended to present Medicine Master Buddha as a polyfunctional divinity who can bring about numerous advantages to his devotees, such as enjoying prosperity, gaining longevity, securing a successful career, and even having a child. It is obvious that this list of benefits covers things that most people want in their daily life. To broaden his appeal, the Shengsi dedu jing never limits Medicine Master Buddha’s

44 T 21.534a4-9.

religious role merely as a healing divinity associated with the recovery from illness. The central argument of the text is not to underscore the Buddha’s unique power of liberating devotees from health problems, but to extensively connect various types of mundane blessings and advantages with the worship of this divinity.

Medicine Master Buddha’s ability to provide salvation and protection is closely linked with the vows he made in the past. The scripture relates that the Buddha, based on his twelve original vows (Ch. ben yuan 本願, Sk. pūrva-praṇidhāna), constantly rescues people from perils and grants them a broad range of blessings. This set of vows reflects the Buddha’s basic aspiration, formulated in the past when he practiced as a bodhisattva. That represents a typical Mahāyāna practice of making vows, a necessary qualification for becoming a bodhisattva.

The literary depiction about making vows is not unique, as it can be found in most Mahāyāna literature. Nonetheless, the Shengsi dedu jing presents the twelve vows as distinctive goals and objectives of Medicine Master Buddha’s religious cultivation. This set of vows is highlighted by all of the scriptures centered on Medicine

Master Buddha. Different translations, however, provide a bit different details. Even though there are some minor differences among them, they generally express similar points. The following list summarizes the essential features of the twelve vows, as described in the Shengsi dedu jing. Starting with the phrase “I vow that in a future life,” these statements present a first-person perspective of speaking:

1. I vow that in a future life when I attain Buddhahood, brilliant light will illuminate from my body that is adorned with thirty-two major marks and the eighty secondary marks. And I will enable all living beings to have the appearance resembling me.

2. I vow that in a future life, my body will be like lapis lazuli, which is extremely pure. The radiance will shrine and fill all the regions, and it will also enlighten those beings who are dwelling in darkness and hells.

3. I vow that in a future life, my infinite and boundless wisdom will benefit numerous sentient beings.

4. I vow that in a future life when I attain Buddhahood, I will be like moon that shines forth brilliant light, which enables all practitioners to unmistakably see the path.45

5. I vow that in a future life, I will enable all beings to diligently cultivate virtue and perfectly observe the rules of conducts without any violation.

6. I vow that in a future life, sentient beings with physical disabilities will obtain proper sense organs. I shall cause the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, and the lame to walk.

7. I vow that in a future life, if there are sentient beings who are afflicted with sickness but without proper treatment, I will give them the medicine of great teachings that makes them release from suffering and reach the ultimate enlightenment.

8. I vow that in a future life, I will instruct ignorant beings with supreme teachings that cause them to obtain wisdom, solve doubts, and attain liberation.46

9. I vow that in a future life, I will cause all sentient beings to defeat evil Māra and avoid heretical paths.47 I will enable them to follow the righteous and noble path that leads to awakening.

10. I vow that in a future life, if sentient beings are tormented, shackled, beaten, and imprisoned, I will free them from all kinds of suffering and save them from adversities.

45 Dharmagupta’s, Xuanzang’s, and Yijing’s texts all indicate that the Buddha will lead the adherents of Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha vehicles—namely those who are only concerned about self-liberation—to practice on the Great vehicle. See T 14.401c, 405a, and 413a. It is obvious that these later versions particularly stress the supremacy of the Great vehicle, which present a common feature of Mahāyāna texts. But such emphasis cannot be found in the Shengsi dedu jing.

46 Other versions of the text particularly point out that the Buddha will help women who suffer woes and afflictions to transform their female physical bodies into male forms. See T 14.401c, 405b, and 413b.

47 Māra (mo 魔) is traditionally recognized as the wicked one who tempted Śākyamuni. Metaphorically, Māra stands for negative forces, including temptation, greed, hatred, sloth, and selfish that hinder one’s spiritual cultivation.

11. I vow that in a future life, if there are sentient beings who suffer extreme hunger and thirst, I will satisfy them with marvelous and immense food in order to nourish their bodies.

12. I vow that in a future life, if there are sentient beings who feel freezing cold but lack clothes, they will obtain proper clothing. For the poor, I will provide them sufficient wealth and treasure. All living beings will enjoy boundless joyfulness.48

In addition to Medicine Master Buddha, other eminent Buddhist divinities are also described as making such kinds of resolutions. For instance, according to the Longer

Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Wuliangshou jing 無量壽經), an essential scripture associated with the Pure Land tradition, Amitābha Buddha made forty-eight vows to save sentient beings. He did that in a past life, when he was a monk called Dharmākara (Fazang 法

藏), while he was still at an initial stage of the bodhisattva path.49

Although making vows is a common practice ascribed to these celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas, there are significant differences in terms of the exact contents of their vows. The basic content of Amitābha’s vows is the establishment of a pleasant and blissful world where all beings can be reborn, a seemingly perfect world that suffering, disaster, and distress no longer exist. In contrast, Medicine Master Buddha’s vows lay stress on all beings’ immediate spiritual and physical well-being, unlike Amitābha’s focus on creating an otherworldly realm associated with a future rebirth.

Medicine Master Buddha’s twelve vows demonstrate his determination to help sentient beings procure relief from their difficulties, including various spiritual and physical problems. The sixth, seventh, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth vows are associated

48 T21.532c3-533a13. For the English translations of the relevant passages in Xuanzang’s and Yijing’s versions, see Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 152-155, and 190-194.

49 T 12.328a-330b.

with living beings’ physical wellness and this-worldly welfare. The textual descriptions of these vows purport to tell us that the Buddha may not only assist people who suffer sickness, but also offer support to those who are tormented by hunger and thirst, who are shackled or imprisoned, as well as who are extremely destitute and lacking protection. In addition to the satisfaction of such mundane needs, seven out of twelve vows are concerned about issues related to spiritual cultivation and ultimate liberation.

These vows indicate the Buddha’s firm determinations to guide his devotees to follow the righteous path, instruct them to cultivate virtue, and eventually assist them to attain awakening. Overall, the general contents of the Buddha’s twelve vows are fairly representative of Mahāyāna concepts about enhancing the welfare of others.

Another remarkable feature of the Buddha’s aspiration is his pledge to save those who suffer in the hells, as stated in his second vow, as well as in several other sections of the Shengsi dedu jing. Notably, the Buddha is recognized both as a this- worldly savior and as a divinity associated with beliefs about the afterlife. The stereotypical notion that the Buddha is primarily (or even solely) to be conceived of as a healing figure is not emphasized by this text. Instead, it suggests that the Buddha’s salvific power extends not only on the earth, but also into the underworld.

In a similar vein, the scripture unequivocally argues that Medicine Master Buddha is able to protect beings from descending into the realms of hells, hungry ghosts, and animals.50 Some scriptural passages relate that if one has ever heard Medicine Master

Buddha’s primordial vows, such person will not be reborn into any of the unfavorable realms. We are also told that the power of the Buddha will help people to refrain from

50 T 21.533a26-b3.

evil conduct and avoid entering into sorrowful destinies. If they descend into any of the hells, they will immediately relieve torments in the hell.51

Medicine Master Buddha’s role as a savior associated with the underworld, as portrayed in the Shengsi dedu jing, is significant for the study of Chinese Buddhism.

Before the widespread popularity of the cult of Bodhisattva Dizang, also known as “the

Lord of the Underworld,” the Shengsi dedu jing had already expressed a concern with liberation of the denizens of the hells. According to Zhiru’s study of the Dizang cult, the

Shilun jing 十輪經 (Scripture on the Ten Wheels) and the Xumizang fen 須彌藏分

(Section on the Sumeru Treasury)—two oldest surviving texts that contributed to the spread of the Dizang worship in medieval China—were probably translated in the second half of the sixth century. In addition, Dizang’s identity as a savior of the underworld was not completely developed until the eighth century.52 Evidently, Medicine

Master Buddha had earlier connection with the beliefs associated with afterlife and hells than Dizang.

The representation of Medicine Master Buddha as a universal savior both in this life and after death is prominently featured in the Shengsi dedu jing. While the scripture expounds the role of the Buddha as a universal savior, it also exhorts the faithful to generate faith in the power of the Buddha and encourages them to perform pious acts directed towards him. Such rich details of Buddhist soteriology, to a substantial degree, facilitate the dissemination of Medicine Master Buddha cult in China.

51 T 21.533a26-533b3, and 534b4-12. For a discussion about how the Medicine Master Buddha worship was tied with the beliefs about afterlife in medieval China, see Chapter 5.

52 See Zhiru Ng, The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva: Dizang in Medieval China, especially Chapters 1 and 3.

Devotional Practices

The scriptures centered on Medicine Master Buddha constantly underscore the importance of faith and devotion, which is a typical argument in Mahāyāna literature. To highlight that, the Shengsi dedu jing presents a vivid portrayal of Ānanda as a representative of those who have difficulty developing religious piety and genuine commitment. A pertinent example can be found in the middle section of the text, which depicts Ānanda as a disbeliever. It describes that Śākyamuni Buddha’s famous disciple hesitates to believe in Medicine Master Buddha’s past vows, and holds a doubtful attitude towards the Buddha’s promise of salvation. The text explains that most people, like Ānanda, have difficulties when comprehending the Buddha’s primordial vows, primarily due to their lack of wisdom.53 In Dharmagupta’s and Xuanzang’s versions, such dramatic scene is absent, even though Ānanda is still mentioned. Generally speaking, the descriptions of this sort may not exactly reflect the historical facts associated with Ānanda. It seems apparent that the narrative is created to illustrate the need to strengthen one’s faith.

The encouragement to perform devotional practices is another noteworthy theme presented by the Buddhist texts dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha. They unequivocally claim that the faithful, especially those who have taken part in sacred rites, can be saved by this divinity. Among the diverse forms of pious acts described in different parts of the Shengsi dedu jing, at least four notable types of devotional activities deserve our attention. They are (1) pious acts centered on the sacred text, (2)

53 T 21.534c11-535a2.

mindful recollection of the holy name of the Buddha, (3) making of the Buddha’s image, and (4) setting up of votive lamps and colorful banners.

At a basic level, some of these pious activities are not exclusively associated with

Medicine Master Buddha worship, but overlap with the cults of other divinities. The first three are common devotional acts advocated by many Buddhist scriptures. The fourth set of practices, however, is somewhat distinct and less common.

Pious Acts Centered on the Scripture

The Shengsi dedu jing unequivocally exhorts the veneration of the scripture itself.

Many passages encourage the faithful to participate in religious practices centered on the scripture, including reading, reciting, memorizing, transcribing, and circulating it.

Here is a representative example:

If there are men and women who favor this scripture, accept and uphold it, read and recite it, circulate it, fix mind on it, for one day, two days, three days, four days, five days, and even for seven days, memorize it without forgetting, use fine and pure papers to transcribe the scripture, as well as encase the scripture in a five-colored bag, at the time all gods, virtuous divinities, the four great heavenly kings, and the eight assemblies of semi- gods shall come and protect them. Those who respect this scripture, venerate it daily, and uphold it will not undergo unfortunate death. They will be safe and free from harmful forces wherever they are. Meanwhile, they will not be hurt by any demons or evil spirits.54

若有男子女人､愛樂是經､受持､讀誦､宣通之者､復能專念､若一日､二日､三日､四日､五日､乃至七日､憶念不忘､能以好素帛紙､書取是經､五色雜綵､作囊盛之者､是時當有諸天善神､四天大王､龍神八部､當來營衛。愛敬此經､能日日作禮､是持經者､不墮橫死。所在安隱､惡氣消滅。諸魔鬼神､亦不中害。

In other paragraphs, the text not only suggests devotees to respect the scripture but also encourages them to influence others to do so. It also explicates the importance of lecturing on the scripture, explaining its main content to others, and exhorting others

54 T 21.533c20-26.

to revere it.55 Furthermore, the scripture proclaims a variety of benefits to be expected from the practice of text-centered devotion, including the fulfillment of one’s wishes, this- worldly welfare, escape from unfortunate death, and even speedy attainment of

Buddhahood.56

The Shengsi dedu jing’s proclamation of its privileged status in relation to other texts is a shared characteristic found in many Mahāyāna texts. One of the most prominent examples is the Lotus Scripture, which explicitly advocates the superiority of its teachings and promotes its own scriptural supremacy. More specifically, it asserts that one should accept, respect, read, recite, explain, reproduce, and transcribe the

Lotus Scripture, because the sacred text represents the Buddha’s teachings. Within this context, it declares that wherever the Lotus Scripture is located, one should erect a stūpa to house the text and venerate it.57

In a similar vein, the Akṣobhyavyūha (Achu fo guo jing 阿閦佛國經), an early

Mahāyāna scripture dedicated to Akṣobhya Buddha (Achu fo 阿閦佛), also lays stress on the unique value related to text-centered practices. It explicitly explains that those who wish to be reborn in the Buddha’s Land of Joyfulness (Sk. Abhirati; Ch. Miaoxi 妙喜

) should whole-heartedly memorize, recite, preach, and transcribe this text.58

55 T 21.535a7-13.

56 T 21.533c, 535a, and 536a.

57 The Lotus Scripture, T 9.52a. For a general survey of this text, see Stephen Teiser and Jacqueline Stone, eds., Readings of the Lotus Sutra, 1-61; and Paul Williams, Mahā yā na Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 149-171.

58 Achu fo guo jing, T 11.758a-764a. For the research of the Akṣobhyavyūha, see Jan Nattier, “The Realm of Akṣobhya: a Missing Piece in the History of Pure Land Buddhism,” 71-102; and Paul Williams, Mahā yā na Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 231-234.

As Gregory Schopen notes, these kinds of assertions, which place certain texts at the focal point of worship, have led to the distinctive phenomena associated with the

“cult of book.” The term “cult of book” was coined by Gregory Schopen to critically challenge Hirakawa Akira’s 平川彰 theory on the origins of Mahāyāna Buddhism. To respond to Hirakawa’s views of lay movement and stūpa worship, Schopen argues that the beginning of Mahāyāna was not predominantly associated with the cult of stūpa led by lay community. Instead, monastic-centered cults of book and image were the major activities at the very first phase of Mahāyāna movement.59

Following the cult of book in the Mahāyāna tradition, the Shengsi dedu jing advocates its authority and superiority. The scripture extols itself as the most sacred entity that not only deserves to be treated with respect, but it also is worthy of reproduction and circulation. While presenting itself as a vital object of worship, it includes certain myths to explain the cult of book. A number of mystical creatures—for example, virtuous divinities, the four great heavenly kings, and the eight assemblies of semi-gods—are described as the protectors of Medicine Master Buddha, the Buddha’s adherents, and the readers of this scripture. The Shengsi dedu jing argues that these mystical creatures shall come and protect the faithful who properly venerate the scripture.60 According to Buddhist mythology, the four great heavenly kings are

59 See Gregory Schopen, Figments and Fragments of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India: More Collected Papers, 25-62.

60 T 21.533c19-26.

guardians who protect the four cardinal directions.61 In the Shengsi dedu jing, they become supporters of Medicine Master Buddha.

Additionally, the eight assemblies of semi-gods—namely heavenly beings, serpent-like creatures, serpent kings, yakṣas (yecha 夜叉), ferocious demigods, humanoid birds, golden-winged birds, and aroma seekers—are also depicted as guardians of the scripture. Among these supernatural beings, the most remarkable figures associated with Medicine Master Buddha are the yakṣas, who form a group of natural spirits. The origins of the belief in yakṣa can be traced back to ancient Hindu traditions, which identified yakṣa as a kind of demonic creature.62 In the Shengsi dedu jing, these demon-like spirits are transformed into the most remarkable supporters of the Buddha and the primary protectors of the scriptures. Notably, there are twelve principal yakṣas in particular, portrayed as the twelve “Divine Kings” (Shen wang 神王), who consistently safeguard devotees and protect them from dangers.63 It is said that those who possess and read this scripture, regardless of wherever they go, will be protected by these twelve principal yakṣas. To a substantial degree, the myths related to supernatural creatures form a distinct feature of the Medicine Master Buddha worship.

61 They are Vaiśravaṇa (Duowen tian 多聞天) in the north, Virūḍhaka (Zengzhang tian 增長天) in the south, Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Chiguo tian 持國天) in the east, and Virūpākṣa (Guangmu tian 廣目天) in the west. See Kim Hyangsook 金香淑. “Chū ō ajia ni okeru shitennō no zuzōgaku teki kōsatsu” 中央アジアにおける四天王の図像学的考察,16-28.

62 For a sophisticated study of the yakṣas in Hindu traditions, see Gail Hinich Sutherland, The Disguises of the Demon: The Development of the Yakṣa in Hinduism and Buddhism, 69-84.

63 They are rendered as the twelve great Yakṣa Generals (Yecha dajiang 夜叉大將) in Dharmagupta’s, Xuanzang’s, and Yijing’s translations. See T 14.404b, 408a-b, and 416b.

Recollection of the Buddha’s Name

Another significant theme that runs throughout the Shengsi dedu jing is its emphasis on the power of the holy name of Medicine Master Buddha. It claims that the

Buddha’s name is unique and can bring about tremendous benefits:

If men and women, who break away from Māras and enter into the righteous path, listen to my discourse on the name of Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathāgata, then Māras and their relatives will be dispelled and driven out. In such way, [the Buddha] saves living beings from measureless suffering.64

若有男子､女人､新破眾魔､來入正道､得聞我說是藥師琉璃光如來名字者､魔家眷屬､退散馳走。如是無量拔眾生苦。

While this scripture points out the extraordinary power derived from the name of

Medicine Master Buddha, similar descriptions about the holy name of a specific Buddha or a bodhisattva can often be found in other Mahāyāna literatures. Pertinent example includes the Lotus Scripture, which states that Guanyin will assist people to overcome the perils of fire, flood, maritime disaster, robbery, or imprisonment, if they call upon his/her name.65 By the same token, the recollection of the name of Amitābha Buddha is also strongly recommended by the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra.66

Within a devotional context, the aforementioned Mahāyāna texts tend to establish the superiority of a particular religious figure over other similar figures, be they buddhas or bodhisattvas. It is thus not surprising that the Shengsi dedu jing shows special favor to Medicine Master Buddha, by emphasizing the power of his name. In

64 T 21.533a23-25.

65 T 9.128c. For a discussion of calling upon Guanyin or Avalokiteśvara, see Yu Chunfang, Kuan-Yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteś vara, especially Chapter 2. 66 T 12.268c.

several places, it argues that mindfully and sincerely calling upon Medicine Master

Buddha’s name will engender tremendous advantages. To persuade its readers, the text proclaims that if one hears this divinity’s name, recites it single-mindedly, and holds fast to it, one is able to recover from all sorts of diseases.67 It also declares that one can receive timely assistance and be free from miseries, only if one whole-heartedly fixes one’s mind on this Buddha. We are also told that by simply calling upon this divinity, one is able to gain salvation.68 In many instances, the invocation of the holy name of

Medicine Master Buddha is described as an easy and efficient method to ask the

Buddha for help and blessings.

Making the Buddha’s Image

Scriptures dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha suggest various ways that a devotee can take part in the cult of this Buddha. Making his image is yet another exemplary type of devotional practice highlighted by the Shengsi dedu jing.69 Within the text’s ritual context, image-making is depicted as an essential and integral part of the worship devoted to this divinity. Not surprisingly, the text not only advises believers to make the Buddha’s image, but also instructs them to participate in venerating his image in person. It clearly points out that after the image have been made, devotees should revere the image by prostrating, making offerings, burning incense, and setting up a decorated canopy above the image. Furthermore, they are encouraged to

67 T 21.534a12-b2.

68 Ibid.

69 Dharmagupta’s and Xuanzang’s texts specify that one should make seven statues of Medicine Master Buddha. See T 14.404a and 407c. However, such statement is absent in the Shengsi dedu jing. It does not explain a specific number of images should be created. It seems that the later versions give more details and presents clearer statements.

circumambulate this divine image. Most importantly, practitioners should fix their mind on contemplating (siwei 思惟) the Buddha and his virtues.70 At a basic level, the image is functionally equivalent to the actual presence of the Buddha, which may explain why the text often emphasizes the significance of image-making.

Encouraging believers to engage in creating the Buddha’s image, the scripture proclaims that the rewards and merits derived from the project of image-making are manifold. That includes a speedy recovery from diseases, longevity, wealth, and security, to name a few. It seems likely that statements of this sort in part contribute to the widespread sponsorship of making Medicine Master Buddha’s paintings and sculptures that subsequently enriches Chinese Buddhist art.

It must be noted that the suggestion to engage in image-making is comparatively rare in early Mahāyāna literature. Although the early texts centered on Akṣobhya and

Amitābha advocated devotion toward certain texts and recommended recollection of the divinities’ names as a mode of practice, they did not place emphasis on image-making.

Additionally, the Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparipṛcchā), one of the earliest Mahāyāna texts, does not mention any ideas associated with image-making.71 As Gregory Schopen notes, only some of the later Mahāyāna scriptures instruct Buddhist followers to make images dedicated to certain celestial beings.72 The exhortation of image-making in the

70 T 21.534a3.

71 For the main content and the English translation of the Inquire of Ugra, see Jan Nattier, A Few Good Men: the Bodhisattva Path according to the Inquiry of Ugra, 207-321.

72 Gregory Schopen, Figments and Fragments of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India: More Collected Papers, 108-153.

Shengsi dedu jing suggests that this scripture may be representative of a relatively late or mature phase in the development of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Setting up Lamps and Banners

In addition to the aforementioned devotional activities, the Shengsi dedu jing advocates lighting lamps and making five-colored banners. As far as I have been able to establish, these two pious acts do not appear in the extant texts associated with other heavenly buddhas and bodhisattvas, including those dedicated to the worship of

Amitābha, Guanyin, Mañjuśrī, and Maitreya (Mile 彌勒). The Shengsi dedu jing provide valuable information about setting up lamps and banners. It also emphasizes these two practices as two types of essential performance devoted to Medicine Master Buddha. It is said that these two practices, either performed jointly or individually, are able to bring about instant rewards. The scripture makes it clear that the Buddha’s devotees should set up votive lamps and five-colored banners, if they wish to gain blessings from the divinity immediately.73

Moreover, these two practices are incorporated into the “Method of using banners and lamps to prolong lifespan” (Xuming fan deng fa 續命幡燈法), a rite that consists of a mélange of ritual components. The Shengsi dedu jing expounds the details of this rite. First, patrons invite monastics to perform the rite; meanwhile, all practitioners prepare by fasting and upholding eight precepts for seven days and nights.74 It is said that the participants also need to recite this scripture for forty-nine times before setting

73 T 21.535b8-11.

74 The eight precepts are based on the five precepts and adds three additional prohibitions against adornment, lying on a high or luxurious bed, and eating during inappropriate time. These are regulations to train laypeople in a short period of semi-monastic life.

up the votive lamps and the banners. During the rite, forty-nine lamps are evenly arranged in seven tiers.75 The banners are made by five-colored cloth; and each banner should be forty-nine chi 尺 long.76 By expounding specific details and ritual procedures, the scripture recommends the faithful this complex rite and presents it as an effective method of engendering a number of desirable outcomes.

According to the Shengsi dedu jing, the functions and benefits of this rite are varied, including a procurement of release from prison, a quick recovery from disease, attainment of longevity, and becoming free from the severe torment in hells. To begin with, the text declares that this rite should be performed for those who are shackled and imprisoned. It continues to exhort the sick to take part in the lighting of lamps and the making of banners, in order to procure release from acute pain caused by illness. The scripture also states that if one is sick, the ritual supposedly allows one to gain a rapid recovery from the illness. At a basic level, these descriptions present an all-inclusive scheme and suggest that the rite was conceived of as a multi-functional exercise, suitable for all living beings.

Another section of the scripture also explains how the dying and the dead also benefit from the “Method of using banners and lamps to prolong lifespan.” We are told that this rite may save the dying ones and liberate the deceased. The text declares that when one is about to die, one’s relatives should light seven-tiered lamps and set up

75 Little is known about why the rite requires forty-nine lamps. It seems that “seven” and “forty-nine” are significant numbers in the scripture.

76 T 21.535b12-17. The term chi 尺 is an ancient unit of length. The precise length of one chi is uncertain because its definition was varied throughout Chinese history. Xuanzang’s version indicates that each banner should be forty-nine handspans long. A handspan (zhe shou 搩手) is the maximum distance between the tips of thumb and little finger when a hand is entirely extended.

colorful divine banners in order to accumulate merit for the dying person.77 It also suggests that this rite should be performed for the deceased to release their sufferings in hells and to secure their salvation. Furthermore, the scripture points out the connection between this rite and the aforementioned nine kinds of unfortunate death: the rite enables one to avoid these types of unfortunate death, and can also help one to attain longevity.78

The “Method of using banners and lamps to prolong lifespan” described in the

Shengsi dedu jing had considerable impact on the later development of Buddhist rituals in China. A number of medieval Chinese Buddhists created new rituals based on this rite. For example, Yixing 一行 (683-727), a monk who incorporated his knowledge of astronomy into Buddhist rituals, composed Yaoshi liuliguang rulai xiaozai chunan niansong yiqui 藥師琉璃光如來消災除難念誦儀軌 (Rules for Recitation of Medicine

Master Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathāgata to Dissipate Calamities and Difficulties). This ritual manual articulates an elaborate ritual that consists of several esoteric practices.

This ritual text gives an immediate impression that, following Yixing’s suggestive ritual procedures, the practitioner is able to evoke sacred power and gain timely response from Medicine Master Buddha. It then expounds that each practitioner should take precepts, develop the mind of awakening (bodhicitta), and observe the rite of initiation (abhiṣeka). Most importantly, this text combines the rite of setting up lamps

77 T 21.536a1-23.

78 T 21.535b-536a.

and banners with the recitation of mantras (Ch. zhenyan 真言), incantations that consist of Sanskrit syllables.79

Compared to “Method of using banners and lamps to prolong lifespan,” the overall ritual procedures formulated by Yixing are more complicated and incorporate more contemplative techniques. Nonetheless, the “Method of using banners and lamps to prolong lifespan” provides the prototype of ritual performance connected to Medicine

Master Buddha, which greatly influences the subsequent development of the Medicine

Master Buddha cult.

Concluding Remarks

As the oldest surviving text devoted to Medicine Master Buddha, the Shengsi dedu jing recurrently lays stress on utilitarian concerns related to mundane life and the immediate afterlife. Unlike other Mahāyāna texts that explain doctrinal teachings, the core of the text does not aim at articulating a sophisticated philosophy. Instead, it presents vivid portrayals of human sufferings and advocates reliance on the salvific power of Medicine Master Buddha. The major aim of the scripture seems to promote the pursuit of this-worldly benefits, along with the procurement of desirable rebirth, as promised by Medicine Master Buddha. Within such devotional context, the text promises a broad range of boons for those who participate in the Medicine Master

Buddha worship: cure of diseases, attainment longevity, prosperity, becoming free from lawsuits, escape from dangers, avoidance of unfortunate death, and securement of favorable rebirth.

79 T 19.20b-22c.

On the whole, the Shengsi dedu jing presents Medicine Master Buddha’s manifold religious roles in considerable detail. It does not merely describe him as a healing divinity. Rather, it portrays him as a universal savior, whose power has relevance both in this world and the afterlife. Perhaps its overt messages that characterize the Buddha as an unsurpassed savior help to popularize the Buddha, allowing his worship to take root in China and other parts of Asia.

CHAPTER 3 EARLY DEVELOPMENT AND BURGEONING GROWTH

The discussion of the oldest surviving textual source in Chapter 2 served to introduce the principal scripture that sets forth the salvific rites associated with Medicine

Master Buddha. To investigate when and how the set of beliefs centered around this particular Buddha actually influenced the religious life of the many Buddhists in medieval China, this chapter explores the pertinent inscriptional records and visual presentations of the divinity, especially those sponsored by Buddhist devotees from the third to the tenth century. Additionally, it examines Chinese exegetical and hagiographic works, as well as relevant miracle tales in order to ascertain and understand several crucial stages in development of the Medicine Master cult, set against the larger backdrop of in Chinese religious history.

Although beliefs about Medicine Master Buddha began to take hold in China during the third century, the performance of devotional acts dedicated to him did not become pervasive until the early seventh century. During the Northern Dynasties the

Buddha was not a central object of worship in Buddhist devotional activities, even though he was recognized as a member of the Buddhist pantheon by medieval Chinese

Buddhists. From the Sui and into the Tang periods, his worship gradually became a full- fledged movement, which inspired intellectual monks who wrote commentaries and exegetical works centered around him. There were also lay and clerical patrons who commissioned his iconography, and devotees who read and spread miracle stories about him and his salvific activities. In addition, influenced in part by the rise of esoteric teachings, the worship of the Buddha was integrated into a number of new rites created

during the Tang dynasty, as illustrated by pertinent ritual manuals composed and promoted by Buddhist monks.

In addition to presenting the overview of the Medicine Master Buddha worship, this chapter also examines the different phases in the development of the cult. Tracing this particular strand of history provides a window into the Buddha’s changing positions within Chinese Buddhism. The chapter also clarifies how the full-blown cult of the

Buddha went far beyond a single mode of representation. Rather, the Buddha’s specific characteristics were articulated in a number of ways, as we can see from the extant exegetical works, miracle tales, pictorial art, and ritual manuals.

The Initial Phase

The knowledge about the provenance of Medicine Master Buddha worship in ancient India remains largely unknown. None of travel records written by Chinese pilgrims indicate the worship of this Buddha in ancient India. Moreover, a number of scholars have noted the absence of archaeological sources of Indian Medicine Master

Buddha cult. For example, both Raoul Birnbaum and Li Yumin agree that there is no early Indian pictorial or inscriptional record about Medicine Master Buddha that remains in existence.1 Although Deborah Klimburg-Salter, an art historian, suggests that some cover images of Gilgit manuscripts might depict Medicine Master Buddha, none of these images can be dated earlier than the fifth century.2 Without adequate evidence, it is unlikely to recover the actual picture of the cult in ancient India. Under such

1 Raoul Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 52-55; and Li Yumin, “Dunhuang yaoshi jingbian yanjiu” 敦煌藥師經變研究, 1-39.

2 Deborah Klimburg-Salter, “Bhaișajyaguru in Indian Art,” 501-511.

circumstance, Birnbaum suggests that perhaps the texts and beliefs about Medicine

Master Buddha were transmitted from Central Asia to China.3

Inscriptional records indicate that devotional activities associated with Medicine

Master Buddha were initially practiced by the Chinese during the Western Jin 西晉 (265-

317) dynasty. However, very few early written materials or images associated with the divinity still survive. One of the rare extant sources is “Inscription of Making Medicine

Master Buddha’s Image Sponsored by Zhang Yangci, the Eastern Commissioner of the

Western Jin” 西晉東作使張揚刺鑄藥師佛像記. This dedicatory inscription was composed for a Medicine Master Buddha’s image, commissioned by Zhang Yangci to commemorate the birth of his son. The record reveals the patron’s wishes:

On the sixteenth day of the eighth month of the sixth year of the Taikang era (285 CE), the Western Commissioner, Zhang Yangci, had a baby boy, and . . . Master was presented as above. The donor prays to Medicine Master Buddha for the deceased parents, living relatives, and all sentient beings in the Dharma realm.4 [May they] see the Buddha in every life and always listen to his teachings. [May they] have resolute mind of practice until they attain awakening.5

太康六年八月十六日､東作使張揚刺､生得小男､□師留此上。6 禱藥師佛､願已過父母､見在眷屬､7 法界有情､生生見佛､世世聞法。道心堅固､乃至菩提。

3 Raoul Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 55-61.

4 The Dharma realm (Sk. Dharma-dhātu) is the term generally refers to any state of existence.

5 For a transcription of the inscription, see Sato Chisui’s 佐藤智水 study of the steles from the Northern Dynasties. See Sato Chisui, “Hokuchō zōzō mei kō” 北朝造像銘考, 36. A photographic copy of the image of Medicine Master Buddha is collected by the Institute for Research in Humanities at Kyoto University.

6 □ stands for an illegible character.

7 The word jian 見 can be read as xian 現, which literally means existing or current.

Zhang Yangci’s inscription is valuable not only because of its preservation of the earliest extant information about making Medicine Master Buddha’s image, but also because it predates the records about canonical texts that focus on the divinity. The inscription unequivocally states that the donor paid respect to Medicine Master Buddha in 285, several decades before the appearance of the Shengsi dedu jing in China.

The details related to the life of Zhang Yangci are not very clear, nor do we know how he learned about the worship of Medicine Master Buddha. Based on his dedicatory statement, it seems that Zhang worked for the government when China was unified by

Emperor Wu of the Jin dynasty 晉武帝 (r. 265-290), who ended the political division of the Three Kingdoms 三國 (220-280). Zhang sponsored the making of the Buddha’s image at a time when China enjoyed a short period of social and political stability.

Although Zhang referred to the name of the Buddha, he did not identify Medicine

Master Buddha as a healing deity. None of the Buddha’s healing features were mentioned by the donor. Instead, Zhang expressed a number of generalized religious goals, which can be seen in many Buddhist dedication writings: to be able to constantly see the Buddha, to listen to his teachings, and finally to attain enlightenment. These statements were correlated to the hope of being free from eight kinds of difficult circumstances (ba nan 八難) that might hinder one from seeing a Buddha or listening to his teaching.8 Moreover, as it is revealed in the inscription, Zhang was concerned about universal salvation. His dedicatory statement shows that he not only wished the

8 The eight difficulties are: being reborn in the realm of hell, in the formless realm, as a hungry ghost, as an animal, as a heavenly being, as a person with disabilities, being satisfied with secular knowledge, and being born into a period when lacks a living Buddha.

achievement of spiritual cultivation for himself, but also for his deceased parents, living relatives, and other sentient beings. Such declarations, in general, accord with traditional Mahāyāna ideas about compassion and altruism. It is apparent that these kinds of normative Buddhist concepts were accepted by the donor.

Besides Zhang’s inscription, there is a lack of surviving sources that can offer solid evidence to explain the presence of beliefs and practices dedicated to Medicine

Master Buddha in the third-century China. The Buddha was not mentioned in any historical documents or indigenous religious texts composed at that time. It seems likely that the veneration of the divinity was only at the initial phase of its long development in

Chinese Buddhism.

The Buddhist Pantheon during the Northern Dynasties

As far as I have been able to obtain, relatively few records indicate how the

Buddha was venerated by the people in the south during the Northern and Southern

Dynasties 南北朝 (420-581). One of the few cases is Emperor Wen of the Chen dynasty

陳文帝 (r. 560-566) who composed the Exposition on Fast and Repentance of Medicine

Master (Yaoshi zhai chan wen 藥師齋懺文). The work briefly explains the impermanent nature of life and asks for the Buddha’s blessings.9 It seems unquestionable that

Medicine Master Buddha worship was accepted and practiced by the sixth-century southern people, but only a few relevant records exist. To explore the cult’s gradual development in a larger devotional milieu of Chinese Buddhism, the following

9 T 52.334b13-c6.

discussion describes Medicine Master Buddha’s status and in relation to other major divinities during the Northern Dynasties.

Some Prominent Divinities

When China underwent significant political and social changes during the

Northern Dynasties, Non-Chinese people ruled the North and adopted Buddhism as a central part of a broad strategy to break cultural barriers. That contributed to the rapid growth of Buddhism and the spread of several Buddhist cults.10 While popular cults dedicated to several celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas rose to prominence from the fourth to the sixth century, the development of the Medicine Master Buddha worship was relatively slow.

Compared to Medicine Master Buddha, Maitreya and Guanyin were more renowned at the time. Evidence of that can be found in Huijiao’s 慧皎 (497-554) Gao seng zhuan 高僧傳 (Biography of Eminent Monks), a collection of hagiographic materials that contains two hundred and fifty-seven biographies of prominent monks from the first to the sixth century.11 While the text references a great number of monks who had faith in Maitreya and Guanyin, it does not mention any believer who revered

Medicine Master Buddha.

It is apparent that Buddhist devotees favored other divinities over Medicine

Master Buddha during the Northern Dynasties. Pertinent examples include Daoan 道安

(312-385), a famous monk who composed one of the earliest Buddhist scriptural

10 See Kenneth Ch’en, The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism, 65-124, and Buddhism in China, 121- 183.

11 Gao seng zhuan, T 50.322c-423a. For a discussion of the Gao seng zhuan, see John Kieschnick, The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese Hagiography, especially its introduction.

catalogues in China, sincerely worshipped Maitreya and wished to be reborn in the

Tuṣita Heaven.12 According to the Gao seng zhuan, Senghu 僧護 (dates unknown), another monk who dedicated himself to Maitreya cult, vowed to carve colossal

Maitreya’s image into cliff faces of Yinyue Monastery 隱嶽寺 at Shicheng mountain 石城

山, located at present-day Zhejiang 浙江 province. The project of image making stopped when Senghu passed away, and was finally completed in 516 by Sengyou 僧祐 (445-

518).13

In addition to Maitreya, Guanyin was also a popular bodhisattva during the

Northern Dynasties. The Gao seng zhuan records many monks who asked Guanyin for help and blessings. Prominent examples include Gunabhadra (Qiunaba tuoluo 求那跋陀

羅, 394-468), Bo Faqiao 帛法橋 (ca. 256-345), Zhu Fayi 竺法義 (307-380), and Daojiong

道冏 (ca. 380-444).14 In contrast to the numerous followers of the Maitreya and

Guanyin cults, the Gao seng zhuan, does not cite any follower of Medicine Master

Buddha. It seems likely that the belief in this particular Buddha was not as prevalent as the belief in other Buddhist divinities at the time when the Gao seng zhuan was compiled.

Similar situation is also apparent at Buddhist cave sanctuaries such as Yungang

雲岡, located in the Shanxi 山西 province, and Longmen 龍門, at the south of Luoyang

洛陽 city in Henan 河南 province. During the Northern Dynasties, the northern rulers

12 T 50.353b20-c7.

13 T 50.412a8-b16.

14 T 50.344a18-22, 350c16-26, 407a13-29, and 413b27.

and the members of the imperial family patronized the construction of Buddhist caves at

Yungang and Longmen. Meanwhile, Buddhist clergy and laity also took part in the making of images at these sites. Extant images and inscriptions from these caves give us valuable historical evidence about what people actually believed and practiced.

Examining the materials at Yungang grottoes, we learn that the central devotional objects venerated by Northern Dynasties devotees in Yungang were

Śākyamuni Buddha and Maitreya. Mizuno Seiichi 水野清一, a Japanese scholar who specializes in Yungang research, points out that the most popular motifs in Yungang grottoes was the relief images that depict legendary biographies of Śākyamuni.15 In addition, the images of the crossed-leg Maitreya were the second most popular type of statues at Yungang in the fifth century, which might indicate that many donors anticipated the coming of the future Buddha.16 In contrast, there is only one inscriptional record about Medicine Master Buddha, at a small niche and without an image.17 By the same token, relatively few donors at Longmen showed active interest in Medicine

Master Buddha. While icons and inscriptions devoted to Śākyamuni, Maitreya, and

Guanyin can be found in many grottoes established during the Northern Dynasties, we can find only a few records of Medicine Master Buddha in this complex of caves.18

15 Mizuno Seiichi, Unkō sekibutsugun: Tōhō bunka kenkyūjo unkō sekkutsu chōsa gaihō 雲岡石仏群: 東方文化研究所雲岡石窟調查概報, 114-115.

16 According to Dorothy Wong’s study of steles in the Northern Dynasties, the images of Śākyamuni and Maitreya were the most widespread themes. Mizuno Seiichi regards that Maitreya is the second most popular motif at Yungang grottoes. See Dorothy Wong, Chinese Steles: Pre-Buddhist and Buddhist Use of a Symbolic Form, 90-179; and Mizuno Seiichi, 117.

17 Mizuno Seiichi, 114.

18 For a survey of Longmen caves during the Northern Dynasties, see Tsukamoto Zenryū 塚本善隆, “Ryū mon sekkutsu ni arawaretaru hokugi bukkyō ” 龍門石窟に現れたる北魏佛教, 142-242; Liu Jinglong 劉 66

On the whole, there is a conspicuous lack of fourth- and the fifth-century archaeological findings associated with Medicine Master Buddha. We only have a few number of statues and inscriptions commissioned by donors from the sixth century, both monastics and householders. The following cases provide more evidence of the gradual increase of the Medicine Master Buddha worship in the sixth century.

Worship in the Sixth Century

Most surviving Northern Dynasties statues and steles of Medicine Master

Buddha were discovered in the north central plains, including Hebei 河北, Henan, and

Shanxi provinces. A stone Medicine Master Buddha triad discovered in Yecheng 鄴城,19 located at the border between present-day Hebei and Henan provinces, is one of the rare six-century sculptures of this kind, whose donor regarded this particular Buddha as the main object of worship.20 The Buddha, with his eyes half closed, is shown in the center. Sitting with his legs crossed, the Buddha is flanked by two unidentified bodhisattvas. Although some parts of the statue have been damaged, we still can see that his right hand makes a gesture that symbolizes fearlessness, while the left one forms a gift-giving sign (varada mudrā). His outer garment is draped over his body, and the folds of the thick drapery hang down in front. Two standing bodhisattvas, both wearing crowns and long robes, join their palms reverently. On the pedestal, there are

景龍 and Li Yukun 李玉昆, Longmen shiku beike tiji huilu 龍門石窟碑刻題記彙錄, 66-68; Amy McNair, Donors of Longmen, 1-30 and 143-156.

19 Yecheng was the capital of several dynasties, including Eastern Wei 東魏 (534-550).

20 I am indebted to Li Yumin, who shares the photos and points me to important sources.

also two guardian lions, together with two monastic donors who are making incense offerings.

Based on the inscription on the back, we learn that the statue was primarily commissioned by a nun called Daosheng 道勝 in the first year of the Yuanxiang 元象 reign of the Eastern Wei 東魏 (538). A portion of the dedicatory inscription reads,

“Daosheng respectfully commissioned the image of Medicine Master. May His Majesty the Emperor, the empress and the imperial concubines, all officials, the seven generations of (Daosheng’s) monastic teachers and parents, as well as all sentient beings, including those who suffer in the three lower realms, share the merits and

(eventually) attain the awakening.” Typically, this statement presents a rhetorical pattern that can be seen in many Northern dynasties inscriptions, including those related to the

Maitreya cult.21 While the inscription represents a generalized statement, it does not point out any specific feature or characteristic associated with Medicine Master Buddha.

Another rare record of Medicine Master Buddha in the six century is an inscription discovered on the southern wall of the Guyang Cave 古陽洞 at Longmen.

The cave, which consists of several niches on the two side-walls, is one of the earliest caves at Longmen.22 The inscription, completed in 525 CE, is predominantly dedicated to Maitreya, but Guanyin and Medicine Master Buddha were also mentioned. The inscription states:

On the seventeenth day of the seventh month of the first year of the Xianchang era (525 CE), Buddhist nun Seng . . . parted with her cloth . . . of remnants. Reverently praying for His Majesty the Emperor and next for

21 See Amy McNair, Donors of Longmen,31-50; and Dorothy Wong, Chinese Steles, 89-104.

22 Dorothy Wong, 54-60.

the monastic teachers,23 parents, and the fourfold assembly, the donor has respectfully made a niche for Maitreya, companioned with Guanyin and Medicine Master. Now [the niche] has been completed. With the meritorious deeds, [the donor] prays for the blessings of the loyal family, monastic teachers, parents, and relatives. May the Empire flourishes endlessly and the four seasons come naturally. May [all] observe the prohibitions and accumulate the halo [of merits]. May [all] comprehend and realize the twofold emptiness. May the punishments of hells be eliminated. May suffering disappear and goodness prevails. These are [the donor’s] wishes.24

孝昌元年七月十七日､比丘尼僧□割已衣□□之餘。仰為皇帝陛下､師僧､父母､四輩､像主敬造彌勒一堪､25 觀音､藥師､今己就達。願以此善､慶鍾皇家､師僧､父母､己身眷屬。皇家無窮､稟傾四氣。行禁積暈､思悟二空。地獄捨刑､離苦福存。願如是。

This record provides crucial information about the identity of the donor, the date of the inscription, the names of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas that were worshiped, and the wishes of the donor. Based on the inscription, we learn that the niche was donated by a Buddhist nun in 525, when the Northern Wei government (386-534) ruled over the

Luoyang area. It is noteworthy that the donor mainly dedicated this niche to Maitreya.

The donor was presumably also aware of the supposed benefits of venerating Medicine

Master Buddha, but in this instance she did not regard Medicine Master Buddha as the central devotional object.

Moreover, the dedicatory inscription demonstrates the donor’s wishes for the success of the Empire, the welfare of deceased parents and present-life relatives, the

23 The term shiseng 師僧, frequently seen in Chinese archaeological records, may denote “monastic teacher” or “teacher and monk.” According to Zhao Qingxhan’s 趙青山 and Cai Weitang’s 蔡偉堂 study of this term shown in Chinese inscriptional records, it is more pertinent to render this term to monastic teacher in the religious context. See, Zhao Qingxhan and Cai Weitang, 35-42.

24 Mizuno Seiichi 水野清一 and Nagahiro Toshio 長廣敏雄, Ryūmon sekkutsu no kenkyū 龍門石窟の研究 , 308.

25 The character kan 堪 is commonly used in inscriptions to replace kan 龕.

relieving of suffering in the hells, the liberation of all living beings, as well as the achievement of a higher spiritual goal. Such formulaic expressions should not be interpreted as heartfelt desires. Overall, this sort of statement was not unique and could be found in numerous votive inscriptions dedicated to other Buddhas and bodhisattvas.26 Although Medicine Master Buddha’s name was mentioned, the donor did not specify the identity of the divinity. It seems likely that Medicine Master Buddha did not specifically represent an embodiment of healing, but was merely one of the celestial beings in the vast pantheon of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, which played important roles in the Mahāyāna tradition.

During the Northern Dynasties, the establishment of steles became a prevalent religious and cultural activity. The extant steles provide significant sources for the study of how Medicine Master Buddha was understood by medieval devotees. Based on these steles, we find that his image was rarely depicted on these monuments, but sometimes his name was mentioned along with other divinities. For example, two remarkable steles—one sponsored by the Du 杜 family, and the other commissioned by

Dong Huangtou 董黃頭—deserve our attention.

The Du family’s four-sided stele, discovered in Henan province, was made in the eighth year of the Wudin 武定 reign of the Eastern Wei 東魏 (550).27 On side A of the

26 The donors of devotional steles, stupas, shrines, statues, and paintings for Śākyamuni, Maitreya, and the Many Treasures Stupa in the Northern Dynasties usually transferred merits to the rulers, their relatives, and all living beings. See Eugene Wang, Shaping the Lotus Sutra: Buddhist Visual Culture in Medieval China, 3-66, and Dorothy Wong, 90-135.

27 The inscription is transcribed in Beichao fojia shike tapian baipin 北朝佛教石刻拓片百品 (Selections of Buddhist Stone Rubbings from the Northern Dynasties), vol. 1, no. 0053. The Fu Ssu-nian 傅斯年 library, at Academia Sinica, Taipei, collects the rubbing of the inscription.

stele,28 many Buddhas and bodhisattvas are mentioned, including Medicine Master

Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathāgata, another name of Medicine Master Buddha.29 The donors, however, not only paid respect to Medicine Master Buddha, but also asked for blessings from Bodhisattva Guanyin, Śākyamuni, Maitreya, and fifteen other Buddhas.

Many of the Buddhas included in the inscription—such as Jinguang beimei fo 靜光悲媚

佛, Shizihou shenzu youwang fo 師子吼神足遊王佛, and Fahu fo 法護佛, to name a few—were not popular celestial figures in Mahāyāna Buddhism.30 Nor do they have distinguishable iconographic and religious characterizations. Evidently, the inscription resembles the Thousand-Buddha motif, a recurrent theme of the arts in the Northern

Dynasties, which demonstrates the donors’ respect for a large pantheon of Buddhist divinities.31 Within such context, Medicine Master Buddha’s name was simply included in the inscription, along with the names of many other Buddhas. It seems likely that the author(s) of the inscription did not particularly identify him as an embodiment of healing, but simply viewed him as one of numerous celestial beings.

Additionally, side B of the stele shows the wishes of the donors, which illustrate a stereotypical form of dedication writing that was in vogue during the Northern Dynasties.

Its significant portion reads:

Therefore, the head of the yi society, Du Wenyong, the controller of donations, Du Yingjun, and the administrator, Du Ronghui, together with other fourteen donors, reverently made a stone image on behalf of His

28 The Institute for Research in Humanities at Kyoto University labels each side of the stele from A to D. Here I follow Kyoto University’s definition.

29 Beichao fojiao shike tapian baipin, vol. 1, no. 0053. The original inscription shows Yaoshi luliguang fo 藥師留璃光佛, and lu 留 could be read as lu 琉.

30 Ibid., vol. 1, no. 0053.

31 For a study of the Thousand-Buddha motif, see Dorothy Wong, 73-77.

Majesty the Emperor, the seven generations of parents of the donors, and all sentient beings. The shrine is splendid and the divine appearance is brilliant. [The donors wish to] accumulate merits by showing respect to the sages of the past.32

是以都邑主杜文雍､都維那杜英儁､都忠正杜容徽十四人等､上為皇帝陛下､諸邑七世父母､一切有形､造石像一區。堪室華離､33 靈容澄湛。表彰往聖､合生等福。

A yi 邑 society was a collective group of donors who corporately sponsored religious activities. The number of members could vary from ten to hundreds. Usually they shared social ties or local resources. Among these members, some prominent donors were given specific titles that reflected their positions in an image-making project.34 In this case, Du Wenyong was recognized as the leader of the group, and the stele was possibly established by the clan-based community of the Du family. Following an established custom, the donors prayed for the ruler, their deceased parents, and all living beings. As I discussed above, such generalized statements of wishes for the blessings of the emperor and all sentient beings, on the whole, modeled on a prevalent pattern of dedicatory writing.

Another example of a relevant stele, found in Shanxi, was sponsored by Dong

Huangtou together with seventy other donors. The stele was made on the twenty- seventh day of the seventh month of the Tianbao 天保 era (558 CE) of the Northern Qi

32 Beichao fojiao shike tapian baipin, vol. 1, no. 0053.

33 Li 離 can be read as li 麗.

34 For details of the Yi society, see Kate Lingley, “Patron and Community in Eastern Wei Shanxi: The Gaomiaoshan Cave Temple Yi-Society,” 127-172; Liu Shufen 劉淑芬, “Wu zhi liu shiji huabei xiangcun de fojiao xinyang” 五至六世紀華北鄉村的佛教信仰, 497-544; and Dorothy Wong, 52-88.

北齊.35 Like other examples, the stele also suggests that Medicine Master Buddha was not particularly regarded as a healing figure by the Buddhist community. Instead, he occupied a fairly general or vague position in the vast pantheon of Buddhas. The inscription on the stele reads:

The Buddhist disciples, Dong Huangtou and seventy other donors, have righteous faith and are without wrongdoing, but [the donors] are living at the time when Buddha is not in this world. Thus . . . [the donors] reverently form a virtuous yi society36 . . . and make a stele carved with Śākyamuni’s image, which is [companioned with the icons of] Maitreya, Infinite Life Buddha, Medicine Master [Buddha], Dīpaṃkara, Pensive [Bodhisattva], Abundant Treasures [Buddha], Ānanda, Mahākāśyapa, and many other bodhisattvas. With a bit of merit, [the donors] pray that His Majesty the Emperor flourishes endlessly and conquers [the people of] four directions. Furthermore, may all donors of the community, wherever they will be reborn, always meet a Buddha. May they listen to his teachings and then reach realization. May all sentient beings in the Dharma realm give rise to the bodhi mind and rapidly attain Buddhahood.37

有佛弟子董黃頭七十人等､正信無邪､生不值佛､故□□□□契崇邑義□造釋迦碑像一區､彌勒慈氏､及无量壽佛､藥師､定光､思惟､多寶､阿難､迦葉､并諸菩薩。以此微善､願皇帝陛下､延祚無窮､四方慕化。又願邑義諸人､生生之處､恒值諸佛､聞法悟解。法界眾生､發菩提心､速致作佛。

As with the other stele discussed above, the donors did not treat Medicine Master

Buddha as the central figure. Again, Medicine Master Buddha was only venerated together with other Buddhas and bodhisattvas.

It is important to note that the abovementioned dedicatory inscriptions recorded in the Buddha triad, the Guyang Cave, and steles do not show any connection with the

35 Beichao fojiao shike tapian baipin, vol. 1, no. 0067.

36 The term yiyi 邑義 sometimes is also shown as yiyi 義邑, which literally means a virtuous yi society. In general, yi and yiyi were employed alternately in inscriptions to refer to voluntary communities that engaged in devotional activities. See Dorothy Wong, 52.

37 Beichao fojiao shike tapian baipin, vol. 1, no. 0067.

specific features of Medicine Master Buddha described in the Shengsi dedu jing, a text I analyzed in Chapter 2. It seems likely that the text did not have a notable impact on the religious life of Chinese People in the fifth and the sixth centuries. The Buddha’s twelve vows and his promise of salvation, for instance, cannot be seen in any of these dedicatory notes. Although the name of Medicine Master Buddha was mentioned, the donors did not pay special attention to his distinctive features. Apparently, Buddhist followers in the Northern Dynasties only occasionally regarded him as an independent object of worship, as exemplified by Daosheng’s sponsorship of the Buddha’s statue. In most cases, the Buddha’s name was included when devotees also paid homage to numerous other divinities. Overall, the beliefs and practices associated with this particular Buddha were slow to develop, and for the most part, they were invoked within a larger pantheon of Buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Increasing Popularity of the Cult

The prevalence and character of beliefs and practices associated with Medicine

Master Buddha underwent significant changes during the Sui and the Tang dynasties.

That was a unique time when the protracted transformation of Buddhism from a foreign religion into the most influential tradition in China reached its high point. The Sui

Empire, after a long period of political division, unified the nation, and provided generous patronage that fostered the remarkable growth of Buddhism. Although the empire was short-lived, the imperial family and government not only set up a considerable number of state-sponsored monasteries, but also constructed pagodas

dedicated to the Buddha’s relics throughout the nation.38 In the Tang dynasty, Buddhism had notable growth under the patronage of several Tang rulers, including Taizong 太宗

(r. 626-649), Gaozong 高宗 (r. 649-683), Empress Wu Zetian 武則天 (r. 684-705), and

Suzong 肅宗 (r. 756-762). In addition to imperial support, members of all social classes, from aristocrats to ordinary people, accepted the faith and engaged in Buddhist activities. Buddhism became an integral part of Chinese culture, philosophy, art, and literature.39

The efflorescence of the Medicine Master Buddha cult coincided with the remarkable growth of Chinese Buddhism during this period. Beginning with the Sui dynasty, an increasing number of devotees showed interest in the Buddha, as can be seen from the compiling of exegetical texts associated with him. They also articulated their personal connections with the divinity via miracle tales, and by commissioning the

Buddha’s images.

Commentaries and Exegesis

As indicated in Chapter 2, three out of four extant canonical scriptures dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha were translated by renowned translators in the Sui and the

Tang periods, including Dharmagupta, Xuanzang, as well as Yijing. Based on these translations, a number of knowledgeable monks composed treatises and commentaries, presenting their views on Medicine Master Buddha.

38 For a discussion of Buddhism during the Sui dynasty, see Victor Cunrui Xiong, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty: His Life, Times, and Legacy, 151-171.

39 For more on Tang Buddhism, see Kenneth Ch'en, Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey, 213-240; Mario Poceski, Introducing Chinese Religions, 131-135; and Stanley Weinstein, Buddhism under the T'ang, especially part one.

One of the most remarkable examples is Huiguan 慧觀 (fl. 682), a Chinese monk who composed the Yaoshi jing shu 藥師經疏 (Commentary on the Medicine Master

Scripture), based on Dharmagupta’s translation. The commentary is preserved as

Dunhuang manuscript S. 2551.40 An endnote in the commentary states that Huiguan studied the scripture and made his commentary after experiencing famine and epidemic due to a destructive flood that occurred in the first year of the Yongchun 永淳 era

(682).41 It seems that Huiguan felt the need to spread the scripture and encourage reverence of the Buddha in order to comfort those who suffered from the natural catastrophe.

In addition to Dharmagupta’s version, Xuanzang’s translation was used by several Buddhist exegetes. For example, Xuanzang’s principal disciples, including

Jingmai 靖邁 (fl. 627-649) and Shentai 神泰 (fl. 645-658), interpreted Xuanzang’s version.42 Their treatises, however, do not survive anymore.

While native monks presented their understandings of the Buddha and his worship, foreign monks who visited and studied in Tang China were also interested in this widespread veneration. Several eighth-century Silla monks—for example, Tunryun

遁倫 (a.k.a. Toryun 道倫, fl. 705) and T'aehyŏn 太賢 (fl. 753)—composed exegetical texts related to the Buddha.

40 See Ikeda On 池田温, Chū goku kodai shahon shikigo shū roku 中國古代寫本識語集錄, 254.

41 T 85.327c12-17. The natural disaster is also recorded in the Jiu tang shu 舊唐書 (Old Book of Tang), which indicates that heavy rain caused the deadly flood and devastated several provinces of China. See Jiu tang shu, 37.1352-3.

42 See Dong yu chuan deng mulu 東域傳燈目錄 (Catalog of the Transmission of Lamps in Eastern Region), T 55.1152b8-14.

T'aehyŏn’s Ben yun yaoshi jing guji 本願藥師經古跡 (Traces of Scripture on the

Original Vows of Medicine Master), written in Chinese, is one of the most important treatises that explore and analyze the advantages of the worship. T'aehyŏn’s exegesis, based on Xuanzang’s translation, proclaims that the Buddha has distinct power to release all living beings from severe sufferings. Therefore, this unique divinity deserves to be named “Medicine Master.” The exegesis also carefully analyzes the Buddha’s aspiration to save his believers from dangers and satisfy their mundane needs.43

Highlighting the significance of the Buddha, T'aehyŏn identifies the scriptures affiliated with Medicine Master Buddha as the ultimate Mahāyāna teaching (liaoyi dasheng jiao

了義大乘教).44 That illustrates his attempt to advocate the superiority of Medicine

Master Buddha over other divinities. Returning to their native land, these Korean monks further contributed to the transmission of the Medicine Master Buddha worship on the

Korean peninsula.

The abovementioned exegetical texts were made by knowledgeable medieval monks. To a certain extent, their works reflect prevalent views regarding Medicine

Master Buddha of the time. In addition to scholarly monks, it must be noted that a great number of common people also engaged with beliefs and practices dedicated to the

Buddha, as evidenced by the popularity of miracle tales about him and his salvific powers.

43 T 38.257a15-c9.

44 T 38.257a28.

The Buddha as Described in Miracle Tales

The Medicine Master Buddha worship is not only articulated by Buddhist scriptural and exegetical texts, but also becomes the subject of popular literature.

Pertinent popular narratives deserve our attention because they record how certain aspects of Buddhism were accepted by people in medieval China, how they understood their religious traditions, and how their interests changed. To a substantial degree, popular narratives represent the collective memory of the masses. Unlike Buddhist canonical texts and exegetical works, the central focus of popular narratives is not to establish an eloquent argument. Nor do they seek a high degree of subtlety or contain beautiful literary prose. In most cases, these popular writings are fairly readable. They aim to be remembered, talked about, and transmitted through generations.

One of many genres of popular literature that developed in premodern China is the miracle tale.45 By the fourth century, miracle tales dealing with Buddhist divinities— such as Guanyin—were collected and compiled into individual text that circulated in

China.46 Literature of this type tends to underscore the concept of ganying 感應, which literally means “stimulus and response,” or gantong 感通, “stimulus and communication.” As Robert Ford Campany has noted, these usages denote the idea that divinities can be elicited by human devotional acts.47 They may be moved by the

45 Several scholars have contributed to the studies of Chinese miracle tales. For example, Robert Ford Campany, Signs from the Unseen Realm: Buddhist Miracle Tales from Early Medieval China, 2012; and Zhang Zhenjun, Buddhism and Tales of the Supernatural in Early Medieval China, 2014.

46 Guanyin may be the most renowned Buddhist figure that inspired many medieval Chinese writers to create popular literature. See Yu Chunfang, Kuan-Yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteś vara, 158-176; and Donald Gjertson, “The Early Chinese Buddhist Miracle Tale: A Preliminary Survey,” 287- 301.

47 Robert Ford Campany, 49-51.

devotees’ sincere supplications or pious practices. Accordingly, they respond to the requests of the believers. That form an interactive network or exchanges between the deities residing in otherworldly realms and the human beings living on earth. Although the tie between the celestial and the human realms is invisible and intangible, it may manifest in concrete miraculous events.

In addition to demonstrating the relation between the celestial and human realms, another purpose of miracle tales is to explain why auspicious things happen to certain people but not to others. Typically, miracle stories stress that only the devout and moral individuals deserve the attention of a given divinity. Their morality and sincerity enable them to receive “miraculous verifications” (lingyan 靈驗) or experience extraordinary phenomena. By and large, miracle tales are in line with long-established social norms and ethical values.

It is likely that miracle stories associated with Medicine Master Buddha individually circulated prior to the Tang dynasty, as evidenced by pertinent Tang compilations that collected popular tales. For example, stories about the Buddha can be found in Biographies of Those Believed in the Lotus Scripture (Fahua zhuanji 法華傳記), compiled by Shengxiang 僧詳 in the eighth century.48 Most extant tales featuring the

Medicine Master Buddha worship are preserved in A Collection of the Miraculous

Responses of the Three Jewels (Sanbao ganying yaolue lu 三寶感應要略錄; hereafter referred to as Miraculous Responses), compiled by Feizhuo 非濁 (d. 1063), a monk who was active at the Liao 遼 (907-1125) court.

48 See T 51.69a27-b23 and T 51.84b5-85a15.

The Miraculous Responses is a collection of preexisting miraculous tales. In the text, Feizhuo clearly indicates his primary sources. He also provides relevant information about where he read these miracle narratives. One of the notable texts he mentioned is the Record of Verification from Medicine Master (Yaoshi yanji 藥師驗記). It is probable that miracle tales about Medicine Master Buddha had been arranged and compiled into an individual text prior to Feizhuo’s collection. The Record of Verification from Medicine Master, however, does not survive.

In his preface to the Miraculous Responses, Feizhuo explains that his motivation of collecting miracle tales was to educate people in the Dharma-ending age (mofa 末法) and encourage them to generate faith in Buddhism.49 He argues that if Buddhism came to an end, there would be no sources and records for later generations. Evidently,

Feizhuo was worried about the degeneration and destruction of the teachings. To ensure the continuous transmission of Buddhism, he collected miracle tales. It seems that he took the position that popular narratives would be more acceptable for common audiences than philosophical doctrines.

An interesting theme recurrently appears in Miraculous Responses is the potency or power of dreams, as illustrated by the following two stories. The first story describes how a mendicant received Medicine Master Buddha’s message in his dream after his

49 T 51.826a15-21. According to traditional Buddhist teachings, the cycle of dharma transmission is divided into three periods. During the Age of Correct Dharma (zhengfa 正法), followers can easily understand the Buddhist teachings and then immoderately attain high level of spiritual achievement. The Age of Semblance Dharma (xiangfa 像法) is the period when the Buddha’s teachings deteriorate and few practitioners can achieve enlightenment. The worst is the Dharma-ending Age, the time when actual practice of the dharma will die out and the attainment of awakening is very unlikely. For more on the Dharma-ending Age, see Jan Nattier, Once upon a Future Time: Studies in a Buddhist Prophecy of Decline; and Jamie Hubbard, “Mo Fa, The Three Levels Movement, and the Theory of the Three Periods,” 1-17.

worship of the Buddha’s image. It states that a poor man venerated the Buddha when he was living in misery circumstances and could not make a living. He visited a temple that housed a divine image (lingxiang 靈像) that was believed to be a living embodiment of the Buddha. After he sincerely circumambulated the statue, practiced repentance, and fasted for five days, he saw the Buddha manifested in his dream to instruct him how and where to gain wealth.50

The second example relates Medicine Master Buddha who arranged a marriage between a destitute woman and a widower, who lived during the Tang dynasty. That also illustrates the standard theme of receiving the Buddha’s messages in a dream. It states that a deprived woman, who lived in a remote area, was in a dire need of help.

Although she could not pay for basic necessities, she wholeheartedly offered the only money she had to adorn a divine statue of Medicine Master Buddha. Seven days later, a wealthy widower who venerated the same sculpture dreamed about Medicine Master

Buddha instructing him to marry the destitute woman. The narrative describes that they became a happy married couple who raised five children.51

In the stories discussed above, dream is presented as the channel via which the divinity communicates with the main protagonists. It is said that dreams can connect believers with the Buddha. In light of that, the manifestation of the Buddha in the protagonists’ dream is highlighted by the miracle tales, as a sign of the Buddha’s prompt response to his followers.

50 T 51.832c16-24.

51 T 51.832c26-833a3.

Furthermore, Miraculous Responses recurrently describes the Medicine Master

Buddha worship as a simple and efficacious practice to gain speedy aid, especially if one is sincere and devout. In many cases, protagonists find themselves in various difficulties, but their situations dramatically change due to their sincerity and faith. For instance, the above-mentioned miracle tale indicates that the poor woman’s generosity towards the Buddha was rewarded with an improvement of her life. Similarly, the widower’s sincerity in venerating the Buddha enabled him to receive the Buddha’s message through dream. Sincerity is thus depicted as the most essential criterion to trigger the mechanism of “stimulus and response,” which forms a common characteristic among these stories. Without expounding sophisticated religious theory or philosophy, miracle tales simply propagate the marvelous efficacy of the worship of Medicine Master

Buddha.

Patrons at Longmen

In addition to Chinese commentaries and miracle tales, Buddhist art and epigraphy tell us more details about Medicine Master Buddha’s increasing popularity.

Pious devotees who regarded the Buddha as a special focus of the worship sponsored the making of his images, which also enriched Buddhist visual culture. Notable records of such expression of piety can be found at the Longmen grottoes.

As indicated above, Northern Dynasties donors at Longmen did not pay much attention on Medicine Master Buddha, but an increasing number of Tang patrons worshipped the divinity. Even though Amitābha and Guanyin still remained the most

popular figures at this cave sanctuary, devotional objects centered on Medicine Master

Buddha also gradually became prominent, as illustrated by the following records.52

Epigraphic sources suggest that a number of Tang donors, laity and clergy, commissioned Medicine Master Buddha’s images at the Longmen grottoes. For example, at the beginning of the Chang’an 長安 era (701), Zhang Ashuang 張阿雙, a lay patron, sponsored the construction of a niche dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha.

According to the inscription, Zang viewed the Buddha as the patron saint of protection and wished to gain the Buddha’s blessings.53

Similarly, Liu Jingyou 劉景宥, who claimed to be a faithful Buddhist, also commissioned an image of Medicine Master Buddha in the second year of Jinglong 景

龍 era (708).54 Other lay donors, including Wang Siye 王思業,55 Cai Daniang 蔡大娘,56

Liu Baorui 劉寶叡,57 Zhang Qiu 張丘, Li Jian 李監, Yao Si 姚思, and Cheng Li 程禮,58 also dedicated themselves to the making of Medicine Master Buddha images at

Longmen grottoes. Sometimes a donor repeatedly took part in the patronage of

52 For the research of the popular devotional objects at Longmen, See Tsukamoto Zenryū 塚本善隆, “Ryū mon sekkutsu ni arawaretaru hokugi bukkyō ” 龍門石窟に現れたる北魏佛教, 142-242; and Dorothy Wong, 89.

53 Liu Jinglong and Li Yukun, 627.

54 ibid, 294.

55 For the inscription, see Beijing tushuguan cang zhongguo lidai shike taben huibian 北京圖書館藏中國歷代石刻拓本匯编, vol. 34, 140. It is also recorded in Liu Jinglong and Li Yukun, 163-164.

56 Baqiongshi jinshi buzheng 八瓊室金石補正, juan 32. Republished in Shike shiliao xinbian 石刻史料新編, vol. 6, 4507.

57 Ibid., vol. 6, 4499.

58 Liu Jinglong and Li Yukun, 146, 179, and 242.

Medicine Master Buddha’s images. For example, Chen Zhiji 陳智積’s inscriptions demonstrate that he commissioned the images of Medicine Master Buddha at the Cave of the Ten Thousand Buddhas (Wanfo dong 萬佛洞) for several times.59

Evidence suggests that the participants of Medicine Master Buddha worship at

Longmen included female devotees. It is interesting to note that while women also sponsored projects that involved image making, they did not directly reveal their names in the inscriptions. Instead, they showed their identities by indicating their relations with male family members. For example, the niece of Li Deshen 李德深,60 the wife of Mr.

Guo 郭,61 and the wife of Military Consultant Wang Liangfu 王良輔62 sponsored the making of Medicine Master Buddha’s images without indicating their names. These female devotees had opportunities to publicly express their faith in Medicine Master

Buddha. But they were aware of their subordinate social status. It seems that their marginal voice was influenced by the social and cultural milieus they lived in. To a certain degree, these female expressions of piety illustrate the medieval women’s obedience to men and the hierarchical social structure that existed at the time. Even so, such records provide us a window to rediscover female involvement in religiosity.

The exact dates of these Tang laymen and laywomen are unknown, and little historical documentation provides information that can help us to identify them. It seems likely that they were common people who were involved in Buddhist devotional

59 Ibid., 149-151.

60 Ibid., 183.

61 Ibid., 192.

62 Ibid., 646-647.

practices. Based on the inscriptional evidence at Longmen, we learn that many of these patrons were residents of Bian Zhou 汴洲, Tai Zhou 太州, Yong Zhou 雍州, and Qi Zhou

齊州, where are located at the present-day Henan, Shaanxi 陝西, and Shandong 山東 provinces. Moreover, these inscriptions also demonstrate that most of these lay donors did not merely commissioned Medicine Master Buddha’s images for their own benefits, but rather named their family members as beneficiaries, including their parents, siblings, children, and spouses.

In addition to the laity, the Buddhist clergy also took part in creating Medicine

Master Buddha’s images. A notable example was Kongji 空寂, a monk who was active at Longmen in the eighth century. Praying to Medicine Master Buddha to bless all living beings in the world, Kongji attempted to accumulate merit by making several images of the Buddha, from 736 to 747.63 Moreover, some Buddhist nuns also participated in the

Buddha’s worship. Inscriptions found at the Southern Shuangyao Cave 雙窯南洞 and the Cave of the Ten Thousand Buddhas prove that female monastics were also active believers of the Buddha.64

While a number of inscriptions devoted to Medicine Master Buddha are found at

Longmen, few visual representations of Medicine Master Buddha survive. One of the sparse extant Medicine Master Buddha sculptures at Longmen can be seen on the west wall of Yaoshi Grotto 藥師洞.65 The statue of Medicine Master Buddha, about two

63 Ibid., 374 and 559.

64 Ibid., 128 and 151.

65 The grotto is located near Qingmingsi Grotto 清明寺洞. A photograph of this statue is reproduced by Wen Yucheng 温玉成 et al., eds, Zhongguo meishu quanji: Longmen Shiku diao ke 中國美術全集: 龍門石 85

meters high, is standing on a lotus pedestal. The eyelids of the sculpture are shown with fine lines. A single robe covers both shoulders, while well-spaced U-shaped drapery folds fall from his chest to the knees. His left hand, with the palm facing the viewer, is outstretched in a gift-giving gesture. The right hand is holding a medicine bowl, an iconographic feature that symbolizes his healing power.

Another important feature includes a set of seven small seated Buddhas adorning the halo of Medicine Master Buddha. In early Indian and Chinese arts, the theme of seven Buddhas or seven stupas usually represents the seven Buddhas of the past, which are Śākyamuni and his six predecessors.66 According to Yui Suzuki’s study, such motif is also commonly shown on either Medicine Master Buddha’s halo or his mandorla, but it implies more than one connotation. In addition to the representation of the seven Buddhas of the past, these seven smaller icons may be related to

Xuanzang’s and Yijing’s translations that suggest the practice of making seven statues of Medicine Master Buddha.67

Pictorial Art at Dunhuang

In addition to the Chinese heartland, Medicine Master Buddha’s ascendancy as a special focus of worship can be found at the relatively remote sites of northwestern

China. The oasis town of Dunhuang in Gansu 甘肅 province, situated at the crossroads of Silk Road that links China and Central Asia, is known for its geographical and economic significance. Historically, Dunhuang was the center for religious and cultural

窟雕刻, pl. 129. I am indebted to Yan Juanying 顏娟英 for sharing her knowledge of Longmen and giving me advice.

66 Marylin Martin Rhie, Early Buddhist Art of China and Central Asia, Vol. 3, 143.

67 See Yui Suzuki, “The Aura of Seven: Reconsidering the Shichibutsu Yakushi Iconography,” 19-42.

exchanges among pilgrims, missionaries, and traders. Numerous sacred sculptures, paintings, and manuscripts were created in this area, which provide us crucial sources for the studies of religion.

Based on the surviving manuscripts, we can ascertain that scriptures centered on

Medicine Master Buddha circulated in the Dunhuang area, and were copied by the Sui- era Buddhists. For example, the colophon of a Dunhuang manuscript in the Kyoto

National Museum, Japan, indicates that in the sixth century Shi Yuanfei 石元妃, a married woman, contributed to the copying of several popular Buddhist scriptures. In the dedicatory note, Shi identifies herself as a Buddhist disciple (fo dizi 佛弟子), and shows concern about her living and deceased relatives’ spiritual liberation. In 581, Shi finically supported the copying of Buddhist texts, including the Medicine Master Scripture.68

Additionally, Dunhuang manuscript P. 2276 shows that in the fourth year of the

Renshou 仁壽 era (604), Ying Weizhen 楹維珍 sponsored the copying of the Guanding jing and the making of banner on behalf of his deceased father.69 The donor unequivocally expressed his commitment to make a banner that was forty-nine chi long.70

Compared to Longmen, the Mogao grottoes at Dunhuang have preserved more artworks related to Medicine Master Buddha. Remote and set apart from the power centers of imperial China, Dunhuang escaped devastating religious persecutions and

68 Ikeda On, 138.

69 See Jiang Liangfu 姜亮夫, Mogao ku nian biao 莫高窟年表, 190.

70 For a discussion of the length of the banners and setting banners as the devotional worship, see Chapter 2.

preserved a number of wall paintings that cannot be found at other sites, including metropolitan monasteries.71 These paintings are remarkable sources that showcase how medieval artists and pious believers expressed their understanding of Buddhist teachings, and presented their devotional feelings and ideas through images.

The cave temples of Mogao have a considerable amount of wall paintings associated with Medicine Master Buddha. Many of them belong to a distinctive artistic genre known as transformation tableaux (bian xiang 變相), which depict pictorial scenes that are loosely based on pertinent Buddhist scriptures.72 Although Buddhist scriptures are notable sources for these religious murals, Buddhist textual narratives did not always guide the creation of imagery. In some cases, medieval painters and devotees loosely adopted Buddhist ideas and freely showed their personal interests, which led to the rich complexity and diversity of Buddhist art.

Scholars in the field of art history generally agree that transformation tableaux dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha have existed in the Mogao grottoes since the Sui dynasty. Examples include Caves 394, 417, 433, and 436.73 Among them, the well- preserved murals of Caves 417 and 433 deserve our attention. They are significant because they illustrate several distinct features of Medicine Master Buddha tableaux,

71 Several religious suppressions occurred in China. For example, Emperor Wuzong of Tang 唐武宗 (r. 840-846) enacted an anti-Buddhism persecution that led to extensive destruction of Buddhist architectures and icons, especially those located in the regions of Tang capitals. The persecution was short-lived, but the destructive attacks unfortunately caused the loss of many valuable Buddhist materials.

72 For the recent research of transformation tableaux, see Wu Hung, “What is Bianxiang? On the Relationship between Dunhuang Art and Dunhuang Literature,” 111-192; and Eugene Wang, Shaping the Lotus Sutra: Buddhist Visual Culture in Medieval China, especially Chapter 2.

73 For the overviews of the historical development of the Medicine Master Buddha murals, see Luo Huaqing, “Dunhuang bihua zhong de dongfang yaoshi jingtu bian” 敦煌壁畫中的東方藥師淨土變, 5-18; Li Yumin, “Dunhuang yaoshi jingbian yanjiu” 敦煌藥師經變研究, 1-39; and Yan Zhihong, “Bhaiṣajyaguru at Dunhuang.” Ph.D. diss., University of London, 1997.

including the portrayals of the Buddha, the depictions of twelve “Divine Kings” who pledge to safeguard the followers of the Buddha, as well as the scenes of light offering.74

On the ceiling of Cave 417, the Buddha is shown seated on a lotus pedestal with a preaching gesture.75 Eight bodhisattvas, standing on either side of the Buddha, are depicted facing toward the center. Probably drawing inspiration from the Shengsi dedu jing, which lists the names of eight bodhisattvas who promise to assist the dead so that they can obtain desirable rebirths, this scene may be the representation of the eight specific bodhisattvas affiliated with Medicine Master Buddha.76 Below the Buddha and eight bodhisattvas, twelve kneeling Divine Kings are evenly shown on the either side of the candelabrum. It is noteworthy that this mural presents the detail of light offering: each Divine King is holding a light and facing toward the candelabrum at the center.

Similar motif also can be seen in Cave 433, which was also constructed during the Sui period.

In Cave 433, the seated Buddha, with a canopy over his head, is depicted on the east slope of the gabled ceiling.77 He is flanked by two standing bodhisattvas who wear blue scarves hanging from their arms. Twelve kneeling Divine Kings are divided into two groups, located on each side of the panel. They are shown offering lights and facing

74 On the descriptions of these twelve Divine Kings in Buddhist scriptures, see Chapter 2.

75 A photograph of the mural painting is reproduced in Zhongguo shiku: Dunhuang mogao ku 中國石窟: 敦煌莫高窟, vol. 2, pl. 30.

76 See T 21.533c4-8. For a discussion of the eight bodhisattvas associated with Medicine Master Buddha, see Chapter 6.

77 A photograph of the mural painting can be seen in Zhongguo shiku: Dunhuang mogao ku, vol. 2, pl. 37.

toward the multi-tiered candelabra at the center. Additionally, at the margin of the panel there are the portrayals of heavenly beings who are flying in the sky.78 Apart from these figures, numerous small flowers form the background of the panel.

Although these Sui-era murals include several essential motifs related to

Medicine Master Buddha, their compositions are relatively simple. Compared with the murals from the Tang dynasty, they are smaller and less comprehensive visual representations.79 In addition, while Tang tableaux are usually shown on walls, the aforementioned Sui murals can only be found in the less significant cave spaces, such as the sloped sides of the ceiling. Their less important position, small scale, and simple composition may reflect an on-going development of Medicine Master Buddha transformation tableaux.

From the seventh to the thirteenth century, the wall paintings dedicated to this particular Buddha mushroomed in the Dunhuang area, including the Mogao, Yulin 榆林, and Xiqianfo 西千佛 grottoes. Among them, the Mogao grottoes preserve most Tang- era murals of Medicine Master Buddha. At least fifty-six Mogao grottoes presently house this type of Tang paintings.80 It seems certain that during the Tang era there was an increase of interest in Medicine Master Buddha.

78 The flying heavenly beings (Sk. apsarasaḥ) are mythical spirits in Indian mythology. They become an important motif in Buddhist art. See Manohar Laxman Varadpande, Apsara in Indian art and literature, 10- 25.

79 The terms “Tang dynasty” or “Tang era” generally refer to the period from 618 to 907 in accord with traditional dynastic division. Meanwhile, this study is aware that Dunhuang had special political history different from central China, especially when it was occupied by the Tibetans from 781 to 848.

80 The number is calculated from Dunhuang shiku neirong zonglu 敦煌石窟內容總錄.

Moreover, the notable improvement of Medicine Master Buddha’s visual representation can be seen in the relevant transformation tableaux of that time. In contrast to the simplicity of the Sui-era murals, the Tang-era ones are executed with fine techniques and add more visual elements, such as dancers, musicians, terraces, pools, gardens, and palatial architectural settings. These are meant to represent the Buddha’s sacred realm, and together they form elaborate and complex imageries.

Scholars generally agree that such complexity gradually developed in the first half of the Tang dynasty, as exemplified by the murals in Caves 220 and 148.81 During the second half of the Tang, murals of this type basically followed existing prototype with minor variation. The standard pattern is best illustrated by the tableau presented on the central panel of the north wall of Cave 85, probably executed from 862 to 867.82 It provides us with visual model that can commonly be seen in the transformation tableaux of the time. In Cave 85, Medicine Master Buddha is portrayed, in frontal view, seated on a lotus pedestal in the courtyard and flanked by his two principal bodhisattvas as well as other divinities Below them, two dancers, with whirling scarves, are performing at the center. Four groups of musicians are depicted seated on terraces that are connected by bridges. In front of them, twelve Divine Kings are divided into two groups, each group facing toward the central axis.83

81 See Nign Qiang, 33-148; and Yan Zhihong, 119-149. For a discussion of Caves 220 and 148, see Chapter 6 of the dissertation.

82 The cave was primary sponsored by the Zhai 翟 family, See Dunhuang shiku neirong zonglu, 34.

83 A photograph of the mural painting is reproduced in Zhongguo shiku: Dunhuang mogao ku, vol. 4, pl. 150.

In addition to the use of fine techniques and the adoption of more visual elements, the Tang-era murals demonstrate a more complex representation of the

Buddha’s divine persona and a full-grown depiction of his otherworldly realm. In Cave

85, the mural of Medicine Master Buddha shows that he and his attendants are surrounded by a set of Chinese style buildings, which include two-story pavilions, side halls, adorned railings, and well-structured terraces. Some small figures are shown seated in transparent chambers through which viewers can look into an interior space.

Such architectural settings effectively create a consistent structural unity that systematically organizes various scenes. That also reflects the well-ordered landscapes of the Buddha’s sacred realm.

More importantly, murals of this sort not only illustrate that Medicine Master

Buddha presides over his sacred world but also emphasize the Buddha’s status as a principal divinity. The center-periphery model can be seen in each mural, which presents that the Buddha, accompanied by his attendants, dominates the central space of the panel. Other Buddhas and their assembly are shown as smaller subsidiary figures on two lower corners and the margin. The spatial pattern apparently expresses a center-periphery relationship, which seems to demonstrate Medicine Master Buddha’s rise to eminence among the Mahāyāna pantheon.

Esoteric Ritual Manuals

The worship of Medicine Master Buddha continuously evolved and changed in response to different cultural and religious circumstances. Some of those changes are evidenced by its intersections with esoteric beliefs and practices. During the Tang era, foreign monks brought into China a large body of texts dealing with esoteric teachings

and rituals. Renowned esoteric masters include Śubhākarasiṃha (Shanwuwei 善無畏

637-735), Vajrabodhi (Jingangzhi 金剛智, 671–741) and Amoghavajra (Bukong 不空,

705-774), whose effort and propagation directly influenced the growth of esoteric

Buddhism in Tang China. Subsequently, rituals centered on Medicine Master Buddha were reshaped by the prevalent esoteric movement. The Buddha was identified as the patron deity of esoteric rites, and a new form of the Medicine Master Buddha worship that employed a wide range of esoteric elements took hold in China.

This new type of worship featured a number of comprehensive elements of ritual performance, including the visualization of mandalas that metaphysically represent specific sacred realms, the use of symbolic hand gestures (mudrā), the recitation of sacred spells of power (mantra), and the initiation rites (abhiṣeka) that create special bonds between masters and disciples. These practices are described in a number of esoteric texts. Among them, two ritual manuals, translated by Vajrabodhi and

Amoghavajra respectively, deserve our attention.

The first text, Ritual Rules for the Recollection of Medicine Master Buddha

(Yaoshi rulai niansong yigui 藥師如來念誦儀軌), translated by Amoghavajra, describes rituals dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha. The Taishō edition of the Chinese

Buddhist canon preserves two versions of the text (T. 924A and T. 924B) that have the same title and share similar content. I only discuss here T. 924A, as T. 924B can be read as an abbreviated version of T. 924A.

Ritual Rules for the Recollection of Medicine Master Buddha instructs that one should establish a round platform with the statue of Medicine Master Buddha at the center. According to the text, setting up the Buddha’s image is essential and the

practitioner should recite the incantation for forty-nine days in front of the statue. The ritual manual also explains how the practitioner forms different types of symbolic hand gestures. For example, it describes seven types of hand gestures that should be performed individually in conjunction with seven kinds of spells.84

The second text, Ritual Rules for Contemplative Practice Centered on Medicine

Master Buddha (Yaoshi rulai guanxing yigui fa 藥師如來觀行儀軌法), translated by

Vajrabodhi, presents a combination of several rites for invocating the Buddha. Its explanations of ritual procedure are more complicated than Amoghavajra’s Ritual Rules for the Recollection of Medicine Master Buddha. Vajrabodhi’s ritual manual specifically highlights a number of religious practices, including the Rite of Marking Boundaries (Jie jie 結界), repentance, the Rite of Asking Protection (Qiqing jiahu 祈請加護), visualization, meditation, invocation of divinities, making offerings, taking refuge, and praising the virtue of the Buddha.

Vajrabodhi’s text explains that the Rite of Marking Boundaries should be performed in the beginning in order to define the space for ritual practice. The Rite of

Marking Boundaries is important in the sense that it defines the ritual space and sets up restricted access to this specific area, which subsequently enhances ritual purity.

Following that, practitioners are suggested to perform repentance and recite several kinds of spells. It is said that they also need to call on a number of deities, to request for protection and to exorcise evil spirits.

84 T 19.29b28-c23.

Additionally, the performing of hand gestures and the reciting of spells are integral parts of the ritual. The ritual manual takes the position that the use of hand gestures and the recitation of spells are vital practices that should not be omitted.

Therefore, each section of the rite is performed together with the chanting of spells and the forming of hand gestures. Purportedly these performances empower practitioners to be successful in achieving their intended results. The text explains that hand gestures and spells can boost one’s spiritual power, even if one has very weak ability.85 Not surprisingly, such explanation has a tendency to present esoteric practices as easy and suitable methods to accomplish one’s goal.

Another important feature of the text is the elucidation of methods of visualization. It explain that, to attain a higher spiritual goal, the practitioner should recite twenty-seven times a specific dhāraṇī (tuo luo ni 陀羅尼), a set of Sanskrit phrases that is used as an aid to remembrance and concentration. According to the ritual manual, visualization includes contemplating the power of sacred words. The text instructs that the practitioners must visualize the sacred words emitting red lights while emerging from the center of the mandala. The purported benefits of this type of visualization include eradicating the practitioners’ sins and eliminating their spiritual hindrances.86

Based on the teachings of emptiness and non-duality, the ritual text suggests that practitioners should develop ultimate wisdom and contemplate the illusionary nature of all phenomena. They should also reflect that all living beings share the same

85 T 19.23a-24a.

86 T 19.25a14-16.

nature, which is ultimately clean and pure, during their practices of visualization.87 On the whole, the ritual manual is mostly grounded in standard Mahāyāna doctrines.

This sort of ritual text tends to stress the importance of precisely following the aforementioned observances and to underscore the efficacy of ritual performances. For example, the last section of the Ritual Rules for the Recollection of Medicine Master

Buddha lists eleven methods that are designed to help the practitioner become free from eleven kinds of diseases and obstacles. It also proclaims that those who recite the spells will be released from nine types of unfortunate death.88

By adding various esoteric components into existing rites, the Tang-era ritual texts promote a new type of practice centered on Medicine Master Buddha. Compared to the later establishment of Tendai esoteric rite in Japan, the rites introduced by

Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra seem to function as a preliminary to the development of esoteric rituals dedicated to the Buddha. From the ninth to the thirteenth century, the

Tendai priests developed the full-fledged “Seven Medicine Master Buddha ritual”

(Shichibutsu yakushi hō 七佛藥師法).89 The esoteric ritual required an elaborate arrangement of altars, banners, and offerings. A set of systemized rites was performed by Tendai priests in the ritual sanctuary where housed seven paintings or sculptures of

Medicine Master Buddha. Taken together, the Chinese and Japanese esoteric rites reflect the growth and transformation of Medicine Master Buddha worship in East Asia.

87 T 19.23a15-17, and 28b13-17.

88 T 19.29b-30a.

89 For a study of the Tendai school’s development of “Seven Medicine Master Buddha ritual,” see Yui Suzuki, Medicine Master Buddha: The Iconic Worship of Yakushi in Heian Japan, 103-123.

Concluding Remarks

By examining inscriptions, murals, miracle tales, and ritual manuals, this chapter surveys the historical development of the Medicine Master Buddha worship. When the divinity was first introduced to Chinese people, his religious features, especially his identity as an embodiment of healing power, did not become prominent. During the

Northern Dynasties, he was merely venerated as a celestial being that was an integral part of a larger pantheon of Buddhas and other deities, as can be seen from the extant sources, especially Buddhist hagiographies and pertinent inscriptions. It seems that the

Buddha’s healing power, the capacity to prevent unfortunate deaths, and the protective attributes described in canonical sources were not especially acknowledged by the

Buddhist believers of the time.

By the early seventh century, the situation changed dramatically. The Buddha and his scriptures attracted an increasing number of followers, who expressed their beliefs and performed their practices in a variety of ways. Some took part in the practice of copying scriptures centered on the Buddha, while others commissioned the making the Buddha’s images and the visual depictions of his sacred realm, as illustrated by the

Dunhuang murals. Additionally, exegetical works indicate that certain monastic elite, including the Chinese intellectuals and the Silla monks who studied in China, played an active role in propagating the Buddha’s worship. Their interpretations reflect a strong predilection for this distinctive divinity. More importantly, as the cult of the Buddha became prevalent, the Buddha was also incorporated into new ritual forms that combined a variety of esoteric components.

From its beginning phase to the full-blown stage, the Medicine Master Buddha worship developed over the course of centuries. It gradually absorbed new elements 97

and adapted itself to the changing social and religious milieus. Such inherent flexibility and openness may be in part the reasons that led to its emergence as a prevalent cult in China.

CHAPTER 4 MEDICINE MASTER BUDDHA AS A THIS-WORLDLY SAVIOR

The growth of the Medicine Master Buddha cult as a devotional movement in medieval China was in various ways intertwined with the devotees’ and participants’ concerns with finding immediate and practical solutions for their day-to-day predicaments and challenges. In this and the next chapter, I examine the multiple roles that Medicine Master Buddha played in Chinese Buddhism. More specifically, I investigate how he was venerated and understood, from different perspectives allied to devotees’ diverse needs and expectations, including the procurement of this-worldly wellbeing and desirable rebirth after death. When exploring the manifold and multifaceted representations of this particular Buddha, I do not assume that he developed from a this-worldly savior to a divinity associated with the afterlife, in a simple historical progression. Instead, his polyfunctional roles coexisted and evolved within a larger religious context.

In the following pages, I explore the main issues surrounding the devotee’s individual expectations for obtaining this-worldly advantages, including health, safety, longevity, and fertility. I also investigate how Chinese rulers participated in the worship, in part to strengthen their political authority. As we shall see, it is inaccurate and misleading to assume that the Buddha was merely identified as a holy healer by the

Chinese. In fact, the cult spontaneously involved within a web of reciprocal mechanisms, as the devotees continuously negotiated a variety of potential and beneficial outcomes.

Accumulating and Transferring Merit

Before we move into the detailed discussion of the Medicine Master Buddha worship, it may be helpful to explore some prevailing views related to cultic practices of this sort. In general, medieval Chinese who involved with devotional acts often expected that their meritorious acts would generate certain karmic retributions that could be credited toward a variety of desirable outcomes.1

The underlying concepts include karma and merit (Sk. puṇya; Ch. fude 福德).

Karma—literally “deed” or “action”—explains how one’s fortune and misfortune are governed by the influence of one’s intentions and deeds. Wholesome motivations and acts lead to favorable results, while negative ones are capable of bringing about bad consequences. Originating in ancient India, the theory of karma developed as a fundamental part of Buddhist teachings, to explicate how each action and intent can engender specific results that determine one’s present and future life.2

Within that context, the notion of merit is bound to the doctrine of karma. Merit generally refers to a positive and beneficial consequence acquired through moral or religious actions. That kind of belief motivates not only the laity but also the monastics to pursue the accumulation of merit by prostrating in front of the images of divine beings, performing rituals, and providing offerings. Some Buddhist philosophical thoughts, based on the doctrine of emptiness (Sk. śūnyatā; Ch. kongxing 空性), explain

1 Merit-making acts can be seen in medieval and present-day Buddhism, see Donald K. Swearer, The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia, 5-61; and Ian Reader and George Tanabe, Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan, especially 37-70.

2 Many texts of the Hindu traditions indicate the concepts and teachings related to karma. For example, the Bhagavata Purana, an ancient Hindu text, states that each individual has an account of merit and demerit. Those who perform good deeds will go to heaven, but sinners will be punished by being reborn in different levels of hells. See Dipavali Debroy and Bibek Debroy, trans., The Bhagavata Purana, 58-61.

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that the mind of clinging and attachment may create tremendous obstacles that hinder one’s spiritual path. Even so, evidence suggests that, in fact, most devotees consciously perform merit-making activities and regard these acts as direct and immediate ways to accomplish their mundane objectives, including individual and national well-being.

The devotees’ involvement in religious cults and their expectations of gaining rewards are best illustrated by what Michael J. Walsh has called an “exchange mechanism,” a complex process of reciprocal exchange between the divinity and his devotees.3 In the ongoing exchange, worshipers provide material gifts such as flowers and incense, or build a shrine for the divinity. Meanwhile, they expect to receive appropriate merit in return.

Pertinent Chinese records of merit-making performance suggest that the benefits generated by meritorious deeds were often dedicated to devotees’ close relatives, especially their parents, siblings, spouses, and children. That implies a belief that merit, like gifts, could be transferred to select individuals. The concept of transferring merit as an act of religious giving originally did not develop only in China. It also can be found in ancient Indian Buddhism. As Gregory Schopen has noted, Indian inscriptions from

Ajanta, Sarnath, and Mathura indicate that a considerable number of monastics regarded transferring merit to their parents as the essential practices for cultivating virtue and generosity.4

3 Michael J. Walsh, “The Economics of Salvation: Toward a Theory of Exchange in Chinese Buddhism,” 353-382.

4 Gregory Schopen, Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks: Collected Papers on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic Buddhism in India, 56-71.

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Furthermore, to a large degree, the intended beneficiaries were not limited to one’s clan, but extended to all living beings, at least nominally. One of the numerous examples of such belief presents in the form of a manuscript preserved in the collection of the Kyoto National Museum. It indicates that Shi Yuanfei 石元妃, a laywoman, in 581 sponsored the copying of Buddhist scriptures, including the Medicine Master Buddha

Scripture. She prayed that not only her relatives but also all sentient beings throughout the world would receive the benefits of her meritorious conduct.5 Supplications of this sort can be commonly found in many records of cultic practices. The donors often articulated their altruistic intentions, which echoed central Buddhist doctrines about compassion and universal salvation. It seems apparent that certain fundamental

Mahāyāna teachings were closely linked with the performance of meritorious acts.

Interestingly, while the devotees cultivated wholesome attitudes towards other living beings, they never forgot their individual benefits. Their views, goals, and motivations are preserved in the surviving supplications and dedicatory writings. In these types of writings, their private life, personal problems, and individual feelings are externalized. Sometimes the records also bring some of the devotees’ embarrassing predicaments out into the open. By investigating this type of material, we can have a closer look at the inner desire and anticipations of medieval worshipers. As we closely examine the Medicine Master Buddha cult, we can gain further insights into how medieval participants sought ways to solve their life challenges and improve their well-being.

5 Ikeda On, 138.

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Pursuit of Healing

Throughout history, the issues of health maintenance and healing are among the main human concerns. Prior to the beginning of Medicine Master Buddha worship in

China, indigenous beliefs and religious observances have offered explanations about the causes of diseases and strategies to cure illnesses. Prominent examples include ancient Chinese shamanic tradition, which took the position that demonic possession and bewitchment might be the primary causes for one’s sickness. Shamans (wu 巫), who intermediated between divinities and human beings, practiced ritual performances to trigger magical efficacy and effect healing. Shamanic practices designed to help the sick regain health and vitality were especially prevalent and influential in local villages.6

In addition, by the second century, therapeutic cultivation was one of the most prominent features of the Celestial Masters movement, the first organized Daoist group.

To cure the sick, Celestial Masters adepts used certain talismans and chanted spells to evoke cosmic energy and magical power.7 Compared with these and other religious traditions, Medicine Master Buddha’s role as a divine healer appeared relatively late in

China.

One of the earliest Chinese dynastic histories that indicates devotional activities centered on Medicine Master Buddha for the recovery from illness is Zhou shu 周書

(Book of Zhou), an official history of the Northern Zhou dynasty (557-581), compiled by

6 For a study of Chinese shamanism, see Michael Loewe, Chinese Ideas of Life and Death: Faith, Myth and Reason in the Han Period (202 BC-AD 220), 80-113.

7 For the research of the Celestial Masters, see Barbara Hendrichke, “Early Daoist Movements,” 134-164; Grégoire Espesset, “Latter Han Religious Mass Movements and the Early Daoist Church,” 1061-1102; and Isabelle Robinet, Taoism: Growth of a Religion, 53-77.

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Linghu Defen 令狐德棻 (583-666) in 636.8 The text contains an account of Zhang Yuan

張元, who lived in the sixth-century Ruicheng 芮城 county (Shanxi).9 It indicates that

Zhang was an active believer in Medicine Master Buddha, and got involved in the worship of this particular Buddha primarily because his grandfather had vision problems.

The beginning of the Zhang’s account explains his family background and states that he was born in an aristocratic family. Both his father, Zhang Yanjuan 張延雋 (dates unknown), and his grandfather, Zhang Cheng 張成 (dates unknown), were local governors. According to the Zhou shu, when Zhang Yuan was sixteen, his grandfather suffered a loss of vision due to certain diseases. Being worried about his grandfather’s physical condition, Zhang read and recited the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture in the hope of his grandfather’s recovery from visual problems. The Zhou shu indicates that

Zhang called upon the Buddha for help:

The Teacher of Celestial Beings and Humans!10 As a grandson, I am not filial and should be blamed for my grandfather’s vision loss. I am presently making lamp offerings to light up the Dharma realm and wholeheartedly hope that my grandfather can see again. [If it is possible] I would like to give mine vision in exchange for his poor eyesight.11

8 The story is also recorded in the Fayuan zhulin 法苑珠林 (Forest of Gems from the Dharma Garden), compiled by Daoshi 道世 (d. 683), T 53.761b1-11.

9 Ruicheng is located at the present-day Yucheng 運城 prefecture of Shanxi province.

10 Traditionally, the Teacher of Celestial Beings and Humans (śāsta deva-manuṣyāṇaṃ) is one of a Buddha’s ten epithets. Other epithets are Thus Come One (tathāgata), The Worthy One (arhat), The Perfectly Self-Enlightened One (samyak-saṃbuddha), Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct (vidyā-caraṇa- saṃpanna), The Well-Gone One (sugata), Knower of the World (lokavid), The Unsurpassed (anuttara), Leader of Persons to be Tamed (puruṣa-damya-sārathi), and The Blessed One (bhagavat).

11 See Zhou shu, 46.832-833.

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天人師乎！元為孫不孝､使祖喪明。今以燈光普施法界､願祖目見明､元求代闇。

The text continues to express how after performing the seven-day rites dedicated to the

Buddha, Zhang dreamed that an old man was curing his grandfather by using a golden comb. This extraordinary old man, furthermore, promised Zhang that the sick grandfather would gain his ability to see within three days. The text concludes by stating that the grandfather finally was healed, as he recovered from his visual impairment.12

The case of Zhang Yuan can be interpreted at three levels. First, it proves that the Medicine Master Buddha worship had a close connection with the culturally established concept of filial piety.13 Zhang’s activities are recorded in the section of

“Biographies of the Filial and the Virtuous” or “Xiao yi zhuan” 孝義傳 in the Zhou shu, which aims to extol righteous persons whose conducts were deemed to be especially virtuous. These individuals are presented as role models to be emulated by others. The description of the ethical values and moral characters of this kind of individuals are the main narrative features of this genre of literature.14 In that context, the Zhou shu grants

Zhang a higher status than other people.

Second, Zhang’s participation in reading and reciting the Medicine Master

Buddha Scripture is an example of devotional veneration centered on this text. In the story, Zhang is cast as the one who not only is familiar with the contents of the scripture, but also earnestly follows the instructions given by the text. It seems that the scripture

12 Ibid., 833.

13 For a study of the Chinese ideology of filial piety, see Alan Cole, Mothers and Sons in Chinese Buddhism, 14-40

14 On the narrative features of this type of biographies, see Keith Nathaniel Knapp, Selfless Offspring: Filial Children and Social Order in Medieval China, especially Chapter 3.

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functioned as the primary source for Zhang, and was perhaps foundation for his faith in the divinity. At the time, two versions of the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture had been introduced to the Chinese: the Shengsi dedu jing and Huijian’s version.15

However, Huijian’s text is no longer extant. We are unable to determine which version of the scripture Zhang obtained due to the lack of adequate information. Nonetheless, it is clear that Zhang’s devotional performance—for example, inviting seven monks, lighting seven lamps, and observing the rites for seven days and nights—accorded with the contents of the Shengsi dedu jing.

The final but most significant point is that this case gives us a fascinating glimpse into a medieval Chinese devotee’s views regarding the Buddha. The divinity is identified as a marvelous healer who possesses power of healing that can cure the grandfather’s vision problems. Although Zhang’s experience is recorded in an official dynastic history, the narrative is strongly reminiscent of a typical motif of miracle tales, like the one examined in Chapter 3. Similar to many miracle tales’ descriptions of the ways main protagonists can communicate with Medicine Master Buddha in their dreams, the Zhou shu indicates that the Buddha appeared in Zhang’s dreams and pledged his support to heal the sick grandfather. The text presents his dreams as the Buddha’s answer to his supplications, perhaps implying that the divinity only responds to particularly devout persons such as him, whereas other people cannot experience such miraculous phenomena.

A more specific example of a miracle tale related to the theme of having a dream is the story of Zhang Xiefu 張謝敷 (dates unknown), who all of a sudden had a severe

15 For a discussion of these scriptures, see Chapter 2.

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disease. The narrative, recorded in the Miraculous Responses, relates that during the

Tang era Zhang Xiefu suffered severe illness. Consequently, his family invited a number of monks to recite the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture. It is said that the family properly observed the rite for seven days and nights, seeking the Buddha’s blessings.

Like Zhang Yuan’s example discussed above, one night Zhang Xiefu had a dream foretelling his recovery from illness. In his dream, he saw that his body was extraordinarily covered by several scrolls of the scripture. The text also tells us that then he magically regained his health.16

It is difficult to conclude whether Zhang Xiefu actually experienced such miraculous event or not. In addition, we do not have sufficient information about the background of the story. Nevertheless, the narrative reflects medieval people’s understanding of miraculous healing and their expectations toward Medicine Master

Buddha. By and large, stories of this sort have a tendency to present the Buddha as a great divinity whose power may help his believers procure welfare. Furthermore, veneration of his scripture can also bring about recovery from illness. Presumably, such emphasis on the supposed potency of the Buddha facilitated the growth and popularity of the cult centered on him and his salvific power.

In addition to dynastic histories and popular narratives, the understanding of

Medicine Master Buddha as a health-giving divinity can be found in some of the surviving Dunhuang manuscripts. Prominent examples include two manuscripts that were mainly sponsored by Yuan Rong 元榮 (fl. 525-533), also known as Yuan Tairong

16 T 51.841c19-24.

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元太榮. Based on these manuscripts, we learn that this person showed a special interest in Medicine Master Buddha when he had disease.

Yuan Rong, a descendant of the Northern Wei imperial family, was one of the earliest Chinese Buddhists who contributed to transcribing scriptures centered on

Medicine Master Buddha, before the invention of printing techniques. The young Yuan was active in the metropolitan areas, especially at Luoyang. As a top-ranking official, he was awarded the military position of Great General-in-Chief and given the honorary title of Prince Dongyang 東陽王 by Emperor Xiaozhuang 孝莊 (r. 528-530) of the Northern

Wei dynasty.17 By 525, he was sent to the border regions to serve as Regional

Inspector of Guazhou 瓜州, and he ended spending the rest of his life there.18

The existing Dunhuang manuscripts suggest that when Yuan governed

Guazhou, he generously financed several projects that involved transcribing Buddhist texts, especially from 530 to 533.19 Based on two colophons of the manuscripts, we also learn that when he suffered physical problems, he repeatedly supported the copying of the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture.

The first colophon, which is presently in the collection of the Gotoh Museum

(Gotō Bijutsukan 五島美術館) in Japan, was initially written in the fifth month of the

17 See Wei Shu 魏書 (Book of Wei), 10.263. For more on Yuan Rong and his position at Dunhuang, see Su Bai 宿白, “Dongyang wang yu Jianping gong” 東陽王與建平公, 244-259; and Wen Mengxia 文夢霞, “Zai lun dongyangwang yuan rong ling guazhou cishi de shijian” 再論東陽王元榮领瓜州刺史的時間, 101- 5.

18 It is located at present-day Dunhuang area, Gansu province.

19 See Dunhuang manuscript S. 4415 and S. 4528. Yuan Rong might financially support the projects but did not always physically transcribe texts. Dunhuang manuscript no. 100, which is presently in the collection of the Shanghai 上海 Library, indicates that Yuan employed Seng Bao 僧保, probably a monk, to transcribe Buddhist texts.

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second year of the Yongxi 永熙 era (533), when Yuan faced physical challenges. It explicitly indicates Yuan’s feelings of fear and frustration. Yuan assumed that his suffering from sickness was caused by the lack of merit, and claimed that he could not find any solution to defeat his disease. He thus financed the copying of the Medicine

Master Buddha Scripture and other Buddhist texts in hopes of improving his health.20

The second colophon, preserved in the Dunhuang manuscript S. 4415, proves that two months later Yuan also commissioned a large-scale project to transcribe one hundred copies of Buddhist texts.21 Like the earlier project of the same year, he contributed to the copying of the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture. Meanwhile, he expressed a strong desire to “completely get rid of illness and harmonize the four physical elements.”22 Such declaration accords with traditional Buddhist notions that sickness is caused by the disharmony among the four primary elements. Typically, the essential components of a living being’s physical body are assumed to be earth, water, fire, and wind. Hence, Yuan stated his wish to harmonize the major physical elements.

Yuan supported the copying of Buddhist texts twice in 533, and both times he reiterated his desire to ward off disease. It is worth mentioning that, prior to 533, Yuan had been involved in a number of devotional activities related to the copying of Buddhist scriptures. However, there is no evidence that he paid attention to the Medicine Master

Buddha Scripture, nor had he expressed his wish for a rapid recovery. It seems likely

20 The colophon is transcribed in Ikeda On, 118-9. Also see Huang Zhen 黃徴 and Wu Wei 吴偉, eds., Dunhuang yuan wen ji 敦煌願文集, 822.

21 Ikeda On, 119.

22 Ibid.

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that when his health condition got worse, his attitude toward the Buddha dramatically changed.

Yuan Rong’s case is only one of many pertinent examples. Another similar case is evidenced by the colophon of Dunhuang manuscript S. 0053. It confirms that an anonymous female donor financed the copying of the Medicine Master Buddha

Scripture when she was ill. Little is known about the social identity of this woman. The manuscript only shows that she was a married woman. Nonetheless, the manuscript clearly indicates that she sponsored the copying of the text for a specific purpose. She wished that the merits earned from her pious act would be beneficial for the improvement of her health.23

The Buddha’s function as a divine healer did not cease to play a significant role in China. During the Northern Song 北宋 (960-1127) era, the Buddha continued to be favored by those who sought speedy recovery from illness. His influence in the religious life of the faithful is reflected in the poem composed by Su Shi 蘇軾 (1036-1101), also known as Su Dongpo 蘇東坡, a renowned poet and calligrapher. By extolling the

Buddha’s healing potency, Su Shi celebrated his grandchildren’s recovery from disease:

At the moment when the Buddha manifests, all living beings are free from worries about having an illness. His world is made of lapis lazuli, where medicinal herbs grow all around. Presently my little grandkids respectfully revere the Buddha as if he is their parent. His complexion is perfectly smooth and even, and he can completely ward off the underlying cause of diseases.24

23 For a transcription of the manuscript, see Huang Yongwu 黃永武, ed., Dunhuang baocang 敦煌寶藏, vol. 1, 259.

24 Feng 風, or wind, is regarded as one of the primary causes of illness in traditional Chinese medicine. See Shigehisa Kuriyama, “The Imagination of Winds and the Development of the Chinese Conception of the Body,” 23-41.

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Being disciples of the Buddha, Yue and De might have been monastics in their past lives. Sincerely creating an image of the World-Honored One, [I appreciate that] their lives have been saved by the Buddha.25

我佛出現時､眾生無病惱。世界悉琉璃､大地皆藥草。我今眾稚孺､仰佛如翁媼。面頤既圓平､風末亦除掃。弟子龠與德､前世衲衣老。敬造世尊像､壽命仗佛保。

Su Shi composed the poem when his two grandchildren—Su Yue 蘇龠 and Su

De 蘇德 (dates unknown)—suffered from a severe disease. Being worried about their health, the father, Su Guo 蘇過 (1072-1123), paid homage to the Buddha on behalf of the children. When they regained their health and vitality, the delighted grandfather wrote the poem, together with a painting dedicated to the Buddha. Su Shi apparently attributed his grandchildren’s good health to the Buddha’s healing power. Like other followers of the cult, Su Shi assumed that the Buddha possessed distinct healing power, which made his stand out in relation to other divinities. His poem, which depicts the

Buddha as a supreme healer, tells us about Song-era devotees’ common attitudes towards the divinity.

It is surprising that very few cases from the medieval period indicate that the worship of the Buddha was done for the purpose of preventing illness, even though disease avoidance is supposed to be a vital issue. Evidence suggests that most devotees mainly paid attention to the Buddha and his worship at times when they were facing perils or challenges. Seeking solutions, they turned to the divinity to pray for a speedy recovery. The Buddha, on the whole, played a less significant role if when there were no life-threatening circumstances. By and large, the cult was dominated by the

25 Dongpo quan ji 東坡全集, 95.2a-3a.

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mundane views and utilitarian concerns of its participants. In general, the cult had closer links with the devotees’ interest in solving crises they had encountered in the course of their everyday lives, than in preventing future problems.

Although the cases discussed above reveal the relationship between Medicine

Master Buddha and devotees’ expectations about curing diseases, the power of healing is merely one of the Buddha’s polyfunctional characteristics. While he was believed to be an embodiment of healing power by those who were in search of effective cure for illness, he was also viewed by others from different perspectives. In the eyes of his medieval devotees, the benefits of the Buddha’s worship were never limited to health improvement alone. Among other cases, he was also venerated as a protective divinity who provided individual safety and national security.

In Search of a Safe Journey

To obtain a clearer picture of how Medicine Master Buddha was venerated, we have to examine the viewpoints of devotees who had to deal with the challenges of migration and travel. The traditional Chinese attitudes toward making a journey tended to be negative. The interpretation of travel as a critical crisis has its roots in ancient

Chinese culture, as exemplified by the Han shu 漢書 (Book of Han). It indicates that humans have a tendency to live in their homeland and avoid migrating (antu zhongqian

安土重遷).26 It is not recommended to have internal migration movement from city to city. Additionally, international journeys were customarily discouraged, probably in part because going on a trip could be dangerous.

26 Han shu, 9.292.

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Many pertinent examples indicate that Medicine Master Buddha was considered as an almighty protector by medieval travelers. Below I investigate three selected cases associated with these travelers’ involvement in the cult. The first instance is a dedicatory note recorded in the Dunhuang manuscript that was composed by Xin Xingsheng 辛興

升, an emissary during the Western Wei 西魏 dynasty (535-557), who had a long trip to

Inner Asia. Xin’s work, preserved in the collection of the Calligraphy Museum (Shodō

Hakubutsukan 書道博物館) in Japan, specifies his attitude towards Medicine Master

Buddha.27 Based on his statement, we learn that Xin was a lonely traveler in a foreign land who missed his faraway loved ones and had acute feeling of homesickness. He unequivocally expressed his hope to return home safely and get together with his children. Under such circumstance, in 552, while Xin was on his way to foreign lands, he sponsored the copying of Buddhist scriptures, including the Medicine Master Buddha

Scripture and the Lotus Scripture.28

It deserves our attention that Xin Xingsheng did not give away money unconditionally. By the contrast, he expected substantial rewards corresponding to his donations. In his writing, Xin repeatedly explains his desire to gain immediate and practical benefits. For example, he indicates that “those who earnestly follow the

Mahāyāna will receive immeasurable rewards,” which assumes that the faithful of the

Mahāyāna tradition would procure supposed welfares. In addition, Xin regarded that merits were quantifiable. The dedicatory note clearly explains that he had exhausted his

27 Ikeda On, 126. A portion of the manuscript is transcribed in Huang Zhen and Wu Wei, 834.

28 Ibid.

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personal wealth to participate in the pious act of scripture copying.29 His explication about the cost of a lavish amount of money probably implies his expectation to gain equivalent amount of retribution. It seems apparent that Xin anticipated his meritorious deeds would engender good karma, which supposedly would assist his journey and accomplish his hope for a family reunification.

The second case presents an even clearer example of safety-seeking practices.

“Eulogy to Embroidered Image of Medicine Master Buddha, with Preface” (Yaoshi rulai xiuxiang zan bing xu 藥師如來繡像贊並序) was written by Lü Wen 呂溫 (772-811), a

Tang essayist and poet. It explains Lü’s stress during his journey to a foreign nation and his concerns about personal safety.

Growing up in an aristocratic family, Lü was a knowledgeable scholar active in the Tang intellectual circles. Lü Wei 呂渭 (735-800), Lü’s father, was the deputy chief imperial censor, and Lü’s brothers were scholar-officials who served in the Tang imperial bureaucracy.30 Moreover, Lü studied with Lu Zhi 陸贄 (754-805), a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong 德宗 (r. 779-805). He also closely interacted with

Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 (773-819), a prominent writer who advocated the classical prose

(guwen 古文) movement. In 798, Lü passed the imperial examination and began his political career. A few years later, he was appointed to serve as a low-level advisory official at the examination bureau of government.31 In 804, Emperor Dezong

29 Ibid.

30 Xin tang shu, 160.4966.

31 Ibid., 4967.

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commanded Lü to accompany Zhang Jian 張薦 (744-804), a high-level advisory official, to travel to Tubo 吐蕃, where Lü faced many challenges.32

His eulogy to the Buddha, recorded in the Quan tang wen 全唐文 (Complete

Literature of the Tang), explains why his wife embroidered the Buddha’s image and what kind of hardships he experienced at Tubo:

The image of Medicine Master Buddha is embroidered by my wife, Ms. Xiao from Lanling. In the twentieth year of the Zhen Yuan era (804), carrying out the command of Emperor Dezong, I traveled west to Tubo as an ambassador. Taking leave from my parents, I hazarded my life and drove a single vehicle in a dangerous region. National misfortune suddenly happened; meanwhile, the military situation was uncertain and unpredictable. Since I faced such hardship, it has been one year.33

藥師如來像者､予妻蘭陵蕭氏之所繡也。貞元二十年､予奉德宗皇帝之命､西使吐蕃､辭高堂而出萬死､介單車而馳不測。國故遽至､戎情猜閉。坎險一遇､星霜再周。

To fulfill his official duty of ambassador, Lü struggled with many adversities. First of all, Lü suffered the loss of his most important partner, Zhang Jian, who all of a sudden died at the border between China and Tubo due to severe sickness.34 After

Zhang’s death, Lü had to complete his mission to foreign territories alone. Under such circumstance, Lü argued that he hazarded his life in a dangerous region.35

Secondly, when Lü traveled to Tubo, the Tang empire underwent a critical period of political power transition. Lü’s writing points out that “national misfortune suddenly

32 Tubo or Tufan 吐蕃, the ancient Tibetan Empire, ruled the areas extending from the Himalayas to the Tarim basin in the first half of the ninth century.

33 Quan tang wen, 629.8066. The phrase xing shuang zai zhou 星霜再周 literally means that starts and frost appear again according to the cycle of seasons, which denotes that one year has gone.

34 Zhang Jian died at the age of sixty-one, and the Tubo people escorted his corpse to China. See Xin tang shu, 161.4981.

35 Quan tang wen, 629.8066.

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happens,” which is meant to imply that Emperor Dezong’s death in the spring of 805.36

The sensitive situation of the leadership succession caused Lü’s intense anxiety for his uncertain future. Living in the foreign region, Lü was not only worried about the government’s foreign policy, but also nervous about his separation from the center of the political power of the Tang. Although a new ruler, Emperor Shunzong 順宗 (r. 805), the oldest son of Emperor Dezong, successfully ascended the throne, he had a weak physical condition. Prior to becoming a ruler, Shunzong had suffered aphasia resulting from the brain damage of stroke. Due to his physical limitation, the emperor failed to deal with powerful eunuchs and only ruled the nation for less than one year.37 At the same time, Lü was detained by the Tubo, probably because that the declining Tang empire could not solve the problems of its foreign relationships.

Moreover, the long-term separation led to the couple’s intense distress. Lü’s writing explains that since Lü began his journey to Tubo, his wife had been worried about the safety of the husband. The political upheaval and Lü’s detention acerbated her sadness. Pointing out his wife’s growing apprehension, Lü wrote: “The anxiety made her become irritable, and the intense emotions made her feel overwhelmed.”38 To cope with the feeling of fear and desolation, the wife made an ornate embroidery of Medicine

Master Buddha, and the husband composed the eulogy.39 Lü’s eulogy explicitly expresses the couple’s respect for the Buddha:

36 Quan tang wen, 629.8066 and Jiu tang shu, 13.400.

37 Jiu tang shu, 14.405.

38 Quan tang wen, 629.8066.

39 Sewing embroideries of Buddhist divinities became a common practice in the Tang society. The activity was not exclusively dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha. For example, Wenyuan yinghua 文苑英華 (Finest Blossoms in the Garden of Literature), an anthology of Tang literature composed in 986 by Li 116

It is said that Great Medicine Master, residing in the east of Golden World of Bliss,40 sheds the precious light of lapis lazuli that illuminates enormous realms that are as many as grains of sands. He is capable of assisting all living beings to liberate from distress. If one is single-minded in calling upon him, he certainly responds; [although] there are ten thousand requests, he definitely answers. Therefore [my wife] exerts her wisdom to make a brilliant image. Cutting fabrics that have been diligently woven and dyeing a huge basket of handmade silks, she assiduously adorns and finely stitches the colorful embroidery. She considerately fastens the scented threads and pays utmost attention to the tip of a needle. Her fingers gently touch [the fabrics] as if dew drops wash blue lotuses. Her distressed mood comes to an end as if clouds open up and the sun shines again.

如聞東方有金界極樂藥師大雄､散琉璃之寶光､照河沙之國土。能度群品､出諸幽厄。一念必應､萬感皆通。是用浚發慧根､妙求真像。斷鳴機躬織之素､染懿筐手繢之絲､盡瘁莊嚴､彰施彩繡。纏苦心於香縷､注精意於針鋒。指下而露洗青蓮､思盡而雲開白日。

Lü clearly portrays the Buddha as a compassionate divinity by highlighting the

Buddha’s ability to rescue people from perils and promptly respond to devotees’ supplications. He argues that the Buddha may satisfy one’s needs if one is single- minded while calling upon him. The eulogy continues to explain that Lü’s family performed rituals dedicated to the Buddha:

Thereafter [the family] schedules a time and cleans a room for making offerings of flowers and treasures. The lantern regularly lights up in the evening, and the incense burner frequently gives off smoke in the morning. Reverently dedicating the utmost sincerity altogether and crying out to [the Buddha] to express the devout wishes, we thus gain his compassionate supports that recurrently assist and guide us to the path of awakening. On the day when [the family] expresses their concerns at the ritual place, it may be the time for this lonely traveler to come home. Being

Fang 李昉 (925-996), lists a number of examples of embroideries of Guanyin, Dizang, and Amitābha. See Wenyuan yinghua, vol. 781-783.

40 Quan tang wen records that Medicine Master Buddha resides in the west (xifang 西方) instead of the east (dongfang 東方), which may be a typo. Here I follow the edition of Lü hengzhou ji 呂衡州集, an anthology of Lü Wen’s poetry. See Lü hengzhou ji, 9.19a.

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privately supported [by the Buddha] and secretly receiving a divine sign, it is such a magnificent blessing.

然後練時潔室､華設珍供。夕炬傳照､晨爐續煙。齊獻至誠､泣敷懇願､遂得慈舟密濟､覺路潛引。當道場發念之日､是荒裔來歸之辰。幽贊冥符､一何昭焯！

The final part of the eulogy reiterates Lü’s views regarding the Buddha in a poem:

Ah, [looking at] widely extending earth and infinite sky, [I am] impossible to leave and [my family] cannot come. Having the vows of salvation as well as the power of compassion, [The Buddha] is embroidered with five-colored silk and adorned with gold. When hazy fog is dispersed, the perfect image manifests. The moon reflects on the clear water, and lotus flowers [manifest] on a platform. Being looked after by [the divinity that has] merciful eyes, the one who has untamed mind returns home. After fatal accidents and separations, the survivor comes back. Even if ocean becomes farmland and an eon has gone, I remember this occurrence unceasingly.41

地萬理兮天一極､往無由兮來不得。解脫願兮慈悲力､五色繡兮黃金飾。澄氛昏兮圓相開､湛水月兮蓮花台。慈眼眷兮獷心回､死別離兮生歸來。海為田兮劫為灰､身念念兮無窮哉。

Here we see the family’s celebration of the reunion. It seems likely that the eulogy was composed after the Tubo released Lü in 806. In Lü’s writing, he argues that it was the

Buddha who guided and helped him to return home safely. He reiterates his appreciation for the Buddha’s blessings that safeguarded his journey. Under that context, Lü claims that he would never forget such special occurrence and experience.

Another similar example can be found in the Stein painting 27 (Ch. 00101), discovered in the early twentieth century from Mogao cave 17.42 The well-depicted

41 Quan tang wen, 629.8066-8067.

42 See Roderick Whitfield, The Art of Central Asia: The Stein Collection in the British Museum, vol. 2, pl. 20.

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painting illustrates the donors’ reverence to the Buddha. The upper right dedicatory inscription indicates, “Homage to Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiant Buddha”

(Nanmo yaoshi liuliguang fo 南旡藥師瑠離光佛).43 In the center of the painting, the

Buddha is shown seated on a lotus pedestal. His robes are folded and draped over his shoulders. While his right hand forms the gesture of explanation, the left hand holds a medicine vessel. At the bottom of the painting depicts the kneeling male and female donors who are facing the Buddha. The male donor is portrayed holding an incense burner, while the female one is respectfully joining her palms. According to the textual descriptions of the painting, we learn that they are the donors: Zhang Herong 張和榮 and his wife, Lady Peng 彭.

The inscription on the side indicates that Zhang was a military officer of

Controller of the Army and a Commander of the Left Guard. It also explains that the donors were “in the hope of arriving home soon and being free from catastrophes.”44 It seems apparent that Zhang and his wife commissioned the making of Medicine Master

Buddha painting to get rid of dangers and perils on the trip.

The textual sources and visual finds confirm that medieval travelers acknowledged the Buddha as an omnipresent guardian whose power guaranteed their safe journeys. The reason for their choice of this particular divinity is not clear. Granting travelers protection does not include in the Buddha’s twelve vows, nor does pertinent

43 The term luli 瑠離 can be read as luli 琉璃 that means lapis lazuli.

44 The inscription shows yuan zao da jiaxiang wu zhu zainan 願早達家鄉無諸哉難. The term zainan 哉難 can be read as zainan 災難 that refers to difficulties or catastrophes. The inscription has been transcribed in Ma De 馬德, “Dunhuang juanhua tiji jilu,” 141.

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scriptures mention that. Nonetheless, it seems certain that travel was viewed as a vulnerable state that might bring one into dangerous circumstances. One might encounter troubles such as being a victim of armed robbery, experiencing vicious animal attacks, or passing through fields of battle. In addition to these threats and dangers, emotional anxiety related to family separation were involved in considerations.

Subsequently, certain protective power was gradually attributed to the Buddha.

Although Buddhist texts do not particularly identify him as a guardian of travelers, his protective attribute became prominent, especially during the Sui-Tang period.

Quest for Prolonging Life

Evidence suggests that the Medicine Master Buddha cult was promoted by those who were apprehensive about the limitations of human lifespan. As we examine their preoccupation with longevity, we find that medieval Buddhists interpreted the Buddha in interesting and innovative ways. They were prone to compare the potency of the

Buddha with that of Heaven (tian 天), an invisible force and supernatural power controlling the world. Devotees’ view on the parallel positions of Medicine Master

Buddha and Heaven is best evident in the writings of Mu Yuan 穆員 (fl. 781-803), a

Tang scholar active during the reign of Emperor Dezong from 779 to 805.

Mu’s involvement in Medicine Master Buddha cult was influenced by a series of deaths in his family. In the spring of 790, Mu lost his second-youngest sister, a Buddhist nun who resided at Anguo Monastery 安國寺.45 Moreover, Mu’s oldest sister, who was

45 The exact location of this monastery is unknown. During the Tang dynasty, several provinces had state-sponsored temples that were given the same name, Anguo 安國, literally means Pacifying the Nation.

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married to the magistrate of Wucheng 烏程, passed away in the summer of the same year.46 Additionally, Mu’s brother-in-law and mother-in-law also died in the following years.47

Based on his writings, preserved in Quan tang wen, we learn that Mu’s grief over the loss of his siblings and in-laws had great impact on his religious life. His writings demonstrate his strong emotions, as evidenced by his lament that Heaven did not offer support to the family. He further accused Heaven of mercilessly giving him adversities.48

It seems that his feelings of sorrow turned into anger. Subsequently, he laid the blame on Heaven for his hardships.

Mu assumed that one’s life and death were controlled or influenced by a transcendental power. He also believed that Heaven played an active role in the life of living beings. From Mu’s point of view, Heaven had absolute authority to determine one’s fortune and misfortune. Accordingly, Mu linked the mishap of the family with their lack of blessings from Heaven. As some of their relatives passed away within a few years, Mu and his family turned to worshiping Medicine Master Buddha in their quest for longevity.

Pertinent evidence demonstrates that Mu and his youngest sister, the wife of an

Investigating Censor, beseeched the Buddha to bless their mother to enjoy a long life.

To show their devoutness, the sister made an embroidery dedicated to the Buddha.

When the embroidery was completed, Mu composed the “Eulogy to the Embroidered

46 Wucheng is located at the present-day Huzhou 湖州, Zhejiang province.

47 For Mu Yuan’s literary works dedicated to his late sisters, see Quan tang wen, 783.10333-10338.

48 See Quan tang wen, 783.10334 and 10336.

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Image of Medicine Master Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Radiance, with Preface” (Xiu yaoshi liuliguang fo zan bing xu 繡藥師琉璃光佛讚並序). Parts of Mu’s preface read:

The scripture relates that Medicine Master Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Radiance resides in the eastern realm. Presently my youngest sister, Mrs. Pei, adorns the image and worships the Buddha earnestly. How is the image ornamented? Cutting white silk and embellishing by adding ornaments, she holds a threaded needle to stitch. Utilizing five-colored threads, she creates the image of the Buddha replete with his thirty-two marks and eighty minor characteristics. Then she models her twelve supreme vows after these of the Buddha. For what do we pray? We wish that our mother receives the blessings as the Buddha has promised in his vows, and hope that her life will be as long as the amount of these threads. [We believe that] the divinity, by employing his power, can benefit those who have cultivated goodness and reach out to those who are diligent. Excellent! He quickly comes and promptly responds. His greatness is boundless and immeasurable like the vastness of space in the east direction that has declared in the scripture.49 Thus one is inspired by his aspirations and would like to disseminate his divine virtue. To show my sincerity, I would not dare to forgo this opportunity to write.

東方藥師琉璃光佛､事具本經。今我季妹裴氏嚴是像也､誠而禱之。其嚴之何？裂素點絢､攢針緝縷。以五采章成三十二相､八十種好。意夫十二上願從之。其祝之何？況我太夫人福如上願､而壽如縷數。夫以大聖之力､加於積善､而赴於精誠。宜乎其至也如歸､其答也如響。其久大無極而不可思量也､如東方虛空､抑經之有偈。所以啟迪誓願､發揚聖德者也。苟以至誠為用､員敢讓於文乎。

In addition to expressing his wish, Mu praises the Buddha by emphasizing the divinity’s supreme virtues. The eulogy reads:

Supreme Heaven determines the distribution of fortune or misfortune. There is a great divinity whose power is comparable to Heaven. Hence, I admire him and hope to become as virtuous as him. Like a mountain that is immovable and like a river that continuously flows, The greatness of the divinity’s promise of salvation is equivalent to that of nature. [Like the Buddha’s] twelve vows, [so are] my commitments.

49 Here the scripture refers to the Jingang boruo boluomiduo jing 金剛般若波羅蜜多經 (or Jingang jing; The Diamond Scripture), in which describes the conversation between Śākyamuni Buddha and Subhūti, a principal disciple of the Buddha. They discuss whether the vastness of space in the four cardinal directions can be measured or not. Apparently, Mu Yuan freely quoted the scriptural descriptions to indicate that the vastness of space cannot be calculated. See T 8.749a16.

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[Like] Millions upon millions of threads, [so are] the years of my life.50

上天報應､為福為極。有赫大聖､與天同力。而我景行､與聖同德。存存如山､念念如川。大聖拯護､同符自然。十二願我之事､億萬縷我之年。

Mu’s writing reflects his belief that one’s destiny is depended on a higher power.

It implies that the ability of the individual to exert control is inferior to that of the supernatural beings, be they a Buddha or a heavenly god. Mu also argues that the

Buddha and Heaven had parallel positions in determining what would happen in one’s future, including one’s lifespan. Mu’s interpretations of the Buddha and Heaven illustrate some of the ways Buddhist deities were reimagined and adapted in Chinese religious contexts.

A number of miracle tales also point to similar beliefs. Stories of this sort usually center around a familiar theme, especially how the main protagonists sought methods to extend their or their relative’s lives. For example, two noteworthy stories, recorded in the

Miraculous Responses, represent typical narratives that describe the attainment of longevity as one of the advantages derived from Buddha’s worship. The first story explains an Indian couple’s worry about their potentially short-lived baby boy, while the second one indicates a medieval Chinese man’s anxiety over his lifespan.

The first miracle story tells how a wealthy Indian Brahmin couple was delighted that they had a gorgeous baby boy. However, a renowned prophet foretold that the baby could not survive for two more years. The bad omen disappointed the couple and made them suffer acute emotional stress. When they sought a solution, a monk who

50 The last two lines play with words by using the method of parallelism in Chinese poetry. They literally mean that Mu would like to emulate the Buddha who makes the twelve vows, and he wished to attain longevity.

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was one of their extended family members advised them to make a statue of Medicine

Master Buddha and venerate the image to accumulate merits. Following the monks’ suggestion, they commissioned the image-making project, and then recurrently venerated the image on the first day of every lunar month. It is said that one night the father dreamed that a messenger of hell, riding a green horse and wearing a red crown, came and reported that the son’s life has increased to fifty years due to their pious actions dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha.51

The second miracle tale, again, highlights the efficacy of the cult. It states the story of Zhang Litong 張李通, who miraculously extended his life during the Tang era:

Zhang Litong, at the age of twenty-seven, met a fortune teller, who informed him, “Your lifespan is very short, which will not be under thirty- one years.” Litong felt worried and asked Master Mai for help. The master said, “There is a method to achieve longevity. You should wholeheartedly transcribe and comprehend the text.” Then the master gave him the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture translated by Tang sanzang.52 Tong argued, “Due to my mundane life and this-worldly obligations, I am apprehensive of being rebuked by the monarch. It is too difficult for me to comprehend the scripture. But I can start with transcribing it. He right away took the scripture and earnestly copied it in person. Because of being busy with taking care of worldly matters, he only completed one scroll. When that fortune teller saw Tong again, he said, “It is uncommon. It is very unusual. What kind of meritorious act did you do to increase thirty-year lifespan instantly?” Tong related what he had experienced. Whoever heard the story followed the cult.53

張李通､其年二十七時､相師見。云､君甚壽短､不可過三十一。李通憂愁､依投邁公。公曰､有長壽方。君以敬心､書寫受持。即授唐三藏譯藥師經。通云､俗塵世務､甚恐君王責。受持實難､今先須寫。即請經卷､精誠自寫。世務

51 T 51.832c4-14.

52 Tang sanzang literally means the one who comprehends the three baskets of teachings (tripiṭaka) during the Tang dynasty. Here it refers to Xuanzang 玄奘 (602-664), a renowned Chinese pilgrim and translator. For Xuanzang’s translation of the scripture, see Chapter 2.

53 T 51.841c25-842a4.

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相逼､纔得一卷。時先相師見通云､甚為希有､甚實希有。君有何功德､頓得三十年壽。通語上事。聞者歸心蓋多矣。

From these and other sources, we can surmise that the Buddha’s role as a divinity associated with longevity was acknowledged by some writers and storytellers.

Stories of this kind clearly underscore the notion that the benefits of the worship include prolonging a person’s lifespan and averting death. Moreover, the miracle tales mentioned above present the Buddha’s worship as an applicable and efficacious method for the achievement of such goal. They thus call attention to the utilitarian aspect of the cult: although the major protagonists tend to merely take part in pious practices for short periods, the Buddha immediately satisfies their needs.

The emphasis of the Buddha’s prominent role in lengthening one’s lifespan in these miracle tales seems to loosely draw upon Buddhist scriptural sources. According to the Shengsi dedu jing, the Buddha pledges that “those who seek long life may gain longevity.”54 Similar passage also appears in Dharmagupta’s, Xuanzang’s, and Yijing’s translations of the same text.55 Perhaps the scriptural proclamation functions as one of many sources that influence the legends and miracle tales centered on the divinity.

Nevertheless, the scriptural statement about the Buddha’s role in prolonging one’s life is belief and vague. It seems that miracle tales have more to say on this subject than

Buddhist scriptures. They provide us with valuable information that is absent from the canonical texts. The pursuit of longevity described in these popular stories thus reflects

54 T 21.534a6.

55 See T14.403a, T14.106c, and T 14.415a.

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the collective memories and shared aspirations of devotees associated with the

Medicine Master Buddha cult.

Female Devotees’ Views and Concerns

Surviving records about the Medicine Master Buddha cult demonstrate that a considerable number of devotees were women. Some of them were laywomen who aimed to fulfill their family obligations. Consequently, they pursued the procurement of this-worldly benefits through their involvement in the cult. Others identified themselves as “impure women” (nu hui 女穢) and attempted to attain spiritual liberation. Pertinent evidence suggests that female devotees, especially nuns, disliked their bodies and struggled to get rid of their physical hindrances. In this section, I discuss how these female devotees took part in the cult in order to accomplish different goals, involving a variety of secular pursuit as well as quest for spiritual liberation. As we examine women’s participation in this kind of worship, it is helpful to pay close attention to how stereotypical perceptions related to gender influenced their religious activities. This allows us to arrive at a more accurate and nuanced picture of the Buddha’s worship as it unfolded within the context of medieval Chinese society.

Fertility and Childbirth

Among the female devotees involved with the cult, many of them regarded

Medicine Master Buddha as a fertility divinity who supposedly protected them during their pregnancy and childbirth. In general, the Buddha’s role as a guardian of women was not unique. The attribution of such power, to a large degree, was on a par with that of Guanyin. These two divinities had some overlapping features and were commonly venerated by medieval women. Scholars have noted that Guanyin became one of the

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most renowned bodhisattvas in China after the fifth century. While the Guanyin cult was widely embraced by many Chinese women, Medicine Master Buddha also played a significant role in their religious life, even if he was less popular than Guanyin.56

In describing Medicine Master Buddha’s religious attributes, some Buddhist canonical texts suggest that women are able to deal with problems related to fertility if they venerate the Buddha. That is exemplified by the Shengsi dedu jing, which indicates that the Buddha promises to give his devotees sons or daughters in accordance with their wishes.57 Additionally, the scripture also explains that the worship may help pregnant women to avoid life-threatening complications during childbirth. It expresses that if a woman has difficulties during the labor, she should mindfully call upon the

Buddha for help. Subsequently, the process of giving birth will become easier. It further states that the newborn will have a wholesome body with perfect sense organs. Being free from all ailments, the child will be intelligent, enjoy a long life, escape any catastrophes, and be protected by kindhearted spirits.58

As discussed in Chapter 2, these statements are fairly standard descriptions in the scripture, meant to illustrate the Buddha’s promise of a broad range of boons. The text does not aim to present the Buddha as a child-giving divinity, but merely to indicate fertility and safe delivery as part of supposed benefits of the worship. Nevertheless, the

56 For more on Chinese women’s involvement in Guanyin worship, see Yu Chunfang, Kuan-Yin, especially 407-448; Christine Mollier, Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face, 174-208; Robert Ford Campany, Signs from the Unseen Realm, 49-51; and Dorothy C. Wong, “Guanyin Images in Medieval China, 5th-8th Centuries,” 255-302.

57 T 21.534a7.

58 T 21.534c7-9.

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Buddha was gradually identified as a fertility deity, as evidenced by relevant hagiographies, devotional inscriptions, and miracle tales.

For example, in miracle tales, Medicine Master Buddha is portrayed as a divine savior who grants pregnant women a painless and successful delivery. A pertinent example can be found in the Miraculous Responses. It relates a story about a lady who safely delivered her post-term infant and minimized her risk of maternal death by reciting the name of Medicine Master Buddha. The miracle tale indicates that the woman, who lived at Zhizhou 淄州 (located in present-day Shandong 山東), had been pregnant for over twelve months and faced the risk of post-term pregnancy. It describes that she underwent extreme pain and encountered many difficulties to deliver her baby.

Due to several difficulties in labor, she felt fatigued and exhausted. When the mother and the unborn baby faced imminent danger, a monk called Master Mai timely instructed the fatigued mother to recollect the name of Medicine Master Buddha.59 The story continues to tell that she took the advice and wholeheartedly called on the Buddha for help. After that, she had a dream in which the Buddha came and protected her from adversities. The miracle tale concludes on a happy note, as the mother finally gave birth to a healthy baby without any problems.60

The above story features a prototypical motif that depicts the Buddha’s prompt response to the calls of devotees when they face challenges. Based on a standard theme, the story adds additional elements to emphasize perils that women may face,

59 Master Mai also appears in the narrative related to prolonging one’s life. It seems that the Miraculous Responses consistently portrays this monk as the advocator of the Medicine Master Buddha cult.

60 T 51.833a27-b2.

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including potential dangers related to labor and delivery. Narratives of this sort tend to glorify the Buddha’s timely aid to women in need by describing his protective attribute, and by demonstrating his success of preventing them from maternal death.

Medieval women’s active involvement in the worship and their religious life are even clearer in a number of manuscripts and inscriptions. For example, the Dunhuang manuscript P. 2900 indicates that Suo Baniang 索八娘 (dates unknown) financed the copying of the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture on the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh month in the second year of Shangyuan 上元 era (675), when she was about to deliver a baby. It also states that the lady made a wish to be free from anxiety and hoped give birth to her infant without any dangers or difficulties.61

Another similar example is Lady Fan 范, the second wife of Liu Baorui 劉寶叡, who lived in Qizhou 齊州.62 The couple venerated the Buddha when Lady Fan was pregnant in 678.63 It seems likely that their concern about the wellbeing of the pregnant lady was related to the death of Liu’s first wife. Archaeological records show that Liu took part in merit-making activities twice in 677 on behalf of his deceased wife.64 A year later, the second wife was pregnant. The couple commissioned an image of Medicine

Master Buddha at Longmen and requested the Buddha’s blessings for Lady Fan’s safety.

61 See Jiang Liangfu 姜亮夫, Mogao ku nianbiao 莫高窟年表, 247.

62 It is located at present-day Jinan 濟南 city, the capital of Shandong 山東 province.

63 See Baqiongshi jinshi buzheng 八瓊室金石補正, juan 31. Republished in Shike shiliao xinbian 石刻史料新編, vol. 6, 4499.

64 Se Liu Jinglong 劉景龍 and Li Yukun 李玉昆, Longmen shiku beike tiji huilu 龍門石窟碑刻題記彙錄, 422.

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Overall, medieval women understood Medicine Master Buddha as a protector.

Their interpretations of the Buddha and his power, and their involvement in the cult, were inextricably bound up with their daily circumstances. The performance of cultic practices was correlated with their physical and emotional vulnerabilities, especially during the time of pregnancy and childbirth.

Cultural Bias towards Male Heirs

In addition to avoiding dangers and risks, the hope for giving birth to a male heir also became a significant motivation that inspired married women to take part in the worship of the Buddha. Not surprisingly, traditional preference for having a son had a notable impact on the Buddha’s worship. Ample textual evidence illustrates how female devotees, especially those from the upper class, were concerned with the procurement of a male successor. In contrast, there is a conspicuous lack of records indicating desire to have a daughter.

Similar examples also can be found in Japanese Buddhism. As Yui Suzuki has noted, by the first half of the eleventh century, the Japanese Tendai esoteric rite centered on Medicine Master Buddha was mainly adopted by the Fujiwara clan to assure the birth of a healthy male descendant who would retain the Fujiwara regency.65

In China, as early as the sixth century, the beliefs in Medicine Master Buddha had been influenced by socially constructed notions of kinship. A noteworthy example is

Zhenguan 真觀 (538-611), a Buddhist monk who resided at Tianzhu Monastery 天竺寺 in Hangzhou 杭州. According to the Further Biographies of Eminent Monks (Xu gao

65 See Yui Suzuki, Medicine Master Buddha: The Iconic Worship of Yakushi in Heian Japan, 103-123.

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seng zhuan 續高僧傳),66 Zhenguan's mother, Lady Huan 桓氏 (dates unknown), was a compliant and traditional woman whose husband was a Supervising Secretary in the imperial bureaucracy. Her father-in-law also served as Director of the Chancellery in the palace.67 Living in an aristocratic family, she wished to have a talented son to become a suitable successor of their clan.

According to Zhenguan’s biography, the mother observed fasting and regularly recited the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture, in the hope of having a baby boy.68

Furthermore, she performed the ritual practices described in the scripture for seven days and nights.69 After observing the rites for three days, she felt bright lights illuminate her body. Then she conceived a child. The Further Biographies of Eminent

Monks claims that she finally gave birth to a boy who had an unusual appearance.

Several atypical markings were shown on the palms of his hands, and the surface of his tongue looked like a net. The text identifies this extraordinary boy as Zhenguan, who later became a well-known cleric.70

Arguably, the descriptions about Zhenguan’s extraordinary birth is molded on conventional patterns of hagiographical narratives that aim to highlight certain unique characteristics of a given monk. This type of literature is not without problems.

66 The text, completed in the mid-seventh century, was compiled by Daoxuan 道宣 (596-667), who was affiliated with the Vinaya school.

67 T 50.701c12-15.

68 Ibid.

69 T 50.701c17-18.

70 T 50.701c19-25.

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Narratives of this sort tend to incorporate certain level of idealization. They may not always reflect accurate representations of real facts, and should be used carefully.71

Nonetheless, Zhenguan’s account gives us a glimpse into traditional Chinese views on lineage, as well as of the broad social reality of that time. Overall, the mother’s desperate need to have a baby boy was not merely a personal matter. Instead, the preference for having a son over daughter was constructed within the social and cultural milieus where she lived in. In a male-dominated society, females were expected to produce male heirs. With a few exceptions, married women acknowledged their inevitable obligation to give birth to at least one male heir to continue the paternal line.

The lack of a male descendant was interpreted as a huge crisis for a clan. Under such circumstance, the devotees of Medicine Master Buddha, especially those who faced fertility problems, engaged in merit-making activities in the hopes of having a son.

By the eighth century, the Buddha’s role as a fertility divinity became widely acknowledged in Chinese society. Certain devotees showed their gratitude to the

Buddha by making his image after having a son. For example, Lady Lu 盧氏, the wife of the Regional Inspector at Huzhou 湖州 (in present-day Zhejiang province), commissioned a painting of Medicine Master Buddha, to express her appreciation for the divinity’s positive response to her supplications.

Like other examples, Lady Lu’s veneration of the Buddha to celebrate the birth of a male heir was in many ways intertwined with the traditional cultural and social values.

Having a male heir was the essential characteristic of an ideal and dutiful married

71 For studies of hagiographical narratives, see John Kieschnick, The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese Hagiography, 1-15; and Mario Poceski, The Records of Mazu and the Making of Classical Chan Literature, 38-60.

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woman. Giving birth to an heir was a big change in her life, as had positive impacts on her and her family’s social positions.

Lady Lu’s sponsorship of the Buddha’s image to celebrate the birth of her son seems to be, to some degree, also a public display of her accomplishment of a key family obligation, which is imbedded into larger social expectations about proper womanhood. After the painting was completed, Lady Lu also invited Qing Zhou 清晝

(720- ca.798), a Tang essayist and poet who is also known as Jiao Ran 皎然, to compose a eulogy dedicated to the Buddha. Qing Zhou’s “Eulogy to the Painting of

Medicine Master Buddha of Lapis Lazuli Radiance” mainly demonstrates the significant change in the family. Part of the eulogy reads,

The Buddha cures fatal maladies through great compassion; thus he is named "Medicine Master." He manifests his noble and brilliant body, perfected by his practice of great wisdom; accordingly, he gains the appellation "Lapis Lazuli." The Buddha's impartial attitude is unaffected by anything. Only if one is earnest and devout, one can impress the Buddha and communicate with him. Lady Lu from Fanyang County—who is the wife of Nobleman Fan, the Grand Master of Remonstrance and the Regional Inspector at Huzhou—is the person capable of doing that. Since she got pregnant, she has been keeping [the Buddha’s kindness] in mind. [Her husband] had the fortune to receive a higher official position. Thereafter, she gave birth to a son.72 Thus she commissioned a painting [to commemorate] the changes [in the family], and to express her appreciation for the Buddha's kindness.73

佛以大慈療生死巨瘵､示藥師名。以大知證圓明妙身､受琉璃稱。無私之鑒､湛乎不動。誠懇之至､感而遂通。湖州剌史諫議大夫樊公夫人范陽縣君盧氏得之矣。頃因懷妊､默念於心。先徵佩印之祥､載見懸弧之至。遂圖此變､以答佛慈。

72 The term xuan hu 懸弧 literally means to hang a bow, which denotes the birth of a male infant. In ancient Chinese culture, a baby boy’s family should hang a bow on a door to publicly announce the birth of a male child.

73 Quan tang wen, 917.12060.

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The eulogy concludes with several lines of poem, which commemorate the birth of the newborn baby. The poem reiterates Lady Lu’s appreciation towards the Buddha.

It also extols the remarkable intelligence of the baby boy, by claiming that he will become an outstanding person.74 The family apparently was very gratified by the birth of a son. To a large extent, Qing Zhou’s writing stands as a testament to the public approval of Lady Lu’s fulfillment of her duty to give birth to a male heir.

Women’s Self-Perception

Besides the cultural bias towards the procurement of male descendants, we learn that a number of female devotees of the Buddha held traditional views regarding their gender. Having negative attitude, they viewed the female body in terms of impurity and imperfection. Pertinent evidence shows that their primary concern was to get rid of a female body and be reborn as a man after death. It seems that their self- understanding and preference for having male body were not merely influenced by prevailing social and cultural factors, but also by normative religious ideas about gender differentiation.

To examine issues related to gender, we need to start with a broad overview of women’s positions in Buddhism. Scholars have pointed out that Buddhist scriptural discussions on gender may vary from one context to another.75 From a transcendental perspective, there is no gender differentiation. It is one’s mental attachments and fixed conceptions that lead to dualist notions of gender. Moreover, Mahāyāna philosophical

74 Ibid.

75 For example, Alan Sponberg points out the four major Buddhist perspectives on female: 1) soteriological inclusiveness, 2) institutional androcentrism, 3) soteriological androgyny, and 4) ascetic misogyny. See Alan Sponberg, “Attitudes toward Women and the Feminine in Early Buddhism,” 3-36.

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teaching of emptiness holds the view that the distinction between male and female is merely a conventional conception. According to the Buddhist doctrine of dependent origination, both female and male bodies are made up of various elements, without any inherent, intrinsic, or permanent nature.

Nonetheless, we also find depictions of gender differentiation in numerous

Buddhist texts. For example, Vinaya texts underscore the higher status of the male over the female, by portraying the subordinate position of nun’s order in a hierarchical system.76 Moreover, it is often said that women may face more difficulties than men to reach liberation, even though male and female practitioners supposedly have equal capability of spiritual attainment. Buddhist teachings frequently insist on the view that a female body can generate more obstacles—for example, the five hindrances—when a woman embarks on the spiritual path.77

Additionally, several Mahāyāna texts take the position that being born as a woman is the result of negative karma. Because of that, a female body is deemed to be impure and polluted. Some scriptures further suggest the transformation of a female body into a male one is a required and essential step prior to the final attainment of

Buddhahood.78 The most renowned statement on this subject appears in the Lotus

Scripture, which presents a story of the dragon king’s daughter. According to the

76 T 22.923a27-923b17.

77 These limitations include the difficulties of being reborn as a heavenly god, the king of gods, a devil king, a universal sage ruler, and a Buddha.

78 See Nancy Schuster, “Changing the Female Body: Wise Women and the Bodhisattva Career in Some Mahāratnakūṭasūtras,” 24-69.

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scripture, she changes her female body into a male form before her full awakening.79

While the Lotus Scripture promotes the idea of universal Buddhahood by recognizing all sentient beings’ capabilities of fulfilling religious cultivation and reaching final enlightenment, it also suggests that a female bodhisattva cannot succeed in achieving the supreme spiritual goal without first becoming a man.

Within that context, the scriptures centered on Medicine Master Buddha suggest rebirth as a man in the next life as an alternative way to escaping unpleasant circumstances. For example, the Shengsi dedu jing contains the following statement: “If one hears the preaching on the original vows of the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli

Radiance Buddha when one is about to die, one will be reborn in one of the celestial realms.” In addition, “A woman can be reborn as a man. In such way, she will not face distress or adversities.”80 The scripture assumes that being reborn as a man is a favorable rebirth. It clearly explains that a man is more likely to cast aside suffering and make spiritual progress.

These statements also can be seen in Xuanzang’s translation of the same text.

According to it, “If there are women—who face many perils that befall them, and who grow weary of being women and wish to abandon their female bodies—hear my name, they all will be able to transform from female into male physical forms. They all will experience the supreme enlightenment.”81 The passage apparently highlights the

Buddha’s supports to women. The veneration of the divinity is portrayed as a suitable

79 T 9.35b12-c26. For a study of the Lotus Scripture’s perspectives on gender, see Jan Nattier, “Gender and Hierarchy in the Lotus Sūtra,” 83-106.

80 T 21.533c9-15.

81 T 14.405b5-8; translation loosely adapted from Raoul Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 154.

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method for a distressed woman to be rid of forms suffering that she is experiencing in this life because of her gender.

The Medicine Master Buddha Scripture gradually became one of the favorite texts that was copied by female Buddhists who aspired to become a man, as exemplified by the case of a Buddhist nun called Jianhui 建暉 (dates unknown). She included the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture in her scripture copying projects, in 509 and 536. Her first dedicatory note, composed in 509, demonstrates a typical understanding of gender prevalent at the time:

Whatever is subtle and profound cannot be described by language. Whenever one has cultivated abundant benevolence and gained deep understanding, one attains a permanent quiescent state. Living a simple and peaceful life, one spontaneously acts in accordance with conditions. How can common people penetrate it by their ordinary ways of thinking? While studying and investigating sacred texts, one aims to promote righteousness. Due to the past deeds, I, Jianhui, was born with an impure female form that currently suffers diseases and gets into difficulties. However, there is no way to get rid of distress. Therefore, I have parted with my belongings to support the transcription of one copy of the Ru lengqie,82 one copy of the Fang guang,83 and two copies of the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture for the benefits of my parents of seven generations, ancestors, and the recently deceased relatives. By means of such merit, I wish that my inferior female body can become a male one in the next life. May all living beings of the Dharma realm can immediately reach buddhahood. On the fourth day of the eighth month of the second

82 It is also known as Lankāvatāra-sūtra, a text that has been frequently interpreted and analyzed by Chinese commentators.

83 The manuscript does not specify which kind of Fang guand scripture was copied. Many important Mahāyāna texts are classified into the Fang guang (Vaipūlya) category, including the Sheng man jing 勝鬘經 (Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra), a scripture that outlines the practices and views of Indian Queen Śrīmālā, and the Huayan jing 華嚴經 (Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Flower Adornment Scripture), a composite text that explores infinite cosmic vision and interrelations between various phenomena.

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year of the Yongping era (509), Dadai Dawei,84 Jianhui has reverently transcribed and disseminated them as the offerings [to the Buddha].85

夫至妙冲玄､則辭言莫表。惠深理固､則凝然常寂。淡泊夷竫(靜) ､随缘改化。凡夫想識､豈能窮達？推尋聖典､崇善為先。是以比丘尼建暉､既集因殖､稟形女穢､嬰罹病疾､抱難當今。仰惟此苦､無由可拔。遂即减割衣資､為七世父母､先死后亡､敬寫入楞伽一部､方廣一部､藥師二部。因此微善､使得雖女身後成男子。法界眾生､一時成佛。大代大魏永平二年八月四日､比丘尼建暉敬寫訖､流通供養。

In her writing, Jianhui explicitly expresses her view on the inferiority of female body. It clearly demonstrates that she was discontent with being a female. Drawing on the theory of karma, she argues that her unpleasant and unbearable circumstances were caused by past deeds, which seems to reflect a common view regarding gender at that time.

It should be noted that Jianhui participated in the pious act of copying scripture at least twice, for the same purpose. In 536, Jianhui also supported the copying of the

Medicine Master Buddha Scripture together with other Mahāyāna texts. Like her statement made in twenty-seven years ago, again, she expressed a wish to “make the inferior female body become a male form in the next life.”86 Her aspiration of gender transformation remained the same.

Becoming a favorite deity worshiped by female devotees, Medicine Master

Buddha was believed to be a divinity whose power supposedly could satisfy the special needs of women. Both nuns and laywomen took part in the worship to get out of the

84 Dadai dawei 大代大魏, which literally means the Great Dai and the Great Wei, refers to the Northern Wei. The inscriptional records usually address this kingdom as the Great Dai or the Great Wei.

85 The colophon of this manuscript is transcribed and published in Ikeda On, 100-101.

86 Ibid, 119-120.

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predicaments they were in. Although on the surface their motivations and interests were different, the underlying messages hidden in their devotional acts were similar. Their involvement in the worship was closely linked with the cultural, social, and religious milieus at the time.

The Buddha as a National Protector

The worship of Medicine Master Buddha received lavish imperial patronage from the Tang court, especially during the reigns of Emperor Zhongzong 中宗 (r. 684, 705-

710) and Emperor Suzong 肅宗 (r. 756-762). Their generous supports of the cult, however, were not merely derived from their religious faith. Instead, these two rulers’ support of the divinity were probably related to their adverse circumstances. From what we can tell, their attitudes were not that different from those other devotees, namely they involved conventional expectations of procuring mundane benefits. When these two monarchs struggled to solve their political challenges, they viewed the Buddha as a divine savior whose supreme power could ensure the safety of the sovereign and the prosperity of the state.

This section first explores how Emperor Zhongzong’s devotion to Medicine

Master Buddha was tied with his political obstacles and frustrations. It then moves on to examine how the Buddha was revered by Emperor Suzong, as he was struggling to deal with the An Lushan Rebellion 安祿山之亂 (755-763), the most devastating military uprising in Tang history. Placing the divinity in the pertinent historical, political, and religious contexts, we learn that the Buddha’s evolving role as a national divinity was inextricably intertwined with the needs of his devotees.

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Seeking Divine Protection

Tang rulers, beginning with Emperor Zhongzong, were involved in the Medicine

Master Buddha cult. Emperor Zhongzong did not show any favor to the Buddha until he encountered political problems, which at some point led to a struggle to survive. He became a monarch twice, but both of his reigns were very short. In 684, Emperor

Zhongzong, as the heir apparent, succeeded his father, Emperor Gaozong 高宗 (r. 649-

683). Unfortunately for him, his mother, Wu Zetian 武則天 (625-705), controlled the central government. Subsequently, Emperor Zhongzong was deposed and exiled by Wu

Zetian, who demoted him to a princely rank and gave him a new name, called Li Zhe 李

哲.87

During his exile in Junzhou 均州 and Fangzhou 房州,88 Li Zhe was detained under rigid home confinement, which prevented him from meeting his political supporters.89 Over two decades, Li Zhe suffered severe distress and worried about his safety, especially since a rumor had it that Wu Zetian had forced another prince, Li Xian

李賢 (654-684), to commit suicide.90 Moreover, Li Zhe’s son and daughter, Li

Chongzhao 李重照 (682-701) and Li Xianhui 李仙蕙 (685-701), were killed by Wu Zetian

87 Wu Zetian is well-known for the only female monarch in China. She initially ruled the Tang empire unofficially, and she finally established the Zhou 周 dynasty from 690 to 705. See Jiu tang shu, 6.115-134 and 7.135. For a study of the rise of Wu Zetian, see Dora Shu-fang Dien, Empress Wu Zetian in Fiction and in History: Female Defiance in Confucian China, 33-49.

88 They are both located in the present-day Hubei 湖北 province.

89 Jiu tang shu, 7.135-151.

90 Li Xian was the second son of Wu Zetian. The mother demoted the son from a prince to an ordinary person and placed him under supervised confinement. Li Xian finally passed away in Bazhou 巴州, present-day Sichuan 四川 province. See Jiu tang shu, 6.116; and Sima Guang 司馬光 (1019-1086), Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑑 (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance), 202.6405.

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in 701, because they made some critical comments about Wu’s favorite imperial attendants.91 Wu Zetian’s absolute power and dictatorial rule gradually instilled fear in Li

Zhe.

To cope with the anxiety over his uncertain future, Li Zhe prayed to Medicine

Master Buddha and beseeched the divinity to ensure his safety while he was in exile.92

In 698, Li Zhe returned to the Tang capital and became an heir apparent again. Finally, he was restored to the throne as Emperor Zhongzong in 705, when Wu Zetian was sick and lost her hold on power.93

When Emperor Zhongzong regained his political legitimacy, he attributed his restoration to the blessings of the Buddha. From his point of view, the divinity benevolently responded to his earnest veneration and successfully protected him from political risk and misfortune.94 To celebrate his restoration to the throne, Emperor

Zhongzong ordered Yijing 義淨 (635-723), a renowned pilgrim who returned to China in

695, to translate the scripture dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha.95 Accordingly, the emperor invited Yijing, together with a translation team, to observe the monastic three- month rain retreat in the imperial palace, where they dedicated themselves to translating the text. Based on Yijing’s biography, we learn that the emperor sometimes

91 Li Chongzhao is also called Li Chongrun 李重潤. For the death of Zhongzong’s son and daughter, see Zizhi tongjian, 207.6556-6557.

92 See Zhishen’s 智昇 (fl. 669-740) Kaiyuan shijiao lu 開元釋教錄 (The Kaiyuan Catalogue of Buddhist Books), T 55.568c19.

93 Jiu tang shu, 7.135-136

94 See Zanning’s 贊寧 (918-1001) Song gao seng zhuan 宋高僧傳 (The Song-dynasty Collection of Biographies of Eminent Monks), T 50.710c15.

95 For the hagiography of Yijing, see Song gao seng zhuan, T 50.710b7-711b4.

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joined the large-scale translation project in person.96 In 707, Yijing’s translation, titled

Yaoshi liuliguang qi fo ben yuan gongde jing 藥師琉璃光七佛本願功德經, was completed under state sponsorship.97

Why did Emperor Zhongzong choose Medicine Master Buddha as a protective deity? In Yijing’s translation, parts of the scripture discuss the relationship between the

Buddha and the ruler. Several passages in the text state that a ruler sometimes may have to deal with challenging tasks. The text provides some practical suggestions to the ruler:

A kṣatriya king, who is duly enthroned through the coronation rite, may meet many adversities, such as epidemics, invasions of the state, internal rebellions, abnormal astronomical events, lunar or solar eclipses, unseasoned winds or rains, and insufficient precipitation during the rainy seasons. Under these circumstances, the enthroned kṣatriya king shall develop loving-kindness and compassion towards all sentient beings. He shall release and grant pardons to the incarcerated people who are in distress. [Meanwhile,] he should worship Buddhas in accordance with the aforementioned rituals.98

若剎帝利灌頂王等､災難起時､所謂人眾疾疫難､他國侵逼難､自界叛逆難､星宿變怪難､日月薄蝕難､非時風雨難､過時不雨難。彼剎帝利灌頂王等､爾時當於一切有情､起慈悲心､放大恩赦､脫諸幽厄苦惱眾生。如前法式､供養諸佛。

Kṣatriya is a military caste in Indian society. It includes warriors, as well as the ruling and princely class.99 Here it basically refers to the monarch. The passage suggests that a ruler should not only perform worship of Medicine Master Buddha, but

96 T 50.710c18.

97 For a discussion of the text, see Chapter 2.

98 The aforementioned rituals refer to a set of practices that includes the making of seven images of the Buddha, lighting forty-nine lamps, reciting the scriptures for forty-nine times, setting up colorful banners, and releasing creatures. See T 14.415c29-416a4.

99 See Benjamin Walker, The Hindu World: an Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism, 567-569.

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also grant amnesty to the incarcerated. It seems that Zhongzong attempted to become a compassionate leader and tried to act in accordance with what is described in the scripture. He offered general amnesties many times, especially during his second reign.

In 709, he further announced an amnesty for those who were exiled and allowed them to return to their homes.100

In addition to providing guidance for the ruler, the scripture underscores the divinity’s promise of national prosperity and his protection for the monarch. A significant part of the text reads:

Due to [the king’s] good deeds and [Medicine Master] Buddha’s original vows, the state will be protected and become peaceful. The winds and rains will occur at their proper seasons, and the crops will ripen naturally. All residents in the state will be healthy, safe, and joyous. Further, there will be no malicious demons or evil beings that might cause trouble or harassment for the inhabitants. All kinds of unfortunate phenomena will be entirely eradicated from the world, and the enthroned kṣatriya king will enjoy a long life, have a better complexion, gain vitality, and live with ease.101

由此善根､及彼如來本願力故､令其國界即得安穩。風雨順時､穀稼成熟､國內眾生､無病安樂。又無暴惡藥叉等神､共相惱亂。一切惡相､悉皆隱沒。而剎帝利灌頂王等､皆得增益壽命色力､無病自在。

Similar passages can be found in an earlier version of the text, translated by

Xuanzang, which also specifies the Buddha’s promise of protecting a nation from disasters.102 Although Xuanzang’s version generally corresponds to Yijing’s text, the latter includes many detailed descriptions and explanations, which might be one of the reasons that Zhongzong desired the text to be retranslated.

100 Jiu tang shu, 7.135-151; Zizhi tongjian, 208.6596-6606 and 209.6637-6638.

101 T 14.516a5-9. English translation is adapted (with minor modifications) from Raoul Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, 205-206.

102 T 14.407c13-27.

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Although Emperor Zhongzong tried to be a benevolent king, his political career was unsuccessful. Being a frustrated ruler, he never met the expectations of his father, who gave him the honorific title “King of the Buddha’s Light” (Foguang wang 佛光王).103

Strictly speaking, he not only held little power to deal with the predicaments he faced, but also he constantly suffered the stress of having to struggle to retain his sovereignty.

Facing several tough tasks, the monarch presumably expected that his support and participation in Medicine Master Buddha worship would ensure his hold on political power. Nevertheless, his second reign lasted only five years, and ended in 710.

Imperial Rituals

The Medicine Master Buddha worship became more significant during the reign of Emperor Suzong, a period when the Tang government struggled to overcome the challenge posed by military rebellion. From 755 to 763, the An Lushan Rebellion, a destructive revolt against the Tang government, caused tremendous social and political chaos.104 In 756, Emperor Xuanzong 玄宗 (r. 712-756) fled to southwest China to escape the danger and violence, as the rebel armies gained control of the two capitals,

Luoyang and Chang’an 長安. Emperor Xuanzong’s third son, Li Heng 李亨, retreated to the northwest, and then ascended to the throne as Emperor Suzong.105

103 Yijing translated the scripture in the Imperial Temple of Buddha’s Light or Foguang neisi 佛光內寺 that was located in the palace. This temple was named after Emperor Zhongzong’s honorary title, King of Buddha’s Light. See Xu gujin yijing tuji 續古今譯經圖紀 (Continuation of the Record of Past and Present Translated Scriptures), T 55.370b26.

104 For the aftermath of the An Lushan Rebellion, see Stanley Weinstein, Buddhism under the T'ang, 59- 74; and Edwin G. Pulleyblank, The Background of the Rebellion of An Lu-shan, 75-102.

105 Jiu tang shu, 9.230-238; and 10.239-243.

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Before the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang empire enjoyed economic prosperity and social stability, especially during the Kaiyuan 開元 era (713-741). The situation changed completely with the onset of the rebellion. As a newly enthroned monarch,

Emperor Suzong was concerned with a quick restoration of imperial authority over the central government, to be followed by reestablishment of a flourishing society. At the beginning of his rule, however, Emperor Suzong was not successful in overcoming the armed uprising. Catastrophic food shortage and lack of medical aid caused the death of many soldiers, which in turn hindered the Tang military forces’ efforts to quell the rebels.

Besides, an earthquake in the northwest caused significant economic problems.106 The political fragmentation and the financial catastrophe not only had tremendous impact on the Tang court, but also influenced changes in the religious sphere, most notably a new role for Medicine Master Buddha.

Emperor Suzong was exhausted from defeating the large-scale rebellion, so he turned to venerating Medicine Master Buddha. The divinity came to function as a national guardian, whose supreme potency could protect the state from adversities and difficulties. According to the hagiography of Yuanjiao 元皎 (715-808?), a monk who served at the imperial court, the emperor asked twenty-one court monks to perform rituals venerating Medicine Master Buddha at Kaiyuan Monastery 開元寺, located in the

Fengxiang 鳳翔 area.107 This state-sanctioned monastery established an “Imperial

106 Jiu tang shu, 10.244.

107 See Song gao seng zhuan, T 50.864b16-c3. Fengxiang is located in present-day Shaanxi province in China.

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Medicine Master Sanctuary” (Yu yaoshi daochang 御藥師道場) to pray for peace and security of the nation.

Led by Yuanjiao, the court monks recited scriptures and lit votive lamps to perform rites, day and night. After the rituals were practiced for several days, we are told, a plum tree in the monastery suddenly produced forty-nine stems.108 It is uncertain whether the supernatural phenomenon actually happened, but the extraordinary occurrence was reported to the imperial court. Apparently, Emperor Suzong was delighted with it. Accordingly, he awarded the chief monk, Yuanjiao, an official title:

Monk of Imperial Offering (Nei gongfeng sheng 內供奉僧).109

Based on information recorded in Quan tang wen, we learn that Emperor Suzong also personally wrote verses to celebrate the successful performance of rituals dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha:

The auspicious plums have rapidly proliferated, which is a sign of the prosperity of the nation. It is growing in the monastery, and I am gratified by knowing the thriving of the unique tree. Having such excellent propitious omen, I celebrated with the masters.110

瑞李系滋､國之興兆。生在伽藍之內､足知覺樹之榮。感此殊祥､與師同慶。

For the emperor, the extraordinary phenomenon conveyed two positive connotations. First, the blooming plum tree, as stated in his verses, implied a prosperous future and a flourishing nation. Second, the word li 李 is a homonym that

108 Fozu tongji, T 49.375c18-376a24.

109 Dasong sengshi lue 大宋僧史略 (Song-dynasty Compendium of Monastic History), T 54.250a4-11.

110 See Quan tang wen, 44.589.

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denotes manifold meanings. While it can refer to a plum, it also means the surname Li, which was the family name of the Tang imperial house.

Accordingly, the extraordinary phenomenon that occurred at the Imperial

Medicine Master Sanctuary was interpreted as an “auspicious response” (ruiying 瑞應) from the Buddha.111 The encouraging sign, apparently, had significant meaning for the dispirited ruler, especially after several ineffective attempts to vanquish the rebels.

Emperor Suzong believed in the Buddha’s supernatural power and saw him as a national protector who could bring about a peaceful and flourishing nation. However, the

An Lushan Rebellion did not completely end until 763 when Emperor Daizong 代宗 (r.

762-779) ruled the nation.

The Tang imperial recognition of the Buddha developed, in part, against a backdrop of political upheavals. Facing difficult predicaments, both Zhongzong and

Suzong expected that the Buddha would mercifully bring forth tangible benefits, including welfare for the nation, safety for the ruler, and suppression of the rebellion.

While the common people normally viewed the Buddha as the embodiment of healing, whose power could ease one’s physical pain and ensure quick recovery from illness, the Tang rulers had different concerns and interpretations. Their sponsorship of

Medicine Master Buddha worship illustrates the inseparable relationship between religion and politics, while also providing a window into the complexity of Chinese religious history.

111 T 50.864b25-29.

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Concluding Remarks

The devotional practices discussed in this chapter demonstrate that Chinese devotees’ active involvement in the Medicine Master Buddha worship were motivated by a range of utilitarian concerns and aspirations. When Medicine Master Buddha was viewed and worshiped as a worldly savior, he had several characteristics and functions.

Namely, he was perceived as a marvelous healer, a deity one could pray for a safe journey, a personal protector and bestower of pain-free childbirth to a pregnant woman, and a national divinity who safeguarded the state’s prosperity and peace. He unquestionably represented a polyfunctional divinity that offered various forms of support, in accordance with the ever-changing needs and expectations of his devotees.

To a large degree, the forms of worship directed towards him illustrate the mundane characteristics of Chinese religion.

To comprehend the whole spectrum of the Medicine Master Buddha cult, we should be wary of simply interpreting it within a narrow Buddhist context. In many cases, the cult was inseparably bound up with prevalent social and cultural values, as exemplified by female patrons’ involvement in the cult with the hope of giving birth to a male heir. At other occasions, the cult developed against a specific politico-religious backdrop, as can be seen in the instances of Tang imperial patronage of the cult, especially when given monarchs faced difficult political predicaments. Overall, the factors behind the worship of Medicine Master Buddha were complex and tended to be interwoven within a fluid network of human views and expectations, which cannot be reduced into a unified representation or single interpretative scheme.

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CHAPTER 5 BELIEFS AND PRACTICES RELATED TO THE AFTERLIFE

As indicated in Chapter 4, at its core the Medicine Master Buddha cult involved utilitarian and mundane perspectives of religion. To a great extent, the modes of worship incorporated mechanisms that offered hopes of improvement. The devotees’ participation in various ritual activities and their generous contributions were in many ways related to their expectations to change undesirable circumstances, including difficulties faced in the present life and the afterlife.

Among the various literary and visual records associated with the Medicine

Master Buddha cult, many of them indicate the participants’ apprehension about death and their interests in procuring favorable rebirth. Sometimes these sources express medieval Chinese conceptions or imaginations about the netherworld. But in many instances, we find that the devotees did not merely regard death and rebirth as abstract ideas or fantasy concepts. Rather, they paid close attention to these issues, possibly in part because of their anxieties related to death and dying. By analyzing the pertinent materials, we learn about the circumstances that surrounded the participants in these cultic activities, and find out about the religious themes and connotations behind the main modes of worship.

Evidence suggests that devotees took part in the worship to pursue better rebirths not only for themselves but also for their departed relatives. That reveals how religious beliefs and practices associated with death and rebirth were, to a certain degree, intertwined with one’s family responsibilities. As Stephen Bokenkamp has noted, these issues not only took place at the individual level, but also within the context

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of families.1 At a deeper level of analysis, we can also gain insights into how the

Medicine Master Buddha cult was embedded in traditional Chinese family ethics, especially the concept of filial piety.

The discussion in this chapter begins with a survey of the relevant scriptural sources that deal with Medicine Master Buddha’s role and function in relation to the afterlife. It then moves on to explore pertinent narratives, especially a number of miracle tales, that employ the motif of returning from death. The final section discusses how the faithful responded to the predominant social values and mainstream presuppositions of their time.

Yāma and Infernal Punishments

Due to the lack of adequate information, we cannot establish when and how beliefs about the afterlife first became an integral part of the Medicine Master Buddha worship. Nonetheless, it is certain that some Buddhist texts present the worship as a way to avoid punishments after death. Pertinent examples include the Shengsi dedu jing, a scripture I analyzed in Chapter 2.

The text explicitly expresses the general themes related to describing the world of the dead. A significant part of the scripture introduces King Yāma (Yanluo wang 閻羅

王), the Lord of the Dead:

King Yāma is in charge of the records of names in the human world. There may be human beings who do evil deeds, commit illegal acts, lack concern about filial piety, commit five heinous crimes, disgrace the triple gem, or fail to maintain the proper relation between the monarch and the subject.2 Furthermore, there may be sentient beings who do not observe

1 Stephen Bokenkamp, Ancestors and Anxiety: Daoism and the Birth of Rebirth in China, 193-198.

2 The triple gem is also known as the three jewels. They are the Buddha, the dharma (teaching), and the sangha (community), which are traditionally regarded as the foundation of Buddhism.

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the five precepts; neither do they believe in the righteous teachings. Although they have taken [certain precepts], they frequently violate them. The underworld divinities and assistants will report to the five officials.3 These five officials discern and investigate, and then they determine [the offenders’] birth and death. They may detain the spirits of the dead if they have not reached a verdict. If a verdict has been determined, it will be submitted to King Yāma. Then King Yāma will judge and punish them in accordance with the severity of their crimes.4

閻羅王者､主領世間名籍之記。若人為惡､作諸非法､無孝順心､造作五逆､破滅三寶､無君臣法。又有眾生､不持五戒､不信正法。設有受者､多所毀犯。於是地下鬼神､及伺候者､奏上五官。五官料簡､除死定生。或注錄精神､未判是非。若已定者､奏上閻羅。閻羅監察､隨罪輕重､考而治之。

The passage expresses an intermediate and transitional state of the individual after death, which reflects human imagination about where the departed might go and what they might experience in the afterlife. This passage relates fairly conventional Buddhist views on morality. It also draws on the theory of karma to exhort people to behave morally. For example, the text introduces the five heinous crimes—patricide, matricide, killing a saint, injuring a Buddha, and causing a schism in a monastic community—as serious transgressions that will immediately bring about bad karmic retributions.

Moreover, it mentions the five precepts. According to traditional Buddhist teachings about morality, they are ethical guidelines that exhort lay people to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, and alcohol consumption. The scripture

3 Xuanzang’s translation of this text indicates that “The accompanying spirits (ju sheng shen 俱生神) attached to all sentient beings, who record whether each being’s conduct is good or bad, will then hand down these records in their entirety to King Yāma” (T 14.407b17). Gilgit version has a similar statement, saying that “devatā born together with the individual” will follow behind him and record his deeds. Such description of “accompanying spirits” cannot be seen in the Gaunding jing. For an English translation of the Gilgit text, see Gregory Schopen, “Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra and the Buddhism of Gilgit,” 354-355. For additional discussion, see Nagao Kayoko 長尾佳代子, “Hanyaku butten ni okeru ‘ku sei shin’ no kaishaku” 漢訳仏典における「倶生神」の解釈, 55-66.

4 Shengsi dedu jing, T 21.535c23-28.

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argues that those who break the five precepts or commit illegal acts will be reported to the underworld officials.5

The passage’s general theme of a transitional state between death and rebirth is not new. Similar religious concepts and explanations about individual’s fate in the afterlife are already evident in Hindu religions and Chinese indigenous beliefs. By the

Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), indigenous Chinese religion had developed the notion of diyu 地獄, or “subterranean prisons,” where the spirits of the dead are detained.6 In addition to ideas regarding the lands of the dead, the Chinese also believed in underworld bureaucrats and administrative structures that regulated the afterlife. For example, the Lord below the Ground (Dixia zhu 地下主) and the Lord of Mount Tai

(Taishan fujun 泰山府君) were perceived as powerful deities who ruled over the underworld and reviewed the records of deeds for each individual.7

Traditional Hindu texts—for instance, Agni Purāṇa, one of the most important ancient Hindu texts—also describe Yāma as the lord of justice deciding where a deceased person should go.8 Moreover, several early Buddhist texts, featuring the punishments of the netherworld, were introduced to the Chinese during Buddhism’s

5 Shengsi dedu jing, T 21.534b13-16 and 535c25.

6 See Stephen Bokenkamp, Ancestors and Anxiety, 35-37; and Laurence G. Thompson, “On the Prehistory of Hell in China,” 27-41.

7 On the research of ancient Chinese views regarding death and the life after death, see Richard von Glahn, The Sinister Way: The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture, 45-77; Stephen Teiser, “Having Once Died and Returned to Life: Representations of Hell in Medieval China," 433-464; Yu, Ying-Shih 余英時, “O Soul, Come Back! A Study in the Changing Conceptions of the Soul and Afterlife in Pre-Buddhist China," 363-95; and Liu Ying 劉影, “Taishan fujun yu yanluo wang geng ti kao” 泰山府君與閻羅王更替考, 36-41.

8 See Nastesa Gangadharan, The Agni Purana, 1037-1040.

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initial entry into China. For example, Fo shuo shiba nili jing 佛說十八泥犁經, translated by An Shigao 安世高, a second-century Parthian monk, explicates eighteen kinds of hells that await beings who have committed wrongful deeds.9

It seems that the Shengsi dedu jing amalgamates both Hindu and Chinese ideas, to present a synthesis depiction of the netherworld. In addition to the adoption of existing concepts, the text further presents a well-ordered process of underworld judgment. It places special focus on the structure of the court of King Yāma, to emphasize that the underworld administrative center is not in disarray. The scripture underscores an organized judicial system that provides a mechanism for impartial judgment, via the team work of a judge and a jury.

According to the description of the hierarchical structure of the underworld court in the Shengsi dedu jing, King Yāma is placed at the top of the bureaucratic system. He is assisted by five underworld officials, who function as a jury to help bring in verdicts.10

While the five officials inspect the moral records of the dead, King Yāma has the final authority to impose a sentence for a convicted sinner. On the whole, the basic conception of the judicial and administrative court of the netherworld is modeled after the earthly bureaucracy. Its functions, systematic structures, hierarchical order, and trial procedures are analogous to the human courts of law.

9 T 17.528b-530a.

10 The origin of the knowledge associated with the five officials is unknown, but they are repeatedly mentioned in several chapters of the Guanding jing. In some Buddhist texts, these five officials are not merely portrayed as the underworld bureaucrats. Instead, they are connected with the practices of taking the five precepts. For example, Jinglu yixiang 經律異相 (Supernatural Phenomena Described in Scriptures and Vinayas), a reference work compiled in 516 by Sengmin 僧旻 (472–534) et al., declares that the five officials individually govern those who kill, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie, and take intoxicants. See T 53.259b14-16.

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Portraying King Yāma as a judge who determines future destinies, the scripture assumes that each individual has to experience an intermediate stage between death and rebirth, usually lasting for forty-nine days.11 The transitional period is a liminal phase, when the recently deceased person goes through a critical passage before being reborn.12 When the dead is questioned and interrogated by the underworld bureaucrats during the intermediate period, the future destinies of the deceased are uncertain, as they await King Yāma’s final decision. By and large, such description of a transitional stage between this life and the next rebirth echoes traditional Buddhist explanations of the life after death.

Besides typical themes about the underworld judgment, a new feature is added in the Shengsi dedu jing. It indicates that the intermediate period is vital because one’s future rebirth may be dramatically changed if one develops faith in Medicine Master

Buddha. While the Shengsi dedu jing constantly presents dreadful scenes of hell torments, it also shows a sympathetic attitude towards the dead by suggesting the veneration of the Buddha as a way to alleviate suffering in the hells.

For example, the relevant portion of the text indicates that several kinds of punishments of the dead can be mitigated, or even avoided, due to the salvific power of the Buddha:

There are immoral individuals who have pledged to uphold Buddhist precepts and break their commitments. They may brutally kill, steal other people’s treasures, cheat and tell falsehoods, sexually assault women, or

11 T 21.536a1-2.

12 It seems that Arnold van Gennep’s interpretation of threshold and Victor Turner’s theory of liminality somewhat correspond to this Buddhist description of the forty-nine-day interval phase between death and rebirth. See Arnold van Gennep, The Rites of Passage, especially v-xix; Victor Turner, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, 94-113, and “Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites of Passage,” 93-111.

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have too much alcoholic drink that leads to fights and arguments. [They may also] commit divisive and harsh speech, scold and slander others, break moral principles, do evil deeds, or revere sinister spirits. Because of those offenses and misconducts, they will get into the subterranean prisons. When they are about to be slaughtered and stabbed, to be forced to embrace hot copper pillars, to lie on iron beds, or even if their tongues should be stretched out by iron hooks, or if their mouths should be inserted by molten copper, they will immediately be released [from hells] without exception, only if they listen to the discourse on [the virtue of] Medicine Master, the Lapis Lazuli Radiance Buddha.13

世有惡人､雖受佛禁戒､觸事違犯。或殺無道､偷竊他人財寶､欺詐妄語､婬他婦女､飲酒鬥亂。兩舌惡口､罵詈毀人､犯戒為惡､復祠祀鬼神。有如是過罪､當墮地獄中。若當屠割､若抱銅柱､若臥鐵床､若鐵鉤出舌､若洋銅灌口者､聞我說是藥師琉璃光佛､無不即得解脫者也。

This passage underscores the notion that salvation of the dead relies on Medicine

Master Buddha. Other portions of the text also contain similar statements, proclaiming that those who have negative character traits—including selfishness, arrogance, jealousy, greed, and stinginess—may enter into an undesirable realm after death, where they are constantly experiencing hunger and thirst. At such time, Medicine

Master Buddha may immediately release them from such severe torments, only if they call on the name of the Buddha.14

Extolling the mighty power of the divinity, the Shengsi dedu jing declares that this particular Buddha pledges to protect the dying from mishaps and liberate the dead from infernal punishments. In some parts of the text, it suggests that the benevolent Buddha will guide his believers and help them to refrain from evil conduct, which subsequently will help them to avoid entering into any of the undesirable destinies.15 At other

13 Shengsi dedu jing, T 21.534b13-19.

14 T 21.533a-b.

15 T 21.533b-534b.

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occasions, the text specifies that the divinity is able to protect humans from being reborn in the three unfavorable places—the realms of hells, hungry ghosts, and animals.16

In that context, several passages in the text suggest venerating Medicine Master

Buddha on behalf of the dying and the deceased. A number of devotional activities— including releasing living creatures, lighting votive lamps, setting up colorful banners for worship, listening to the preaching of the scripture, recollecting of the Buddha, and making the Buddha’s image—are recommended to those who wish to reduce the suffering of their dead kin.17 This sort of exhortation to perform worship on behalf of the departed, for their liberation from torments related to the afterlife, can be seen throughout the scripture.

It is noteworthy that although the scripture indicates that one can find salvation by worshiping Medicine Master Buddha, it does not clearly specify the relationship between King Yāma and the Buddha. Nor does it mention the Buddha’s position in relation to the underworld court. Instead, it emphasizes separate features and parallel functions of these two figures: Yāma is an embodiment of justice in the hells, and the

Buddha serves as a benevolent rescuer. Undeniably, the text expresses a strong contrast between Medicine Master Buddha’s sympathetic salvation and King Yāma’s stern punishment.

By and large, the scripture presents a universal nature of Medicine Master

Buddha. He is repetitively described as an almighty savior who can assist his believers

16 T 21.533b14-17.

17 T 21.533b14-17, 535b10-18, and 536a4-6.

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not only to escape perils in the present life, but also to avoid torments in the netherworld. These kinds of portrayals are integrated into the overall message of the scripture, perhaps in part because the ability to facilitate salvation of the dead might make the Buddha become a compelling figure in the eyes of his devotees.

Motif of Returning from Death

Descriptions of Medicine Master Buddha liberating the deceased are not merely evident in Buddhist canonical texts. Similar themes and statements also can be found in miracle tales that promote the advantages of participating in worship related to the

Buddha. One of the most prominently recurring themes found in the stories associated with Medicine Master Buddha is that of returning from death. Such stories usually narrate how the main protagonists, who have already died, are restored back to life due to their veneration of the divinity.

Miracle tales of this sort usually relate how the major protagonists had descends into hells, where they were judged at the court of King Yāma, or met with certain underworld bureaucrats. The stories often present first-person narratives, to indicate the voices of the main protagonists. The central characters articulate what they have observed and experienced in the hells. At the same time, they bring certain messages back to the human world. The messages sometimes include moral exhortations and warnings to wrongdoers. Another typical message is the encouragement to engage in religious devotion. These types of messages usually indicate that the dead can find a way back to the human realm through their faith in specific supernatural beings, in this case Medicine Master Buddha.

To illustrate this sort of miracle tales, below I present three prominent examples that are centered around the motif of returning from death. The first two cases show the 157

otherworldly journey of the major protagonists. The third example depicts a deceased lady who selected a living being to deliver her messages to her family. By analyzing these three stories, we can gain more information about how medieval Chinese people understood the life after death.

The first story is recorded in Miraculous Responses, compiled in 1063 by

Feizhuo,18 which depicts the unusual experience of Mr. Sima 司馬, who lived at

Wenzhou 溫州.19 In the miracle tale, it is said that Mr. Sima’s family commissioned seven images of Medicine Master Buddha and devoutly venerated the sacred images right after Mr. Sima’s death. One day later, Mr. Sima was revived. Returning from death, he recounted his otherworldly journey:

As soon as I left home, three underworld officials arrested me. We passed a dim road without any other passengers. Then we arrived at a palace where there was a high chair on which a deity wearing a jade crown sat. In front [of the deity] thousands of people were chained and shacked. [I] asked messengers, “Who is he?” “This is king Yāma, who may pardon your sins,” they answered. Then the King summoned me and asked, “Have you done good deeds?” Answer, “I had died before I accomplished my aspiration.” The King said, “You have immeasurable wickedness and you definitely cannot be pardoned from hells.” At that moment, an extraordinary light shined on my body. The king informed me, “Your relatives and servants have made seven images of [Medicine Master] Buddha. Thus your lifespan can be prolonged and you are able to return to the human realm now.” By the means of this [image-making], I regain consciousness. 20

我出家時､從三人冥官被縛。過幽闇路､無人相從。至一城中､見有高座､玉冠神並坐。前有數千人､皆被枷鎖。問使者､誰？答､琰魔王也､時可活汝罪。時王召問､汝有作善不？答､我未了志､早死。王言､汝惡無量､定不可免脫地

18 For a discussion of miracle tales in the Miraculous Responses, see Chapter 3.

19 Located at present-day Zhejiang province.

20 T 51.833b5-16.

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獄。爾時有異光､照司馬之身。王知而告､汝親屬奴婢､造七佛像。得延壽命､早可還人間。以是因緣､再得醒矣。

The second story, dating to 657, during the rule of Emperor Gaozong 高宗 (r.

649-683) of the Tang, describes an extraordinary scene: an error of judgment made by the netherworld court. According to the Miraculous Responses, Xia Houjun 夏侯均, who lived in Yongzhou 勇州, died from illness. He became reborn as an ox, serving as a working animal in a mill in the underworld. It is said that he deserved a better afterlife because he was a sincere devotee of Medicine Master Buddha during his lifetime. He felt upset and believed that he was judged mistakenly and inaccurately. Therefore, he appealed his case to the underworld court. Xia reported that he had resolutely observed the precepts, recited the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture, and contributed to the making of Medicine Master Buddha’s image during his lifetime. The story continues to tell how his meritorious deeds were reexamined and verified by the underworld bureaucrats. Thereafter, he was released from his torments and returned to the realm of the living.21

While the aforementioned two miracle tales apparently advocate the efficacy of the Medicine Master Buddha worship, other narratives highlight the mysterious transmission of the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture. A prominent example is the story of Lady Xiao 蕭, the wife of Cui Yiqi 崔義起, who served as a Vice President of the

Board of Revenue during the Tang dynasty. According to the Fayuan zhulin 法苑珠林

(Forest of Gems from the Dharma Garden), compiled by Daoshi 道世 (d. 683), Lady

21 T 51.833a20-26.

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Xiao passed away in the second year of the Linde 麟德 era (665). She later brought her servant Runyu 閏玉, who was not supposed to die, to the underworld.22

Fayuan zhulin describes how Lady Xiao suffered gruesome torments in the hell.

She could not escape from her severe punishment because she had been extremely greedy and jealous during her lifetime.23 After her death, the family performed rituals in order to accumulate merits on her behalf. Consequently, she could temporarily leave the underworld and return to the human realm for a short visit. However, Lady Xiao’s punishments were not yet finished, due to her horrible wrongdoings in the past. In order to induce her family to accumulate more merits for her, she decided to let her family know her miserable circumstances in the hell. Lady Xiao chose her former servant, a person called Runyu, whose memory was outstanding, to carry her messages.

Thereafter the servant made a journey to the hell where she witnessed the deceased being boiled and burned.24

The miracle tale extols Runyu’s extraordinary talent to memorize Sanskrit texts during her otherworldly journey. The story indicates that before returning to the human world, the servant had learned and memorized the Sanskrit versions of the Diamond

Scripture, the Lotus Scripture, and the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture. It also suggests that Runyu subsequently brought the Sanskrit version of the Medicine Master

22 See T 53.911a21-911b5. TheTaiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Records of the Taiping Reign), a collection of miracle tales and supernatural events that was compiled by Li Fang 李昉 (925-996), points out that the servant’s name is Suyu 素玉. However, such minor differences do not affect the basic content of the story. See Taiping guangji, fascicle 115.

23 T 53.911a21-912a27.

24 Ibid.

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Buddha Scripture to the human world. It seems that the story was meant to introduce an atypical and mystical transmission of Buddhist scriptures from the underworld to the realm of the living.

Although the three stories reflect different aspects of the underworld, they have several common implications, and at least four salient points deserve our attention.

First, these miracle tales usually indicate a fair system of karmic retribution that is closely tied with the underworld system of justice. The deceased who deserve to be punished cannot be released until they accrue sufficient merits and blessings, as exemplified by Mr. Sima’s and Lady Xiao’s stories. Meanwhile, a person who has acquired good karma will get adequate reward, and the error of the underworld court eventually can be corrected, as shown in Xia Houjun’s story.

Second, narratives of this sort in general assume that family relationships continue after death. There is a belief that death may create certain boundaries that separate the living and the deceased, but it cannot end their relationship. The dead have certain connection with their surviving kin. Thus, the dead might come back and visit their family. The close connection between the living and the dead is best illustrated by Lady Xiao’s case.

Third, the overall narratives reveal the passive but changeable status of the dead. The stories relate the suffering and frustration of the dead. They also lack the ability to produce good karma on their own, and thus they are unable to change their predicament. Although the deceased may have intense desire for accumulating merit, they have to rely heavily on their living kin to engage in meritorious deeds. Meanwhile, the status of the deceased is not static but variable. The punishment of hell is not

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permanent and the circumstances of the deceased can be changed or improved, especially if proper action can be untaken by their living relatives.

Fourth, and most importantly, the abovementioned popular narratives repeatedly exhort devotion dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha. The first two miracle tales underscore that merits derived from worship of the Buddha may assist the dead, and the recipients of rewards can be either those who engage in the veneration or others.

Namely, the benefits of worship can be either accrued for oneself or transferred to others. In Xia Houjun’s case, Xia’s devotion to Medicine Master Buddha during his lifetime ensures his well-being after death. In Mr. Sima’s story, his family’s contribution to making seven Buddha images protects him from underworld punishments.

Highlighting the efficacy of the worship, these miracle tales have a tendency to propagate Medicine Master Buddha worship by vouching for the credibility of his salvific power.

Before Medicine Master Buddha became an object of veneration by Chinese devotees, themes related to netherworld adventures and otherworldly journeys already appeared in several types of Chinese literature.25 For example, they can be found in the

Han shu 漢書 (Book of Han), compiled by Ban Gu 班固 (32-92), a Chinese historian.

The text describes an account of a woman who met her father-in-law in the underworld and then returned to the world of the living. The same motif also can be seen in the

Mingxiang ji 冥祥記 (Records of Signs from the Unseen Realm), compiled around 490

25 See Han shu, 27.1473. For more discussions, see Guolong Lai, “Death and the Otherworldly Journey in Early China as Seen Through Tomb Texts, Travel Paraphernalia, and Road Rituals,” 1-44; Robert Ford Campany, “Return-from-Death Narratives in Early Medieval China,” 91-125, and “To Hell and Back: Death, Near-Death and Other Worldly Journeys in Early Medieval China,” 343-360.

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CE, which consists of stories about fantastic and miraculous things.26 To a large degree, the miracle tales associated with Medicine Master Buddha adopt this kind of prototypical pattern.

The miracle stories discussed above might have been undergone a long process of retelling or editing. While examining the overall contents of miracle tales, we need to be aware of the implicit intentions behind the formation of these stories. It is probable that the descriptions of this particular Buddha were added or integrated into prevailing narratives by medieval authors or storytellers, who selected and reshaped existing materials.

That argument is evidenced by the aforementioned Xia Houjun’s story, which changed from a tale encouraging morality to a tale in favor of the Medicine Master

Buddha cult. There are several versions of Xia’s story preserved in Chinese texts.27

Among these texts, only the Miraculous Responses mention the main protagonist’s beliefs and practices devoted to Medicine Master Buddha.

The earlier version of the story, recorded in Fayuan zhulin that was compiled in the seventh century, presents a different storyline. Although the earlier tale also adopts the familiar motif of returning from death, it does mention Medicine Master Buddha.

Instead, it presents that the main protagonist was able to escape punishment due to his observance of the Buddhist precepts and his performance of repentance.28 In fact, the

26 The text was mainly compiled by Wang Yan 王琰 (fl. 424-479). For a study of the text, see Robert Ford Campany, Signs from the Unseen Realm: Buddhist Miracle Tales from Early Medieval China, especially 1-62.

27 It appears in Fayuan zhulin, T 53.946c28-947a6; Miraculous Response, T 51.833a20-26; and Mingbao ji jishu 冥報記輯書, X 88.319b12-17.

28 T 53.946c28-947a6.

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original content of the miracle tale is to encourage the cultivation of virtue and promote the value of morality. It is meant to serve as a warning about the violation of the basic

Buddhist precepts. Medicine Master Buddha, however, is never mentioned in the earlier version of the story.

Unfortunately, we do not have adequate information to determine why the

Buddha was incorporated into the existing narrative formula. Perhaps the renowned divinity was unconsciously added into the story when someone retold it. It is also likely that his role in the returning from death motif was constructed by those who were in favor of the cult.

As discussed above, the theme of returning from death is not exclusively associated with Medicine Master Buddha. Rather, it is a popular motif that can be found in numerous stories featuring renowned individuals and mythological deities, both

Buddhist and non-Buddhist. For example, similar descriptions also appear in miracle tales associated with the cult of Bodhisattva Dizang.29 Perhaps the storyline of a journey to hell enriches people’s imagination of the life after death, which leads to its long- lasting popularity in Chinese literature.

Placating the Dead and Protecting the Living

While a number of miracle tales present departed ones’ desire about returning to the world of the living, many writings dedicated to Medicine Master Buddha reveal that the living did not want the dead to come back. As Stephen Bokenkamp has pointed out,

Chinese poems and funerary texts unequivocally describe medieval people’s beliefs about maintaining proper separation between the living and the dead. They tried to keep

29 See Zhiru Ng, The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva: Dizang in Medieval China, 167-196.

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the dead at a distance because “the dead came to be seen not as a source of blessing, but as a potential source of disaster.”30 The enraged and unquiet dead were considered to be threats that might cause a family to experience anxiety and panic. According to

Bokenkamp, concepts and beliefs of this sort were not directly derived from core

Buddhist teachings, but were products associated with local culture and Chinese religious tradition.31

I basically agree with Bokenkamp’s opinion. Traditional Chinese beliefs took the position that the departed could inflict harm on the living. An almanac discovered in a tomb, dated ca. 217 BCE, indicates the correlation between the deceased and the living. It states that if one is ill on a bing 丙 or ding 丁 day, then it is probable that one’s late grandfather is haunting the living. Similarly, if one is ill on a wu 戊 or ji 己 day, then it is likely that one’s later grandmother is haunting the living.32 These messages illustrate medieval people’s interpretations about the causes of calamities and diseases.

Unquestionably, they believed that the departed had invisible force and active potency that might interfere with earthly affairs.

However, human interactions with the dead can be a bit more complicated. In addition to tensions between the living and the dead, it is also helpful to have a closer look at other aspects of the situation. What deserves our attention is the belief that the dead might not merely bring about troubles, but they also could engender benefits. It is

30 Stephen Bokenkam, Ancestors and Anxiety, 58.

31 Ibid., 33-94.

32 Wu Xiaoqiang 吳小強, Qin jian rishu jishi 秦簡日書集釋 (Annotated Almanac Preserved on Qin Bamboo Slips), 70-71.

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somewhat paradoxical that although medieval Chinese were afraid of the potency of the deceased, they still approached them and asked them for favors, assistance, and protection. In other words, the dead were not only characterized as essential causes of misfortune, but also the potential sources of profit.

For instance, Zhang Heng 張衡 (78-137), a poet during the Han dynasty, elucidates similar ideas in his “Poetic Expositions on the Eastern Capital,” or “Dongjing fu” 東京賦. This short essay presents the social and cultural milieus of Luoyang.

Portions of his writing read: “The late grandfathers and the late august forefathers!

Come to visit and feast. When the spirits have fully satisfied themselves with drink offerings, abundant blessings will be bestowed upon us.”33 The underlying idea is that if the dead are satisfied by the offerings, they may promptly improve the living circumstances of their descendants. In light of that, offerings such as drink, food, or incense must be properly presented to the dead.

That concept was infused into the worship of Medicine Master Buddha, with a minor change. What the living provided to the dead were not material offerings but merits. A pertinent example is a dedicatory inscription discovered in Ci 磁 County, Hebei province, which expresses the donor’s views about the dedication of merit. The inscription explains Linghu Sheng’s 令狐勝 contribution in making the Buddha’s sculpture during the late seventh century:

On the twenty-eighth day of … month in the first year of the Shengli of the Great Zhou (698), Linghu Sheng reverently sponsors the making of a stone sculpture of Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiance Buddha on behalf of the late older brother. Cutting rocks and building a shrine, [the

33 The original writing reads, “靈祖皇考, 來顧來饗. 神具醉止, 降福穰穰.” See Wen xuan 文選 (Selections of Literature), vol. 1, 72.

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team] create a sculpture made out of stone. The sculpture, which is one chi and five cun in length, is brilliant and gigantic.34 After being carved and engraved, this divine image looks splendid. Its lips are as glorious as ripe fruits and its eyes are as clear as blue lotuses. [The Buddha’s] eyebrows are radiant as if the light will reach the Abundant Treasure Platform. The rays emitting from the white tuft between his eyebrows are brilliant as if they are shining in the city of Vaiśālī.35 May the merits benefit my departed older brother, together with other sentient beings, to follow the path to enlightenment.36

大周聖歷元年□月廿八日､令狐勝為亡兄□､敬造石藥師琉璃光像一軀。勒石裁龕､像因石建。通光廣高､尺有五寸。雕鐫既畢､靈相粲然､丹果耀唇､青蓮湛目。眉光曉闢､如昇多寶之臺。毫相朝披､似入毗耶之舍。伏愿以斯功德､滋益亡兄､含識有靈､同登覺路。

The dedicatory inscription states that Linghu Sheng commissioned the sculpture of Medicine Master Buddha in 698, when Empress Wu ruled the Tang empire. It also indicates the relationship between the donor and the beneficiary. Although the name of the dead is illegible due to some damage on the inscription, the surviving portions make it clear that the donor wished that his late brother would gain a reward from his effort in making the statue. Linghu Sheng also expected that the dead would reach enlightenment and never be bound by the cycle of birth and death.

Another similar example is Emperor Dezong 德宗 (r. 779-805) of the Tang, who lost his eldest daughter while facing the challenges of warfare. Thereafter, the emperor commanded official artists to make embroidery of Medicine Master Buddha. In this

34 Chi and cun are Chinese units of length. One chi was divided into ten cun. In the Tang dynasty, the value of the chi varied between 24.5 and 29.5 cm.

35 The Abundant Treasure Platform is described in the Lotus Scripture, which indicates that Śākyamuni Buddha and Abundant Treasure Buddha, an enlightened one of the past, sit together in the Abundant Treasure Tower. See T 09.52b-53c. Vaiśālī was the ancient city of India where Śākyamuni often visited and preached before his death.

36 See Baqiongshi jinshi buzheng 八瓊室金石補正, juan 44. Republished in Shike shiliao xinbian 石刻史料新編, vol. 7, 4716.

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case, the intended purpose of the worship was not only to liberate the dead from hell, but also to procure the well-being of the living.

In the first year of the Xingyuan 興元 era (784), Emperor Dezong’s beloved daughter, Princess Tang’an 唐安公主 (762-784), passed away. She died because of the

Zhu Ci Rebellion 朱泚之亂 (783-784), a political uprising that nearly destroyed the Tang empire. During this period, Emperor Dezong faced the difficulties of curbing the powers of regional military governors. Zhu Ci (742-784), a major general and a military governor, launched a devastating rebellion at Jingzhou 涇州 and Yuanzhou 原州 to battle against the Tang government.37 Zhu Ci proclaimed himself a new ruler and his army attacked the palace, which forced Emperor Dezong to run away from the capital

Chang’an. When the royal family fled to Chenggu 城固, located in present-day Shaanxi province, Princess Tang’an died at the age of 22.38

According to the Jiu tang shu 舊唐書 (Old Book of Tang), the princess was engaged to Wei You 韋宥 (dates unknown), an assistant in the palace library. However, they stopped planning their wedding due to the war. The text states that the emperor felt extreme grief about his daughter’s death, especially given that the princess passed away before her wedding.39 Because of the on-going battles between the government and the rebels, the emperor could not afford to arrange a traditional imperial funeral for

37 Jingzhou and Yuanzhou are located at the present-day Gansu province.

38 Jiu tang shu, 12.341; and Xin tang shu, 7.189-190.

39 See Jiu tang shu, 138.3788.

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his departed child. Nonetheless, he issued a command to establish a pagoda for the deceased princess.40

A number of chancellors and imperial scholars were inclined to disagree with the emperor’s decision. These Tang officials argued that the nation was exhausted by the huge costs of the wars, and suggested that Emperor Dezong should bury the princess after they returned to capital Chang’an. The Jiu tang shu indicates that the emperor was annoyed by their counsel. He finally ignored their advice and insisted on building a commemorative pagoda right away.41 The princess was also posthumously honored with the title of Princess Zhenmu 貞穆 (Chastity and Solemnity).42

Moreover, the emperor commissioned an embroidery of Medicine Master Buddha in order to accumulate merit for his late daughter. Quan tang wen recounts that the emperor requested Liang Su 梁肅 (753-793), a Tang scholar-official, to compose a eulogy to praise the Buddha on behalf of the deceased princess. It is interesting to note that Liang’s writing not only praises the Buddha’s potency to liberate the dead, it also commends the emperor for his benevolence. For example, Liang argues, “Medicine

Master, the supreme Dharma King, illuminates the brightness to the ten directions. His

Majesty, the great imperial leader, rules the human world out of his benevolence. These

40 Jiu tang shu, 138.3787-3788.

41 Ibid.

42 See Tang hui yao 唐會要 (Important Documents of the Tang), 6.65, and 19.386. Jiu tang shu claims that the posthumous name of the princess is Zhuangmu 莊穆 (Serenity and Solemnity). See Jiu tang shu, 13.390.

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two sacred ones unify their pristine virtue and extensively execute the powers of loving- kindness and compassion.”43

Apparently, Liang Su draws an analogy between the earthly monarch and the divinity. It seems that he consciously portrays Emperor Dezong in a flattering light as an ideal leader. Liang’s argument reflects his subordinate position and his reverential attitude towards the supreme authority, which illustrates a prototype of official communication. By employing a standard style of formal writing, the eulogy notes

Emperor Dezong’s motivation to commission high-quality embroidery of the Buddha.

Portions of Liang’s writing read:

Alas,44 the perfect one cannot be completely understood through seeing. What can be seen is merely imagery. Medicine Master is the name of the great doctor; and lapis lazuli represents his way of illumination. He removes eight kinds of suffering and sheds light on the six directions. Amazing! He has made certain accomplishments, which gradually turn into emptiness because of their profoundness and boundlessness. When Princess Tang’an—a righteous daughter of the emperor—passed away,45 His Majesty commanded official artists to embroider the Buddha’s image by using colorful threads to present the magnificent brightness of the divinity. Praying to the Buddha for good fortune and beseeching for his help, we wish that Her Royal Highness will reach the right vehicle.46

於戲！至人不可得而見之矣。所可見者､像設而已。藥師者､大醫之號。琉璃者､大明之道。所以洗蕩八苦､振燭六幽。巍乎！其有功､復歸於無物､蓋其賾也。皇帝德女唐安公主､委化歸真之辰､先是命國工､繢佛像､爰設妙色､載揚耿光。以追福祥､以迪幽讚。祐我貴主､達於真乘。

43 The writing reads, “藥師妙法王､光被於十方。惟皇大聖主､文命敷下土。二聖合元德､廣運慈悲力。” See Quan tang wen, 519.6694.

44 The term wuhu 於戲, which expresses an exclamation of grief, can be read as wuhu 嗚呼.

45 The phrase weihua guizhen 委化歸真 literally means that someone lacks healthy vigor and returns to the origin, which is referred to as one’s death.

46 Quan tang wen, 519.6693-4.

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The eulogy highlights the religious potency of Medicine Master Buddha by stating that the Buddha can help his devotees to get rid of eight types of sufferings. It seems that the connotations of the eight types of sufferings echo the adverse circumstances faced by the emperor. Traditionally, Buddhism explains an array of reasons that may cause one’s unhappiness, including birth, aging, illness, death, being separated from what one loves, being forced to deal with what one dislikes, the inability to gain what one desires, and the unpredictability of human existence. The ruler’s frustration with defeating the rebels and the loss of his daughter more or less corresponded to the

Buddhist teaching about the truth of sufferings. Within that context, the eulogy lays stress on the Buddha’s salvific power to assist those who are in need. It does not feature the Buddha’s healing power, but rather presents him as an almighty divinity.

The central idea that runs through the eulogy is the connection between the living and the dead. The eulogy indicates that the late princess was expected to reach the right vehicle. Here the right vehicle refers to the Great Vehicle or Mahāyāna. That traditionally is interpreted as the ultimate path that leads a bodhisattva to develop religious aspiration, accomplish required practices, benefit other living beings, and finally achieve Buddhahood. Even though the expression about attaining Buddhahood was a theme commonly described in many dedicatory writings at the time, there are reasons to assume that the emperor expected the late princess to cultivate altruistic activities to benefit later generations, as evidenced by the final lines of the eulogy:

The splendorous adornment shown on this image, extendedly generate blessings for the princess.

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While the princess receives the blessings [from the Buddha], the benefits will be transmitted to numerous future generations.47

莊嚴成儀形､延福於女英。女英受茲福､亦以流萬族。

Explanations of this kind denote an ideology concerning the exchange between the dead and the living: if the dead are gratified by what the living family has provided, in return, the dead supposedly will provide a broad range of material benefits to the living. The welfare of the dead might foster the prosperity of the descendants. In such mechanism of reciprocal exchange, the otherworld and the living realm are mutually connected and benefit each other.

Based on records about the Medicine Master Buddha cult, we also learn that

Chinese participants in general held a mixture of thoughts and beliefs that came from diverse traditions, which included both Buddhist and non-Buddhist ideas. That is exemplified by their belief about the existence of shen 神 (spirit or soul) after death.

They regarded that if the soul of the dead rested in peace, the dead would not cause havoc among the living.

A pertinent example is recorded in Dunhuang manuscript BD06175, presently in the collection of the National Library of China in Beijing. The manuscript mentions

Linghu Āzhou 令狐阿咒, who identified herself as a faithful laywoman (qing xin nu 清信

女). She supported the copying of many Buddhist texts, including the Medicine Master

Buddha Scripture, on behalf of her departed husband. Her dedicatory note expresses her grief and sorrow after the loss of her spouse. It demonstrates that she had severe

47 Quan tang wen, 519.6694.

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anxiety about what happened to her husband, and she blamed herself for the death of her loved one. She argued that she was fated to suffer loneliness due to her bad karma.48 By transcribing scriptures, the lady coped with her grief and loss.

More importantly, the dedicatory note points out her concern about the spiritual position of the soul. She wished that her husband’s soul would travel to a purified region

(shen you jingxiang 神游淨鄉). The notion of a purified region is probably associated with Buddhist views regarding pure lands, which developed in the Mahāyāna tradition.49

The dedicatory note also indicates that she prayed that her deceased husband would reach the pleasant place “where he could render assistance to divine beings, study and comprehend the profound teachings, and then eliminate all kinds of defilements.”50

According to Buddhist doctrine of anatman or non-self, there is no unchangeable essence or soul that can be conceived as an endurable entity. Nevertheless, we still see that certain participants of Medicine Master Buddha worship definitely were concerned about where the souls of the dead would be. It seems likely that some prevailing indigenous beliefs were deeply rooted in China, which might not be completely influenced or replaced by the arrival of new ideas.

Family Ethics and Filial Piety

Throughout history, mortuary rites and ancestral veneration are probably the most influential practices that help maintain the stability of the family system in China.51

48 For transcriptions of the manuscript, see Huang Zhen and Wu Wei, 864; and Ikeda On, 161.

49 For a study of Mahāyāna interpretations of pure lands, see Chapter 6.

50 Ibid.

51 See Kenneth E. Brashier, Ancestral Memory in Early China, 46-101.

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These kinds of long-lasting notions about family-centered values also exerted great impact on the Medicine Master Buddha cult. In the extant records, devotees repeatedly mention their concern about the welfare of their ancestors of seven generations (qishi xianwang 七世先亡). That is exemplified by an inscription found at the Leigutai 擂鼓台 grotto of Longmen. It indicates that Zhang Āshuang 張阿雙, a lay Buddhist, commissioned the making of the statue of Medicine Master Buddha. The inscription, dated 701, states that Zhang wished the Buddha to protect not only his current parents but also to bless his ancestors of seven generations.52 Another relevant example is an inscription sponsored by Yao Si 姚思 from Yongzhou 雍州,53 who contributed to the making of Amitābha and Medicine Master Buddha images for the welfare of his progenitors of seven generations.54

Little is known about the origins of the concept about tracing one’s lineage up to seven generations. Although ancient Chinese philosophers frequently advocated the privileged status of ancestors, few of them highlighted the notion about tracing one’s ancestry back to seven generations. For example, Guan zi 管子, a text traditionally attributed to ancient thinker Guan Zhong 管仲 (d. 645 BCE), states, “If one does not revere one’s ancestors and predecessors, the filial piety and fraternity will not be fulfilled.”55 However, it does not specify any details about lineage.

52 Liu Jinglong and Li Yukun, 627-8.

53 It is located between the present-day Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.

54 For a transcription of the inscription, see Liu Jinglong and Li Yukun, 242.

55 See Li Xiangfeng 黎翔鳳, Guanzi jiaozhu 管子校注, 3.

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Form the fifth century onward, the phrase “ancestors of seven generations” was commonly used in many Buddhist inscriptions.56 Strictly speaking, such usage was not unique to Buddhism. It was also accepted by the followers of Daoism and Chinese popular religion. According to Kamitsuka Yoshiko’s 神塚淑子 study of Daoist art, while some Daoist steles clearly point out the patrons’ wishes for the salvation of their ancestors of seven generations on one side, on another side they also depict the themes associated with their imagination of the underworld, especially scenes about afterlife judgement and punishment.57 Although the term “seven” was mentioned, it should not be taken too literally. It seems likely that the Chinese did not exactly trace their lineage up to seven generations, but rather customarily adopted that as a standard rhetorical formula. Nonetheless, these available records reveal that they were aware of the necessity of showing respect to their lineage.

Moreover, evidence suggests that the most common recipients of merits were one’s late parents. Pertinent examples include Song Shao’s 宋紹 from the Sui era, a local governor of Kuaiji 會稽 county.58 Song Shao’s explanation regarding his motivation to perform devotional acts can be seen in four Sui-era colophons. The first colophon indicates that Song lost his mother on the fifteenth day of the fifth month in the third year of the Kaihuang 開皇 era (583). During the mourning period, he recited the Medicine

56 See Sato Chisui 佐藤智水, “Hokuchō zōzōmei kō” 北朝造像銘考, 19.

57 Kamitsuka Yoshiko, “Lao-tzu in Six Dynasties Taoist Sculpture,” 63-86.

58 Song Shao is also known as Song Shaoyan 宋紹演. Kuaiji is located at the present-day Zhejiang Province.

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Master Buddha Scripture for forty-nine times, together with other scriptures, on behalf of his late mother.59

The second record, the colophon of Dunhuang manuscripts S. 3935, states that

Song Shao chanted these texts again two weeks later. Similarly, he wished that the deceased “would escape painful torments in an unfavorable realm and reach a pure land.”60 In addition, Song’s statements can be found in the colophon of Dunhuang manuscript S. 582 preserved in the British Museum, and the manuscript beixin 北新

1125 that is presently in the collection of the National Library of China in Beijing.

Scholars in general agree that Song Shao might have added his declarations at the end of four preexisting individual Dunhuang manuscripts.61 Even so, these four Sui- era colophons are still valuable for the study of Medicine Master Buddha worship. If we compare the dates of the colophons, it is certain that Song recited the Medicine Master

Buddha Scripture and other texts weekly. It seems likely that Song regarded the chanting of the scripture as part of the traditional weekly memorial service during the forty-nine-day mourning period.

Another example is recorded in the colophon of the Dunhuang manuscript P.

2276, which indicates Ying Weizhen’s 楹維珍 involvement in Medicine Master Buddha worship in the hope of procuring his departed father’s well-being. In 604, Ying sponsored the project of making a banner on behalf of his late father, which was

59 See Ikeda On, 139.

60 S. 3935 is transcribed in Huang Zhen and Wu Wei, eds., Dunhuang yuan wen ji, 848.

61 See Fang Guangchang 方廣錩, “Three Questions in the Appraisal of Dunhuang Manuscripts,” 84-95; and Bai Xue 白雪 and Feng Peihong 馮培红, “Dunhuang ben song shao dujing tiji ji xiangquan wenti kaoshi” 敦煌本宋紹讀經題記及相關問題考釋, 71-79.

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approxomatly forty-nine handspans in length.62 Meanwhile, he also financed the copying of the Guanding jing to accumulate merit for his deceased father.

The same can be said of a stone sculpture of Medicine Master Buddha, discovered in Tongchuan 銅川 city, Shaanxi province, in 2008.63 The sculpture is presently in the collection of the Yaozhou 耀州 Museum. The Buddha, about 1.8 m high, is standing on a lotus pedestal. Based on the dedicatory inscription, we learn that the image was commissioned by three donors who wished their departed mother to procure a favorable rebirth. The inscription reveals that in the third year of the Shenlong

神龍 era (707), the Yuan brothers—namely, Yuan Xuanqui 元玄貴, Yuan Xuanzang 元

玄藏, and Yuan Xuanzan 元玄瓚—commissioned the statue for the welfare of their late mother, Lady Zhu 朱.64 Although the actual identities of these three brothers are unknown, the inscription informs us of the donors’ motivation for performing the pious act. Apparently, they did not particularly pay attention to the healing potency of

Medicine Master Buddha. Instead, the brothers merely wished to accumulate merit and gain positive karma for their dead mother.

Additionally, Stein painting 32 (Ch. xxvii.004), from Mogao cave 17 at Dunhuang, dated to the twentieth century and now in the collection of the British Museum, serves as a significant source for the studies of Medicine Master Buddha. Despite the fact that its lower register has been destroyed, this colorful silk painting is still valuable because

62 Jiang Liangfu 姜亮夫, Mogaoku nian biao 莫高窟年表, 190.

63 Tongchuan is around 70 km away from the Tang capital Chang’an.

64 See Bai Wen 白文, “Guanzhong tangdai yaoshifo zaoxiang tuxiang yanjiu” 關中唐代藥師佛造像圖像研究, 148-155.

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it is one of a few surviving paintings of Medicine Master Buddha that was designed and painted by the devotee himself. The upper center portrays Medicine Master Buddha sitting on a lotus pedestal. Holding a medicine jar in his left hand, the Buddha’s right hand forms a gesture of preaching. While the Buddha is flanked by two small groups of attendants on either side, he is also accompanied by two principal Bodhisattva that are symmetrically painted at the lower sides. These two Bodhisattvas, according to the inscription, are Samantabhadra and Mañjusrī.65

The painting, possibly created during the Tibetan rule of Dunhuang in the ninth century, preserves an inscription in the central cartouche. Although the inscription is almost faded, its original content, written in Tibetan and Chinese, has been restored by modern technology. Based on Heather Karmay’s research, we learn that the painting was made by a monk called dPal-dbyangs in the year of bingchen 丙辰 (836).66 The

Tibetan inscription indicates that he painted the image of the Buddha in the hope of improving his health. Additionally, the Chinese inscription continues to state his wishes

“to acquire merits on behalf of his deceased father and (mother)” in order to help them attain enlightenment together with all sentient beings.67

65 A photograph of the painging is reproduced in Roderick Whitfield, The Art of Central Asia, vol. 1, pl.16- 3.

66 Scholars have different views on the date this painting. Jin Ronghua 金榮華 claims that this silk painting was created in 776. However, most scholars—for example, Heather Karmay and Roderick Whitfield— argue that it was made in 836. I agree with Karmay’s and Whitfield’s opinions because the style of this painting presents a combination of Tibetan and Chinese features, which is more likely made when Dunhuang was ruled by the Tibetans. See Jin Ronghua, “Daying bowuguan cang dunhuang yaoshifo jingtu bian niandai zhi kaosuo” 大英博物館藏敦煌藥師佛淨土變年代之考索, 9-12; Heather Karmay, Early Sino-Tibetan Art, 10-14; and Roderick Whitfield, The Art of Central Asia: The Stein Collection in the British Museum, vol. 1, 311-312.

67 Roderick Whitfield, The Art of Central Asia, vol. 1, 311-312.

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Another pertinent example is a Dunhuang painting of Medicine Master Buddha that was brought to Japan in the 1930s, presently in the collection of the Hakutsuru Fine

Art Museum (Hakutsuru Bijutsukan 白鶴美術館) in Kobe.68 The painting was primarily sponsored by Fan Yixin 樊宜信 (dates unknown) in the fourth year of the Tiancheng 天

成 reign (929). The center register presents a seated Buddha holding a medicine jar. He is accompanied by two standing monastic disciples, two assistant bodhisattvas, and two kneeling divinities.69 The lower right of the painting depicts the donor’s departed father, who can be identified according to the written inscription that states “my late father Fan

Xiande, a suddenly awakened layman following the Great Vehicle, whole-heartedly makes an offering.”70 The lower left portrays a lady holding a dish. Next to her, the written statement reads, “my benevolent mother Lady Linhu, a suddenly awakened laywoman following the Great Vehicle, whole-heartedly makes an offering.”71

Especially interesting is Fan Yixin’s intention to fulfill his Confucian-based sense of duty through Medicine Master Buddha worship, as stated in the inscription. A number of fundamental tenets of Confucianism—for example, the cultivation of virtue and the hierarchical structure of human relationships—were embedded in Fan’s worship of the

Buddha. Fan repeatedly declared his respect for his father and claimed that he wished

68 Rong Xinjiang 榮新江 argues that this painting was collected by Lu Jiliang 陸季良, a Chinese. It was later sold to Asano Umekichi 浅野梅吉 (1877-1960), a Japanese art dealer. See Rong Xinjiang, Eighteen Lectures on Dunhuang, 100.

69 A photograph of the painging is reproduced in Hakutsuru bijutsukan meihinsen 白鶴美術館名品選, pl.112.

70 Ibid. The inscription reads, “亡父頓悟大乘賢者樊賢德一心供養.” It seems that Fan Yixin emphasizes a sudden rather than a gradual approach to realization. For a study of the two contrasting approaches to realization, see Mario Poceski, Ordinary Mind as the Way, 194-223.

71 The inscription reads, “慈母頓悟大乘優婆夷令狐氏一心供養.”

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that, “by means of such merit, his benevolent father would be protected, be able to overcome the difficulties encountered in hellish realms, and listen to the Buddha’s sermons soon.”72 It is apparent that Fan regarded accumulating merits for his late father as an important observance of filial piety. At the same time, he publicly presented himself as a dutiful and devout son who valued the parent and child relationship.

In addition to the parent-child relationship, Fan also advocated traditional

Chinese ethical principles related to brotherhood. His dedicatory inscription recurrently states the importance of moral cultivation and highlights hierarchical family structure, as applied to the relationship between the younger and the older. It expresses his wish that his siblings would “deferentially offer the best seats and pears to one another in honor of their parents.”73 That implies Fan’s admiration of Kong Rong 孔融 (153-208), a renowned exemplar of proper conduct, who politely gave away the best pears to his older brothers.74 It seems likely that Fan wished the behavior of his siblings would be like that of Kong Rong. Accordingly, he beseeched the Buddha to guide his family members so that they can bring harmony, politeness, and respectfulness into their life.

Fan Yixin’s assimilation of traditionally-rooted Confucian teachings into the

Medicine Master Buddha cult was not an exceptional case. Below I provide another two remarkable examples, to underscore that the cult had a tendency to link with prevailing

Chinese ideals and values. These two cases suggest that the performance of Medicine

72 The inscription has been transcribed by Wang Huimin 王惠民 in 1999. See Wang Huimin, “Riben baihe meishuguan cang liangjian dunhaung juanhua” 日本白鶴美術館藏兩件敦煌絹畫, 176-178.

73 Ibid. The inscription reads, “讓席推梨､兼邈二親。”

74 Kong Rong’s account is recorded in the Hou han shu 後漢書 (Book of the Later Han), 70.2261.

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Master Buddha worship was interpreted as a filial behavior by literati, which brought about a free exercise of the worship to meet social expectation.

The first example is that of Xiao Wei 蕭位 (dates unknown), a nephew of

Emperor Daizong 代宗 (r. 762-779) of the Tang, who earned the reputation of a filial son

(xiaozi 孝子). According to a text included in Quan tang wen, during the Dali 大曆 era

(766-779) Xiao felt sorrow because of the death of his father, who served as a regional inspector in Ruzhou 汝州.75 When Xiao regretted that he had no way to repay his father’s kindness and benevolence, his mother suggested that he undertake meritorious acts on behalf of his father. Hence Xiao decided to make a painting of Medicine Master

Buddha, as part of his mourning practices.76

Not surprisingly, Xiao’s behavior was greatly commended within elite circles, perhaps in part because he fitted perfectly with the ideal image of a dutiful son. The instructions about being dutiful were provided in ancient classics. For example, Xiao jing

孝經 or The Classic of Filial Piety, composed during the Warring States period (475 BC -

221 BC), indicates that “the righteous acts toward the dead are all satisfied, and the filial son's service to his parents is completed."77 The text advises individuals to take care of their parents even after their death, probably because the relationships formed in this life continue after death.

75 Ruzhou is located at the present-day Henan province.

76 Quan tang wen 519.6691.

77 The original text reads, “死生之義備矣､孝子之事親終矣。” See Shisan jing zhu shu 十三經注疏, vol. 8, 58. For a study of the Classic of Filial Piety, see Henry Rosemont and Roger T. Ames, The Chinese Classic of Family Reverence: A Philosophical Translation of the Xiaojing, 2009.

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Within that context, Xiao’s making of Medicine Master Buddha’s image on behalf of his late father was acknowledged as a valid practice of filial piety by his contemporaries. For example, Liang Su, the aforementioned Tang scholar who wrote the eulogy to commemorate Princess Tang’an, composed verses to extol Xiao’s virtuous conducts. In his writing, Liang claims that he was deeply touched by Xiao’s devotional act and regarded Xiao as a moral person. In Liang’s opinion, Xiao achieved a high standard of moral virtue and satisfied the criteria of being a filial offspring. He argues that not only other people but Medicine Master Buddha would also be impressed by Xiao’s sincerity and morality. According to Liang, Xiao’s behavior was so impressive that the Buddha would be moved to respond to Xiao’s earnest supplication.78

By the same token, a number of female devotees of Medicine Master Buddha gained the reputation of “filial women” (xiaofu 孝婦). One of many noteworthy cases is that of Liu Cheng’s 柳誠 wife, from the eighth century. She initially was an ordinary housewife but became renowned for embroidering an image of Medicine Master

Buddha on behalf of her late mother-in-law, Lady Doulu 豆盧. Extoling the remarkable earnestness of Liu’s wife, Liang Su recognized her as a distinctive filial woman. A significant part of Liang’s writing reads:

There is a person who is qualified to be acknowledged as a filial woman. Her surname is unknown, and she is the wife of Liu Cheng, a former governor of Xincheng.79 Firstly, she observed traditional mourning for her departed mother-in-law, Lady Doulu. From the hundredth-day rite to the first anniversary of the death, she could not cease her sorrowfully crying.80

78 Quan tang wen 519.6691.

79 It is located at the present-day Hebei province.

80 The term zuku 卒哭, literally means to cease from crying, is the hundredth-day funeral ceremony. Traditionally, crying is a part of funeral rites. After zuku, survivors complete their obligations and have no 182

She then kept accumulating merits [for the dead] till the second anniversary by reciting Buddhist texts and by revering the pristine image of the sacred one. Using multi-colored threads, she has completed an exquisite image that is perfectly adorned and extremely resplendent. It is so solemn as if [the Buddha] radiates his brilliant lights to carry out his wholesome aspirations and illuminates his pristineness to cast out impurity. Thus, she deserves to be praised:

Ah, what illuminates in the infinite universe is lapis lazuli. The master who has the ability to cure without medicine is named Great Doctor. Beyond fixed form, the image presents the utmost appearance. The abstruse realm cannot be seen and comprehended, but the meritorious deed is apparent. The filial woman is determined, and her devotedness never changes. She creates and arranges embroidery by using five-colored [threads], which will benefit her late mother-in-law.81

有齊孝婦。孝婦姓某氏､前新城令柳誠之室也。先是居皇姑豆盧氏夫人憂､自卒哭及期､呼天之聲不絕。自期至於大祥､追福之功不息､乃誦金偈､乃瞻粹容。爰用五彩､以成大像。莊嚴相好､昭焯煥爛。凜乎！若披毫光而演善願､啟清真而屏濁亂。至矣夫！乃為讚曰：光彼千界､赫琉璃兮。勿藥之師､號大醫兮。不形之形､妙相具兮。窈冥希夷､元功著兮。孝婦之烈､心不渝兮。章施五彩､福皇姑兮。

The devotional practice of Liu’s wife was recognized as a filial act by her contemporaries. Her pious gesture of making an embroidery of Medicine Master

Buddha was not simply interpreted from a religious perspective alone. Rather, it was appreciated from broader cultural and social perspectives. The worship dedicated to the

Buddha turned out to be a form of filial devotion, dedicated to one’s departed parents and parents-in-law.

On the surface, it seems that the devotees fulfilled part of their family obligations through participating in worship centered on Medicine Master Buddha. If we have a

need to cry for the deceased. This passage expresses that Liu’s wife did not stop her crying even after the hundredth-day rite, which implies her strong sorrow.

81 Quan tang wen 519.6692.

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closer look, there is a more nuanced picture. By performing the worship, the devotees became praiseworthy individuals, in conformity with the ideal images of filial sons and daughters. They thus became moral exemplars of filial piety. It seems that the Buddha worship was not merely a private religious act, but rather a public demonstration of the participants’ ethical values and moral principles. The Buddha cult offered a way for householders to publicly declare their adherence to conventional forms of observance of propriety and virtue. By means of the Medicine Master Buddha cult, the devotees also reaffirmed their social positions and gained positive reputation. The rewards, in reality, went far beyond the merits described in the scriptures.

Concluding Remarks

This chapter examines pertinent canonical texts and popular narratives that depict Medicine Master Buddha worship as a suitable means to improve the circumstances of the dead during the transitional phase, between their death and the next rebirth. In canonical texts, the Buddha, in contrast to King Yāma’s position as a judge of the netherworld, is portrayed as a sympathetic divinity who pledges the salvation of the denizens of hells. In miracle tales, the Buddha’s worship is described as a way that can modify one’s karmic retribution and facilitate one’s return from the realm of the dead.

However, compared to the miracle tales centered on Bodhisattva Dizang, these stories do not characterize Medicine Master Buddha as a lord of the netherworld. Nor do they describe the Buddha’s manifestation in various hells to guide the dead to escape suffering. It seems that Medicine Master Buddha’s religious attributes related to beliefs about the afterlife are merely parts of his multifaceted representations. In most cases, he is acknowledged as a polyfunctional divinity. 184

In addition to exploring how medieval devotees understood the Buddha, this chapter examines how they interacted with the dead through participating in an array of devotional acts centered on the Buddha. While they believed that merit derived from such worship could be directed to support the deceased, they also anticipated that the dead would provide beneficial support to their living offspring.

The rewards of worship sometimes went beyond mere material benefits. By engaging in Buddha worship, the devotees publicly demonstrated their filial piety. That in turn helped them gain public recognition and approbation, build up prestige, and procure enhanced social status. They became moral exemplars worthy of emulation.

Meanwhile, veneration of the Buddha was perceived as a commendable moral action, and as such it was encouraged by the wider society. That reflects the fact that the worship was not merely a religious practice, but also a salutary act that enabled the participants to distinguish themselves from other people. The development of devotional forms of the Medicine Master Buddha cult was, in various ways, shaped by the shifting social fabrics of China.

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CHAPTER 6 THE BUDDHA’S CONNECTIONS WITH THE PURE LAND TRADITION

Over the course of its long history, Medicine Master Buddha worship established itself through various ways. Sometimes it distinguished itself from other devotional movements and advocated the Buddha’s superior power or privileged status over other divinities. At other times, it collaborated or cross-pollinated with other prevalent practices. To arrive at a more nuanced picture, it is helpful to situate the worship within the broader milieu of Chinese Buddhism. Especially useful is the investigation of its connection with the widespread Pure Land (jingtu 淨土) tradition centered on Amitābha

Buddha, arguably the most renowned celestial Buddha in East Asia.

In investigating Chinese devotees’ involvement in venerating Amitābha and

Medicine Master Buddha, I begin with a brief overview of the basic Buddhist conceptions of pure lands. The subsequent sections move on to discuss the nuanced affiliation between the two Buddhas as represented in imagery, with a focus on the selected murals from the Mogao grottoes in the Dunhuang area. Moreover, this chapter analyzes several treatises and exegeses associated with the Pure Land tradition in order to ascertain how devotees of Amitābha from the Tang era responded to the increasing popularity of Medicine Master Buddha. By examining the textual and visual evidence, the chapter aims to illustrate the cross-fertilization of the two religious movements that enhanced their long-lasting popularity in China.

Conception of Otherworldly Realms

The fully-developed notion of celestial realms is one of the most remarkable innovations in the Mahāyāna tradition, which expands traditional Buddhist cosmology to incorporate sacred spheres associated with a number of divine beings. That expansive

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cosmology, in general, classifies Buddha-fields (buddhakṣetra) in terms of varying degrees of perfection and purification. In a broad sense, the term “pure land” refers to a purified Buddha-field, which is produced by the past vows and meritorious deeds of a specific Buddha.1 As a sacred abode of a given celestial Buddha, it presents an ideal or perfect world, where the Buddha awaits the rebirth of qualified practitioners or devotees.

Although some Mahāyāna texts metaphorically interpret a pure land not as a real otherworldly celestial place but a state of mind, traditional explanations usually identify a pure land as a distinct and extraordinary place. 2 Technically, this kind of sacred realm provides a favorable environment and pleasant living condition for practitioners to pursue their spiritual growth. In practice, all too often rebirth there becomes the immediate or ultimate goal of spiritual cultivation, rather than a extoled way station on the way to Buddhahood.

Descriptions of pure lands can be seen in a large corpus of early Mahāyāna scriptures. For example, the Akṣobhyavyūha (Achu fo guo jing 阿閦佛國經), a scripture devoted to Akṣobhya Buddha, introduces the Buddha’s Land of Joyfulness, where inhabitants enjoy long lives. Additionally, it presents the Land of Joyfulness as an ideal realm where all residents are never involved in misdeeds or transgressions.3 In other words, it is a wonderful place devoid of all crimes and dangers.

1 See Luis O. Gomez, “Pure Lands,” 703-706; and Dorothy C. Wong, “The Mapping of Sacred Space: Images of Buddhist Cosmographies in Medieval China,” 51-79.

2 For example, Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra (Weimojie suo shui jing 維摩詰所說經), a text that emphasizes the teachings of emptiness and non-duality, states that a pure mind is the most essential factor that leads one to reach a pure world. See T 14.538c3-29.

3 See Achu fo guo jing, T 11.755c14-16. For studies on Akṣobhya’s world, see Jan Nattier, “The Realm of Akṣobhya: A Missing Piece in the History of Pure Land Buddhism,” 71-102; Ingo Strauch, "More Missing Pieces of Early Pure Land Buddhism: New Evidence for Akṣobhya and Abhirati in an Early Mahayana 187

The Akṣobhyavyūha indicates that the pure land residents live in a maximally comfortable climate, without any bodily harm caused by exposure to extreme hot or freezing temperatures. Moreover, they never need to do household chores such as laundry. Neither do they need to purchase or make their own clothes. Instead, they can pick their desired garments, which naturally grow on trees.4 In addition to depicting

Akṣobhya’s world as an ideal realm, the scripture encourages devotees to reach this unique place after death. It claims that the goal of seeking a desirable rebirth can be best achieved through the practice of giving, which facilitates essential cultivation of kindness and selflessness.5 Although the scripture also advocates other types of religious practices, generosity is presented as the most commendable virtue.

Other prominent descriptions of otherworldly realms can be found in the Guan mile pusa shangsheng doushuaitian jing 觀彌勒菩薩上生兜率天經 (Sutra on the

Contemplation of Maitreya Bodhisattva’s Ascent to Rebirth in Tuṣita Heaven), which discribes a heavenly realm called Tuṣita Heaven. Although in principle Tuṣita Heaven is not identical with the purified Buddha-fields discussed above, it is traditionally viewed as an ideal place where qualified devotees or practioners can potentially be reborn. The canonical text indicates that Tuṣita Heaven is the current divine abode of Maitreya, a bodhisattva who will become the Buddha of the future. The scripture describes that this heavenly realm is full of flowers, jeweled trees, and wonderful fragrances.6 Additionally,

Sutra from Gandhāra," 23-66; and Paul Williams, Mahā yā na Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 231- 234.

4 T 11.755c17-756b6, and 757b20-22.

5 T 11.761b25-763a9.

6 T 14.419a-b.

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it has extraordinary music that is supposedly identical to Maitreya’s preaching, which enables the inhabitants to consistently listen to his teachings in easy and convenient ways.7 According to the text, if one wishes to reach Maitreya’s sacred world, one should devoutly and diligently practice ten wholesome deeds and observe moral principles.8

Set against the backdrop of the broader context of Mahāyāna cosmology,

Medicine Master Buddha’s sacred land represents one of many ideal, extraordinary, and favorable otherworldly realms. At first glance, similar themes and descriptions can be seen in the texts centered on Medicine Master Buddha. However, once we carefully analyze his veneration in China, we find that such worship did not merely adopt general ideas related to other pure lands. Specifically, it selected Amitābha’s purified world as a model, as evidenced by relevant texts and inscriptions.

The Sacred Lands of Medicine Master Buddha and Amitābha

Buddhist canonical texts usually refer to Medicine Master Buddha’s sacred world as “Pure Lapis Lazuli” (Jing liuli 淨琉璃) or “Lapis Lazuli Pure Land (Liuli jingtu 琉璃淨

土).9 His world is described as a realm adorned with lapis lazuli and located to the east.

That description denotes a sense of cardinal direction related to Buddhist cosmology. It seems that such views generally became an integral part of Chinese devotees’ imaginations about the Buddha’s sacred world. Evidence shows that the Buddha’s

7 T 14.419a18-20, and 419b12-20.

8 T 14.419b-420a.

9 The name of Medicine Master Buddha’s divine field is explained by Dharmagupta’s, Xuanzang’s, and Yijing’s translations. See T 14.401b21, T 14.405a2, and T 14.413a4. The Shengsi dedu jing, however, only mentions the landscape of the Buddha’s world without particularly indicating its name.

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worshippers generally identified him as the divinity presiding over the Eastern Pure

Land, which resonates with what the scriptures describe.

Prominent examples of such depictions include a dedicatory inscription, composed by Guo Song 郭崧, a ninth-century local official at Henei 河內, located in present-day Henan province. In this lengthy inscription, Guo Song indicates that he and other local people at Henei employed a number of skillful workers and artists to make a statue of Medicine Master Buddha. The project was completed on the fifteenth day of the ninth month in the second year of the Xiantong 咸通 era (October 26, 861). The inscription reveals that the donors experienced several problems and felt discontent with life in the human world. It also indicates their hope of unburdening themselves of difficulties, which was perhaps a major motivation for their religious activities.

More importantly, the inscription reflects the donors’ understanding of the

Buddha’s celestial realm. Portions of the inscription read:

Beyond numerous buddha-fields located in the East, there is a world inhabited by a great divinity called Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiant Tathāgata.10 The scripture says, “Its ground is made of white silver and lapis lazuli. The palaces and towers are adorned with seven treasures, which are not different from those of the world of Infinite Life Buddha in the Western realm.” When the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiant initially practiced the bodhisattva path, he wholeheartedly committed to keep his twelve great [vows]. Being compassionate, he assists all living beings in accordance with their needs. [Guo] Song and other donors recognize the potential challenges existing in the burning house, but without having any reliable solution.11 Thus I suggest my fellow countrymen to rely on the Buddha’s teachings in order to rapidly liberate themselves from delusions.

10 The term “shi henghe sa 十恒河沙” literally means ten times of the sands in the Ganges River. Here is referred to as extremely great in amount.

11 The metaphor of “burning house” is derived from a parable of the Lotus Scripture, which denotes the danger and impermanence of human world.

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We mutually encourage one another and sincerely vow to generate the supreme cause [of liberation].12

粵有東方去此佛剎十恒河沙､彼國大師､厥号藥師琉璃光如來。經云､以白銀､琉璃為地。宮殿樓閣､悉用七寶､亦如西方無量壽國無有[異]也。此藥師琉璃光本所修行菩[薩]道時､發心自誓､行十二微妙上[願]､令一切眾生所求皆得､慈如是。崧等､思火宅之難､想無依倚。遂說諭鄉人､恃憑內典､頓悟迷津。通相誘化､至誠結願､方會無上之因。

The inscription explains that the Buddha presides over an eastern realm beyond this world and elaborates on the landscape of the sacred land. It is reasonable to assume that the donors’ overall perceptions about the Buddha were primarily based on the Shengsi dedu jing, as evidenced by the passage quoted in the inscription.13

Although Dharmagupta’s, Xuanzang’s, and Yijing’s translations also include similar descriptions about the Buddha’s world, they are slightly different from the quote here.

However, while a portion of the Shengsi dedu jing is used, the inscription does not entirely contain the pertinent passage that portrays the Buddha’s abode. The original passage in the Shengsi dedu jing reads:

The land of Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiant Buddha is pure without the five impurities, desires, or unwholesome thoughts. Its ground is made of white silver and lapis lazuli. The palaces and towers are adorned with seven treasures, which are not different from those of the world of Infinite Life Buddha in the Western realm.14

此藥師琉璃光如來國土清淨､無五濁､無愛欲､無意垢。以白銀､琉璃為地。宮殿樓閣､悉用七寶､亦如西方無量壽國､無有異也。

12 Sui tang wudai shike wenxian quanbian 隋唐五代石刻文獻全編 (Complete Collections of the Inscriptional Records during the Sui, Tang, and Wudai Periods), vol. 4, 464.

13 The passage stated by the inscription can be found in T 21.533a17-18.

14 T 21.533a16-18. Xuanzang’s Chinese translation of the same text further indicates that Medicine Master Buddha’s sacred realm is pure in the sense that female, evil paths of existence, and cries of suffering cannot be found there. See T 14.405c2-6.

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The scripture presents the Buddha’s land as an ideal and perfect place, in contrast to the world we are currently living. The passage also underscores the uniqueness of the Lapis Lazuli Pure Land by proclaiming that it is devoid of the five impurities. Traditionally, the five impurities refer to five kinds of unwanted circumstances. They are (1) an imperfect era when natural disasters, famines, crimes, and wars may occur; (2) the possession of unwholesome views by inhabitants; (3) inhabitants’ mental defilements, such as greed, hatred, and ignorance; (4) living with evil beings; and (5) the imperfection of inhabitants’ lifespans.15 Generally, the so-called imperfect fields or huitu 穢土, including the Sahā World in which we reside, contain these undesirable characteristics.

Similar to the statement made by the Shengsi dedu jing, Guo Song’s inscription also indicates a connection between Medicine Master Buddha and Amitābha. To highlight the purity and magnificence of the Lapis Lazuli Pure Land, the Shengsi dedu jing explains that the main features of this world “are not different from those of the world of Infinite Life Buddha in the Western realm.”16 The scripture seemingly compares the Lapis Lazuli Pure Land with the world of Infinite Life Buddha (Amitāyus), also known as Amitābha Buddha. It is noteworthy that the scripture does not draw our attention to the sacred lands of Akṣobhya or Maitreya, but particularly lays emphasis on Amitābha’s world, the Land of Bliss (Sk. Sukhāvatī; Ch. Jile 極樂).

15 See the Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, T 12.348a21-25.

16 See T 21.533a16-18. Xuanzang’s Chinese translation of the same text (T 14.405c2-6) indicates that Medicine Master Buddha’s sacred realm is pure in the sense that female, evil paths of existence, and cries of suffering cannot be found there.

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Amitābha’s Land of Bliss is traditionally regarded as the most desirable realm in which the followers of the Pure Land tradition hope to be reborn. A number of Buddhist scriptures explain the features of this world. Pertinent examples include the Longer

Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, also called Wuliangshou jing 無量壽經 (Scripture of Infinite Life

Buddha), an early Mahāyāna scripture that was translated into Chinese by several translators from the second century onward. It emphasizes that Amitābha initially dedicated himself to establishing a world where living beings are free from suffering, hunger, and poverty. The text also explains the distinct features of the sacred place, by describing how the inhabitants can spontaneously enjoy pleasant food and drinks according to their wishes.17

Moreover, Amitābha’s Land of Bliss is renowned for its magnificent landscapes.

The Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Amituo jing 阿彌陀經), a major scripture associated with the Pure Land tradition, states that the beds of the ponds and the ground in this sacred world are covered solely with gold sands. Its palaces, pavilions, and towers are adorned with the seven treasures, namely gold, silver, beryl, crystal, sapphire, rosy pearls, and cornelian.18 Valuable materials and gems such as these are commonly mentioned in the texts centered on Amitābha, characterizing his world as an “adorned and ornamented land” (guotu zhuangyan 國土莊嚴), in contrast to the imperfect human realm.

More importantly, scriptures of this sort typically explain that Amitābha Buddha promises his devotees an easy way to attain spiritual liberation. For example, the

17 The Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, T 12.267c-272b.

18 The Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, T 12.347a1-11.

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Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra not only declares that the Land of Bliss provides a well- suited environment, but also claims that its inhabitants possess a special talent to comprehend the Buddha’s teachings. It is said that they can effortlessly reach enlightenment.19 Due to its attractiveness, this extraordinary realm is often considered to be the most appropriate afterlife destination for pious devotees.

By tracing the provenance of Amitābha within the rich pantheon of Buddhas, we learn that the appearance of Amitābha was earlier than that of Medicine Master

Buddha. According to Fujita Kōtatsu’s 藤田宏達 study, the origin of beliefs in Amitābha’s

Pure Land in India probably arose around the first century CE.20 In addition, Paul

Williams, a scholar of Mahāyāna Buddhism, argues that a Pure Land tradition centered on Amitābha developed in India no later than the second half of the first century.21

Similarly, Kenneth Tanaka, a specialist of Japanese Buddhism, suggests that the

Amitābha Pure Land movement was established as a distinctive cult by the end of the second century.22 As indicated in Chapter 3, the oldest surviving archaeological evidence of Medicine Master Buddha worship is dated to the third century, which is later than the Amitābha cult. Moreover, we should not overlook that when Maitreya and

Guanyin were occasionally mentioned in Amitābha-related scriptures translated into

19 The Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, T 12. 267c-272b.

20 See Fujita Kōtatsu, “The Origin of the Pure Land,” 33-51.

21 Paul Williams, Mahā yā na Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 238-239.

22 Kenneth K. Tanaka, The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine, 7-9.

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Chinese during the third century, Medicine Master Buddha played no role in these texts.23

Evidently, prior to the compilation of the Shengsi dedu jing, Amitābha’s salvific potency and his Land of Bliss were already recognized by ancient Buddhists. When introducing Medicine Master Buddha’s sacred realm, the Shengsi dedu jing suggests that the Lapis Lazuli Pure Land is as magnificent as Amitābha’s sublime realm. It seems that the text deliberately makes a reference to Amitābha, and that its compiler(s) was aware of the beliefs centered on Amitābha. Some of its statements indicate that the compiler(s) of the text integrated some preexisting religious ideas into the scripture.

While Medicine Master Buddha worship was in its early stage of development, it seems that the religious ideas and images related to Amitābha provided a model for the

Medicine Master Buddha worship.

The connection between Medicine Master Buddha and Amitābha in China became more noticeable, especially during the Tang period. The rise of a full-blown

Medicine Master Buddha worship coincided with the increased popularity of Amitābha’s

Pure Land tradition. Accordingly, medieval devotees placed Medicine Master Buddha in a larger devotional milieu in which Amitābha was widely revered, as evidenced by a number of extant wall paintings.

Religious Cross-Fertilization

From the fourth into the sixth century, the Amitābha Pure Land tradition gradually developed into a remarkable religious movement in China. An increasing number of

23 For instance, these figures appear in the Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra, T 12.273b and 278c.

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Chinese monastics and laypeople actively took part in the movement.24 During the Tang era, the Amitābha cult flourished and spread widely throughout China. According to

Amy McNair’s examination of iconography at Longmen grottoes, the number of images dedicated to Amitābha significantly increased during this period.25 Stanley Weinstein, a specialist in East Asian Buddhism, also notes the widespread popularity of the

Amitābha cult. He argues that beliefs and practices associated with Amitābha were not only introduced to the Tang court and the upper class in the capital cities, but also deeply influenced the masses throughout the land.26

When the veneration of Amitābha became dominant in China, its broad-based popular appeal also impacted Medicine Master Buddha worship. One may assume that the faithful of Amitābha could reject or criticize the rival cult. However, evidence shows that these two cultic movements coexisted while facing overlapping followers. Those who favored Amitābha Pure Land tradition accepted and supported the Medicine Master

Buddha cult, and vice versa.

24 For example, Huiyuan 慧遠 (334-416), an eminent Buddhist monk, showed particular interest in visualizing Amitābha with deep concentration and led a group of monastic and lay followers who aspired to the rebirth in Amitābha’s Land of Bliss at Mount Lu. For Huiyuan’s position in Pure Land Buddhism, see Charles B. Jones, “Was Lushan Huiyuan a Pure Land Buddhist? Evidence from His Correspondence with Kumārajīva about nianfo Practice,” 175-191. Furthermore, a number of surviving images and steles, discovered in Southern China, may attest the early development of the Amitābha cult by the sixth century. Dorothy Wong suggests that a group of steles, dated from the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386- 589), reflect the beginning of Pure Land imagery in Southern China. According to Wong, the motifs of these steles may be influenced by the Pure Land teachings advocated by Buddhist monks in the North such as Daoan 道安 (312-385) and Huiyuan. See Dorothy Wong, Chinese Steles: Pre-Buddhist and Buddhist Use of a Symbolic Form, 151-174.

25 Amy McNair, Donors of Longmen, 89. For the in-depth survey of Longmen, see Mizuno Seiichi 水野清一 and Nagahiro Toshio 長廣敏雄, Ryūmon sekkutsu no kenkyū 龍門石窟の研究, 1980.

26 On the Pure Land tradition in the Tang dynasty, see Stanley Weinstein, Buddhism under the T'ang, 66- 74.

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The devotees’ dedication to both divinities can be seen in visual representations, especially in the murals preserved in Mogao grottoes at the outskirt of Dunhuang. Many of the Dunhuang murals of Medicine Master Buddha—which mainly depict scenes related to his sacred world, his twelve great vows, and his promise to avoid unfortunate death—are juxtaposed with the paintings of Amitābha. Forty-seven out of fifty-six Tang- era murals of Medicine Master Buddha are accompanied by the pictorial representations of Amitābha.27 Most notably, murals of Amitābha and Medicine Master

Buddha are symmetrically presented either on two opposite walls in a grotto or on opposite sides of a single wall, thus forming parallel representations of pure lands.

A noteworthy example is Cave 220 of Mogao, which was sponsored and maintained by the Zhai 翟 family, a prominent local clan in the Dunhuang area.28

According to a surviving inscription on the north wall, a local monk called Daohong 道弘, affiliated with Dayun Monastery 大雲寺, also took part in the construction of Cave 220.29

The grotto was initially completed in the sixteenth year of the Zhenguan 貞觀 era (642).

After its completion, the Zhai clan reconstructed and redecorated the cave several times.30 On the south and north walls of Cave 220, the murals dedicated to Amitābha and Medicine Master Buddha are individually depicted on the two walls facing each

27 The number is calculated from Dunhuang shiku neirong zonglu 敦煌石窟內容總錄.

28 Ning Qiang argues that the Zhai family’s sponsorship of Cave 220 reflected the family’s response to local political change from the Tibetan occupation (781-847) to the Western Xia period (1036-1226). See Ning Qiang, Art, Religion, and Politics in Medieval China, 64-105.

29 Dayun Monastery was one of the most renowned monasteries in the Dunhuang area during the Tang era. See Zheng Acai 鄭阿財, “Dunhuang fojiao siyuan gongneng zhi kaocha yu yanjiu: yi dunhuang wenxian yu shiku wei zhongxin” 敦煌佛教寺院功能之考察與研究: 以敦煌文獻與石窟為中心, 16.

30 See Dunhuang mogao ku gongyangren tiji 敦煌莫高窟供養人題記, 101-102; and Ning Qiang, Art, Religion, and Politics in Medieval China, 64-105.

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other. The two well-preserved Tang-era paintings in Cave 220 provide the earliest surviving evidence of the close connection between the beliefs about Amitābha and

Medicine Master Buddha at Dunhuang.31

The imagery of Amitābha’s divine realm, depicted on the south wall of Cave 220, contains several essential motifs of the Land of Bliss: lotus ponds, jeweled trees, heavenly beings, and displays of dancing and music.32 In the center of the mural,

Amitābha sits on a lotus pedestal and is accompanied by several groups of bodhisattvas. Other Buddhas, relatively small in scale, come from all directions to visit

Amitābha. Some heavenly beings make offerings to the Buddha and bodhisattvas.

Meanwhile, dancers on floral-bordered carpets and two groups of musicians perform in front of Amitābha. Trees are adorned with jewels and ornaments. Extraordinary birds are also depicted in the paintings. For example, kalaviṅka, a human-headed and bird- bodied creature, and jīvañjīva, a mythic two-headed bird, illustrate the extraordinary nature of scenes in the Land of Bliss.33

The most notable feature of the painting is the depiction of lotuses enclosing newborn babies in a pond, which presumably suggests pious devotees’ rebirth through lotus flowers in the Pure Land. Some babies can be seen through transparent lotus buds, while other children are shown individually sitting on blossoming lotus flowers or

31 The murals had been long forgotten. In the 1943, the outer layer of clay was removed from the walls of Cave 220, which led to the discovery of the precious and well-preserved paintings made in the early Tang period. See Dunhuang shiku neirong zonglu, 87.

32 For discussions of essential scenes of Pure Land images, see Eugene Wang, “Pure Land Art,” 693- 698; Dorothy Wong, “Four Sichuan Buddhist Steles and the Beginnings of Pure Land Imagery in China,” 56-79; and Okazaki Jō ji 岡崎讓治 and Elizabeth Ten Grotenhuis, Pure Land Buddhist Painting, especially Chapter 1.

33 Photographs of the mural are reproduced in Zhongguo shiku: Dunhuang mogao ku, vol. 3, pls. 24-26.

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playing delightedly in the water, which reflects the joyfulness in Amitābha’s realm. Some art historians—for example, Katsuki Gen'ichirō 勝木言一郎 and Ning Qiang—suggest that various depictions of children emerging from lotus buds and flowers may indicate concepts associated with the “nine ranks of rebirth” featured in the Guan wuliangshou jing 觀無量壽經 (The Scripture on the Contemplation of Infinite Life Buddha), a contemplative text of the Pure Land tradition.34

Predating the construction of Cave 220, the iconography of Amitābha’s divine realm had already been gradually established in Chinese Buddhist art. One of the earliest examples is a shrine in Cave 169 at Binglingsi 炳靈寺, dated at 420 CE.35 It mainly presents a painting of seated Amitābha flanked by his assistants without depicting the Land of Bliss as an adorned world, exemplifying an early stage of Pure

Land art.

The relatively complete images of the Land of Bliss can be seen in the fifth- century and sixth-century steles discovered in Sichuan 四川. As Dorothy Wong has noted, they portray a further development of Chinese imagination about Amitābha’s world.36 Moreover, a number of images at South Xiangtangshan 南響堂山, Xian Nanhai

小南海, Maijishan 麥積山, and Dunhuang also attest to the continued evolution of

34 See Katsuki Gen'ichirō 勝木言一郎, Shotō , Seitō ki no Tonkō ni okeru Amida jō dozu no kenkyū 初唐・盛唐期の敦煌における阿弥陀浄土図の研究, 157-208; and Ning Qiang, Art, Religion, and Politics in Medieval China, 37-50.

35 Photographs of this shrine are reproduced in Zhongguo shiku: Yongjing Binglingsi 中國石窟: 永靖炳靈寺, pls. 21-27.

36 Dorothy Wong, “Four Sichuan Buddhist Steles and the Beginnings of Pure Land Imagery in China,” 56- 79.

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pictorial representations of Amitābha’s holy realm.37 Compared to the earlier images, the seventh-century mural from Cave 220 exemplifies a well-developed depiction of

Amitābha’s sacred abode, as evident in its elaborate portrayals of Pure Land themes.

While the south wall of Cave 220 illustrates the landscape of Amitābha’s Land of

Bliss, the entire north wall presents scenes of Medicine Master Buddha’s Lapis Lazuli

Pure Land.38 The seven standing images of Medicine Master Buddha, flanked by standing bodhisattvas, are portrayed in the center of the mural.39 Corresponding to the imagery of Amitābha’s Land of Bliss on the south wall, the mural of the north wall also depicts a joyful atmosphere. Two groups of musicians, two pairs of whirling dancers, and divine figures lighting lamps are presented on an ornamented platform, which occupies one-third of the painting. To illustrate how Medicine Master Buddha’s Pure

Land is adorned with splendid decorations, this large-scale mural depicts the ground of his sacred world as if it is made of precious treasures, possibly lapis lazuli. The colorful painting seems to reflect medieval Chinese believers’ imagination about an ideal landscape of a sacred environment.

37 See Yan Juanying 顏娟英, “Beiqi xiao nanhai shiku yu shengchou” 北齊小南海石窟與僧稠, 561-598; Wu Hung and Ning Qiang, “Paradise Images in Early Chinese Art,” 54-67; Eugene Wang, “Pure Land Art,” 693-698; and Wang Huimin, “Xifang jingtubian xingshi de xingcheng guocheng yu wancheng shijian" 西方凈土變形式的形成過程與完成時間, 76-85.

38 A photograph of the mural painging is reproduced in Zhongguo shiku: Dunhuang mogao ku, vol. 3, pl. 27.

39 The depiction of seven images of Medicine Master Buddha in Cave 220 is unique among Dunhuang murals. Scholars generally agree that the textual basis of this magnificent painting may be Dharmagupta’s (d. 619) translation of Fo shuo yaoshi rulai ben yuan jing 佛說藥師如來本願經 that recommends devotees to make seven images of Medicine Master Buddha. The inscription alongside the mural indicates that the visual representation was created in 642, about two decades later than Dharmagupta’s translation. Although Xuanzang’s version also mentions the creation of seven images of the Buddha, the painting was made earlier than Xuanzang’s return to China in 645. See Li Yumin, “Dunhuang yaoshi jingbian yanjiu,” 1-39; and Ning Qiang, Art, Religion, and Politics in Medieval China, 20-37.

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Depicting the parallel images of the Land of Bliss and Lapis Lazuli Pure Land,

Cave 220 signifies a prototype of the Amitābha-Medicine Master Buddha connection at

Dunhuang. Another similar example is Cave 148, which was built during the Dali 大曆 reign of the Tang (766-779). It also contains symmetrical murals of Amitābha and

Medicine Master Buddha, in this instance located on the south and north sides of the east wall. Each mural presents a tripartite composition: a vast central scene portraying a pure land landscape and smaller narrative scenes along the two sides.

The central scenes of these two visual representations essentially contain similar content.40 They both seat the central Buddha under a jeweled canopy, flanked by several groups of bodhisattvas and celestial beings. Flying heavenly deities are portrayed above the Buddha. Elaborate architectural settings surround these figures.

The designs and structures of the roofs, bridges, platforms, pavilions, and multi-storied buildings were likely modeled after the Chinese imperial palace of the time. On the adorned platforms, dancers perform while several groups of musicians play instruments such as flutes, drums, and zithers. Additionally, both Amitābha and Medicine Master

Buddha murals depict several vital components of pure land imagery, including newborn babies and lotus flowers in ponds. Overall, the two murals ostensibly resemble each other in many aspects.

Other striking features of the Amitābha and Medicine Master Buddha tableaux in

Cave 148 are the narrative side-paintings that show stories associated with each

Buddha. While the two-sided scenes of the Amitābha mural portray the story of Queen

40 Photographs of the two murals are reproducted in Zhongguo shiku: Dunhuang mogao ku, vol. 4, pls. 36 and 39.

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Vaidehi and her visualization of the Land of Bliss, those of the Medicine Master Buddha mural reveal the Buddha’s twelve vows and his promise of protection from ill-fated death.

The northern end of the Amitābha mural contains the narrative of Ajātaśatru who imprisoned his father, King Bimbisāra (reigned c. 543–c. 491 BCE), a monarch of the

Magadha Empire in northern India. It also depicts Queen Vaidehi, Ajātaśatru’s mother, who attempted to rescue her husband and called upon Śākyamuni Buddha for help. The southern end of the Amitābha mural continues the story about Queen Vaidehi’s visualization of Amitābha’s physical attributes and his Land of Bliss. These narrative depictions suggest that the mural may be related to the Guan wuliangshou jing, which describes the story of Ajātaśatru and King Bimbisāra.41

The northern end of the Medicine Master Buddha mural shows the Buddha’s twelve great vows, arranged from top to bottom. The description of each vow is written on individual inscription. The other end of the mural illustrates Medicine Master

Buddha’s promise to protect individuals from the nine types of unfortunate death. The scenes portraying the Buddha’s vows and his protection become distinct motifs and form standard paradigms to portray Medicine Master Buddha and his sacred world. The same themes are also evident in later imagery of this sort.42

41 Fujita Kōtatsu argues that the text is not an authentic Indian Buddhist scripture but a Chinese composition. The text does not have Sanskrit nor Tibetan counterparts. In addition, the text includes a number of Chinese ideas. See Fujita Kōtatsu, “Textual Origins of the Kuan wu-liang-shou ching: A Canonical Scripture of Pure Land Buddhism,” 149-174.

42 Later Medicine Master Buddha murals at Mogao—for example Caves 154, 160, 177, 358, to name only a few—also include the depictions of the Buddha’s vows and protection on the two sides of the murals.

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From the Tang era onward, the visual representations of Medicine Master

Buddha were gradually tied with those of Amitābha. In addition to the murals discussed above, other relevant Tang-era examples include Caves 85, 132, 141, 180, 192, 231,

236, 358, to name a few. During the Five Dynasties 五代 (907-960) and the Song 宋 period (960-1279), the Amitābha-Medicine Master Buddha connection became a stereotypical formula within Dunhuang iconography. Why did the images of Amitābha and Medicine Master Buddha become a pair? It seems probable that the symmetrically spatial arrangement of the murals reflects patrons’ and artists’ understandings of

Buddhist cosmology, as evidenced by pertinent surviving manuscripts.

For instance, a transcript of the dedicatory inscription of Cave 148, recorded in the extant Dunhuang manuscript P. 3608, reflects the donors’ aspiration to commission the paintings of “Western Pure Land” (xifang jingtu 西方淨土) and “Eastern Medicine

Master” (dongfang yaoshi 東方藥師).43 The manuscript indicates that Medicine Master

Buddha, as the Buddha of the East, should be paired with Amitābha, as the Buddha of the West. That signifies the relative positions of the two divinities.

The same can be said of Dunhuang manuscript S. 2544, which contains drafts of dedicatory inscriptions intended to be written alongside murals. While the drafts explain the main contents of the inscriptions, they also point out the supposed localities of these inscriptions in caves. S. 2544 explains that the inscription related to Amitābha should be presented on the western side, while that of Medicine Master Buddha should be placed

43 See Zheng Binglin 鄭炳林, Dunhuang beaming zan ji shi 敦煌碑銘贊輯釋, 20.

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on the eastern side.44 In reality, it is common for the exact places of the murals and inscriptions related to the two Buddhas to not correspond to the actual cardinal directions. As previously discussed, they are situated at symmetrical locations on the opposite sides of a cave. Nevertheless, the murals, manuscripts, and inscriptions prove that the relative positioning of the two Buddhas became a widely accepted concept.

It is worth mentioning that the corresponding illustrations of the two Buddhas’ sacred realms did not become a typical pattern until the Tang period. Although the paintings of Medicine Master Buddha first appeared in the Dunhuang area during the

Sui era, they were presented alone.45 Moreover, we should not overlook that it took several centuries for the Buddha to be identified as the divinity of the east. Scholars have noted that, prior to Medicine Master Buddha, Akṣobhya was conventionally tied with the eastern Pure Land in early Mahāyāna Buddhism.46 Although the characterization of Medicine Master Buddha as the divinity of the east began with the

Shengsi dedu jing, it seems that medieval devotees did not widely acknowledge his symbolically directional quality until much later, after his worship began to flourish.

The aforementioned murals and manuscripts do not merely illustrate the devotees’ and artists’ conceptualizations of otherworldly realms. Instead, they also demonstrate a shift in devotional foci, indicating Medicine Master Buddha’s increasingly dominant position within the Buddhist pantheon. He eventually became more renowned

44 Wang Huimin, “Dunhuang yishu zhong de Yaoshi jingbian bangti digao jiaolu” 敦煌遺書中的藥師經變榜題底稿校錄, 12-18.

45 For more on this type of murals during the Sui era, see Chapter 3.

46 For example, see Jan Nattier, “The Realm of Akṣobhya: a Missing Piece in the History of Pure Land Buddhism,” 71-102.

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than Akṣobhya, and his worship developed into an integral part of the Buddhist mainstream.

In addition to visual materials, there are dedicatory inscriptions sponsored by medieval Chinese donors, which may provide vital evidence for scholars to investigate the ongoing exchange and amalgamation between two Buddhas. However, these types of devotional statements may not be devoid of inconsistencies and should be examined carefully. Before providing additional examples of the subtle link between the two

Buddhas, the next section briefly discusses potential issues that should be considered when analyzing the development of Medicine Master Buddha worship.

Popular Formulaic Expression

Extant inscriptions and manuscripts suggest that while some devotees sponsored the making of Medicine Master Buddha’s images, they still expressed hope of reaching Amitābha’s sacred realm. A pertinent example of such phenomenon is a

Tang-era dedicatory inscription sponsored by Wang Siye 王思業, a local official at

Taizhou 太州.47 Wang commissioned a statue of Medicine Master Buddha on behalf of his late parents and his recently deceased daughter. The inscription indicates that the donor did not pray for his deceased relatives to reach Medicine Master Buddha’s Lapis

Lazuli Pure Land, but rather Amitābha’s world.48

Interestingly, although the central object to be venerated was Medicine Master

Buddha, the donor explicitly indicated that he “wished the dead to be reborn to the

47 It is located at present-day Shaanxi 陝西 province.

48 See Beijing tushuguan cang zhongguo lidai shike taben huibian 北京圖書館藏中國歷代石刻拓本匯编, vol. 34, 140; it is also recorded in Baqiongshi jinshi buzheng 八瓊室金石補正, vol. 32, 4512.

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Western realm (yuan wangzhe tuosheng xifang 願亡者托生西方).”49 Can we consider these types of inscriptions as relevant and reliable sources to explain Medicine Master

Buddha’s affiliation with Amitābha? As we analyze and interpret the content of Wang’s inscription, it may be helpful to pay close attention to the donor’s intention. On the surface, it seems that the donor expected Medicine Master Buddha’s salvific power to guide the deceased to Amitābha’s Pure Land. However, if we carefully examine the overall content of Wang’s statement, it appears that he neither mentions any basic features of Amitābha’s world nor provides further detailed descriptions regarding such supplication.

Archaeological findings and dedicatory writings prove that statements regarding the hope of reaching the Land of Bliss were prevalent in China from the fifth century onward. Recent scholarly works suggest that similar expressions recurrently appear in the records of the cults centered on Śākyamuni and Maitreya. For example, Li Yumin has noted that among the dedicatory inscriptions associated with images of Maitreya made during the fifth and the sixth century, at least ten demonstrate the donors’ expectation to be reborn in the Land of Bliss. However, Maitreya’s Tuṣita Heaven is not mentioned.50 Cuong T. Mai, a scholar in Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhism, also

49 Ibid.

50 Li Yumin, “The Maitreya Cult and Its Art in Early China,” 130-133.

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points out the same phenomenon in medieval China.51 Similarly, Chen Minling’s 陳敏齡 study of Buddhist inscriptions reinforces these findings.52

During the Tang dynasty, that phenomenon became more prominent. Donors integrated the idea of rebirth in the Land of Bliss into part of their supplications, even though their intended focus of worship was Medicine Master Buddha. These records bring up several questions. To what degree did the donors understand Amitābha’s salvific power and his sacred realm? Can this kind of expression precisely reflect the donors’ faith in a given divinity? Did they loosely quote from a repertoire of standard supplications? Unfortunately, there is a lack of precise information about the devotees’ religious backgrounds. Nonetheless, the following case may provide some insight into these issues.

A manuscript discovered at Dunhuang indicates that a seventh-century monk named Huida 惠達 attempted to accumulate merits by pretending his contribution to the copying of the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture in 619. Rong Xinjinag 榮新江, a sinology scholar, argues that Huida did not really transcribe the text or sponsor its transcription. It is likely that he simply plagiarized a preexisting dedicatory note and added it to the end of a completed manuscript to which other donors had already contributed.53 He might not have actually performed what was considered a pious act at the time.

51 Cuong T. Mai, “Visualization Apocrypha and the Making of Buddhist Deity Cults in Early Medieval China,” 13-30.

52 See Chen Minling, “Tanluan de jingtu sixiang: jian lun beiwei jinshi beiming suojian de jingtu” 曇鸞的淨土思想: 兼論北魏金石碑銘所見的淨土, 47-66.

53 See Rong Xinjiang, Eighteen Lectures on Dunhuang, 514-517.

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The first half of the dedicatory note reads:

夫至妙冲玄､則辭言莫表。惠深理固､則凝然常寂。淡泊夷竫(靜) ､随缘改化。凡夫想識､豈能窮達？推尋聖典､崇善為先。

It is noteworthy that the passage proves Huida’s act of appropriating other worshipper’s devotional statements. The passage is exactly the same as the beginning of a dedicatory note made by Jianhui, which is discussed in Chapter 4. Jianhui’s original statement, written in 509, explains her wish to transform her imperfect female body.

Here, Huida’s dedicatory note borrows words from the opening sentences of an earlier statement without any modification.

The second half of the colophon reflects Huida’s purpose and motivation. It also explains his views regarding the supposed benefits of Medicine Master Buddha worship:

Huida devoutly transcribed the Scripture on Medicine Master Buddha of the Lapis Lazuli Radiance for the monastic teachers and parents of seven generations. May they be guided to the divine Pure Land based on such blessings. Extendedly, [I wish] that all living beings of the Dharma realm will attain Buddhahood. The eighth day of the fourth month in the second year of the reign of Wude (619), the beginning of the Great Tang nation.55

比丘惠達為七世師僧､父母､虔造藥師琉璃光經一部。因此微福､願使遊神淨土。逮及法界眾生､一齊成佛。大唐開國武德二年四月八日。

54 See Ikeda On, p. 178 and fig. 207.

55 Ibid.

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Evidently, Huida assumed that the copying of the text would generate beneficial rewards. He was concerned with the well-being of his late parents and religious instructors, and hoped that they would gain favorable rebirths. Thus, he deliberately proclaimed that he had “transcribed” the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture in order to create positive karma. Like other devotees, he prayed for the deceased to reach the

Pure Land, which possibly referred to Amitābha’s sacred realm.

It seems likely that such expressions were modeled after prevailing formulaic pattern of supplication. Perhaps the composers of the inscriptions were inspired by other dedicatory notes of the time. They generally perceived Amitābha’s realm as an ideal afterlife abode and loosely adopted a list of set expressions of dedication. The same can be said of the Guanyin cult. A relevant example is Xue Mingzhao 薛明照, who identified herself as a faithful laywoman. While she sponsored the making of Guanyin’s image in 657 at Longmen, she wished her deceased parents to “reach the Pure Land at the earliest opportunity.”56

To a large degree, these instances reflect the far-reaching influence of prevalent beliefs about Amitābha’s Pure Land. However, such stereotypical statements do not provide substantial information about Medicine Master Buddha worship even though they appear on images, manuscripts, and inscriptions centered on Medicine Master

Buddha. Nonetheless, more specific evidence about the Amitābha-Medicine Master

Buddha connection can be seen in the exegetical literature made by Chinese Buddhists.

In their exegeses and commentaries, they present distinct views regarding the two

56 The inscription is transcribed in Liu Jinglong and Li Yukun, 413.

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divinities. As we carefully examine their innovative interpretations, we learn the strategic nature of their approaches to link Medicine Master Buddha with the Pure Land tradition.

Pluralistic Ideas of Chinese Buddhists

There is a large corpus of treatises and exegeses that interprets the scriptures centered on Amitābha. Texts of this sort usually contain a given author’s views and explanations regarding Amitābha and his divine world. The main contents of the texts typically highlight the magnificence of the Land of Bliss, encourage others to believe in

Amitābha’s vows and powers, and elaborate the major elements of Buddhist soteriology.

By and large, texts of this type also exemplify the non-sectarian character of the

Pure Land tradition. As existing research has noted, unlike other Chinese Buddhist schools or Japanese Pure Land Buddhism, the Amitābha cult in China never promoted any lineal patriarchal transmission to legitimize its religious orthodoxy. Nor did it establish independent institutions separate from mainstream Buddhism.57 Pertinent treatises and exegeses support this unique characteristic. These texts do not identify the Amitābha cult as a sectarian movement that exclusively rejected other forms of worship. Instead, they often demonstrate their authors’ inclusive stance of justifying and compromising a large pantheon of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, including Medicine

Master Buddha.

Below I present a brief survey of treatises and exegeses from the Tang period, with a focus on those written by Huaigan 懷感 (died c. 699), Kuiji 窺基 (632-682), and

57 See, for instance, Mario Poceski, Introducing Chinese Religions,138-162; Robert Sharf, “On Pure Land Buddhism and Ch'an/Pure Land Syncretism in Medieval China,” 282-331; and Jimmy Yu, “Pure Land Devotion in East Asia,” 201-220.

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Jiacai 迦才 (dates unknown).58 As we read their works, we learn that these authors attempted to promote the superiority of Amitābha’s salvific attributes while also endeavoring to acknowledge religious pluralism and establish harmonious co-existence among different Buddhist movements.

Before delving into their effort to advocate the collaboration between Amitābha and Medicine Master Buddha cults, it is helpful to briefly examine the scriptural sources commonly used by these commentators. A relevant example is the Shengsi dedu jing that explains the subtle relationship between the two Buddhas. It explicitly states that

Medicine Master Buddha may effectively aid one’s rebirth into Amitābha’s Land of Bliss.

Pertinent portions of the text read:

The Buddha said, “If the fourfold assembly of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen—who always observe six times of daily fast per month and three times of long fast per year, or wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to ascetic practices—wish to be reborn in Amitābha’s western realm, they should remember and recollect [Amitābha] day and night. When [they practice] for one day, two days, three days, four days, five days, six days, or seven days, they may feel frustrated. [They should] listen to my sermon on the merits of the original vows of Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Buddha. At the end of their life, the eight bodhisattvas—Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Bodhisattva Akșayamati, Bodhisattva Bodhisattva Bhaisajya-rāja, Bodhisattva Ratna-candanakusuma, Bhaisajya-samudgata, and Bodhisattva Maitreya—will fly [by means of supernatural power] to welcome them. They will be reborn through the lotus flowers without the suffering of eight difficulties. [They will also] be delighted by the music that naturally plays on.”59

佛言､若四輩弟子､比丘､比丘尼､清信士､清信女､常修月六齋､年三長齋。或晝夜精勤､一心苦行。願欲往生西方阿彌陀佛國者､憶念晝夜。若一日､二日､三日､四日､五日､六日､七日､或復中悔。聞我說是藥師琉璃光佛本願功德､盡

58 Little is known about the exact dates of Jiacai. But it is certain that he resided in the Hongfa Monastery 弘法寺, located in Chang’an, during the Zhenguan 貞觀 era (627-649). See T 47.83b5.

59 Shengsi dedu jing, T 21.533c. Similar statements can also be found in Dharmagupta’s, Xuanzang’s, and Yijing’s translations.

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其壽命欲終之日､有八菩薩､其名曰､文殊師利菩薩､觀世音菩薩､得大勢菩薩､無盡意菩薩､寶壇(檀)華菩薩､藥王菩薩､藥上菩薩､彌勒菩薩。是八菩薩､皆當飛往迎其精神。不經八難､生蓮華中。自然音樂､而相娛樂。

The passage highlights several remarkable features of Amitābha’s sacred abode.

For example, it indicates the necessity of one’s faith and determination to reach

Amitābha’s Pure Land. It also explains that the devotees can be reborn through lotus flowers. As discussed in the beginning of this chapter, the text was likely composed around the time that the Amitābha cult was well-developed.

In addition to specific features of Amitābha’s world, the scripture cites rebirth into this particular world as part of the advantages associated with Medicine Master Buddha worship. It states that devotees may attain Amitābha’s sacred realm if they listen to the discourse on Medicine Master Buddha. The scripture also indicates that if those who are determined to reach Amitābha’s world are on the verge of death, then they will be assisted by the eight bodhisattvas affiliated with Medicine Master Buddha. Although the text mentions Amitābha’s world, the central aim of the passage is not to promote the privileged status of the Land of Bliss. Instead, it seeks to present various benefits of

Medicine Master Buddha worship, including a favorable rebirth.

A similar passage also can be found in the Gilgit version of the Bhaiṣajyaguru- sutra. It describes that among the faithful followers seeking to reach the Land of Bliss, those who know Medicine Master Buddha will, at the moment of death, be supported by the eight bodhisattvas exerting their supernatural power to show them the way to

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Amitābha’s divine world. They will then be reborn on multi-colored lotus flowers of the

Land of Bliss.60

Based on the passage cited above, Gregory Schopen argues that rebirth in the

Land of Bliss became a general religious goal in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism.61 He explains that the passage should not be perceived as the direct influence of the

Amitābha cult. Schopen claims that passage is “in no way associated with the cult of

Amitābha” because ancient Indian devotees did not particularly associate the rebirth in the Land of Bliss with the worship of Amitābha.62

Schopen’s opinion on the Amitābha cult in Indian Buddhism may be partially applied to Chinese Buddhism. In some cases, the hope of rebirth in Amitābha’s Pure

Land became an integral part of Chinese Buddhism. As we have examined, the devotees loosely expressed such beliefs, albeit lacking exact understanding of

Amitābha. Additionally, the Land of Bliss was generally perceived as an ideal postmortem destination by the masses, and the common perceptions regarding this realm sometimes were not limited to a Buddhist context.

In other examples, we learn that the supporters of the Pure Land tradition, especially the well-learned monks who studied the texts centered on Amitābha, interpreted rebirth in the Land of Bliss as a specific and practical religious end. To promulgate the cult, they identified the Land of Bliss as the most supreme realm and encouraged others to reach it. In that context, they viewed the aforementioned passage

60 Nalinaksha Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts, vol. I, 14.5. The translation is loosely adapted from Gregory Schopen, “Bhaiṣajyaguru-sutra and the Buddhism of Gilgit,” 276.

61 See Gregory Schopen, Figments and Fragments of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India, 154-189.

62 Ibid., 156 and 166.

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as a significant primary source to support and legitimize the superiority of Amitābha.

The passage was recurrently quoted, analyzed, and reinterpreted by various monks, as evidenced by the relevant exegeses and treatises from the Tang era.

To further explore the issue, it might be helpful to survey some of the works of

Huaigan, Kuiji, and Jiacai. The commonality between these monks lies in their all- embracing approach, through which they promoted the privileged position of Amitābha.

As indicated by their works, they unilaterally agreed that even practices linked with different cults could lead to the same end: rebirth in the Land of Bliss.

The first example is from a Tang-era Buddhist monk named Huaigan, who adhered to the Pure Land tradition and compiled a treatise titled Shi jingtu qunyi lun 釋

淨土群疑論 (Explanations on the Doubts of Pure Land).63 The treatise mainly presents a dialogic format that consists of questions and answers. In the text, Huaigan systematically organizes the ideas about the Land of Bliss described in various Buddhist texts. Additionally, he attempts to reconcile the different Buddhist cults of the time. To reframe the prevailing Buddhist movements into a coherent picture, he suggests that the veneration of Medicine Master Buddha is compatible with the Amitābha cult.64

In the Shi jingtu qunyi lun, Huaigan adopts an ecumenical stance to bring

Medicine Master Buddha into the Amitābha cult, and claims that Medicine Master

Buddha worship will assist one’s rebirth in the Land of Bliss. In his treatise, Huaigan

63 For discussions of this text, see Kaneko Kansai 金子寬哉, Shaku jō do gungi ron no kenkyū 釈浄土群疑論の研究; Murakami Shinzui 村上真瑞, “Nanatsudere sozō shaku jōdo gungī ron shahon ni tsuite” 七寺所蔵釋淨土群疑論写本について, 597-601; and Kendall R. Marchman, “Huaigan and the Growth of Pure Land Buddhism during the Tang Era,” especially 132-198.

64 Shi jingtu qunyi lun, T 47.43a29-b15.

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interprets the passage cited above. He explains that if the participants of the Amitābha

Pure Land tradition falter in their aspiration toward rebirth in the Land of Bliss and give up their practices, then such withdrawal will tremendously impede their opportunity for a favorable rebirth. However, these impediments will be immediately eliminated if they hear the name of Medicine Master Buddha.65

This implies that half-hearted adherents cannot accomplish their goal of being reborn in the Land of Bliss without Medicine Master Buddha’s assistance, especially if they lack confidence in their practices. However, that argument does not precisely resonate with what the scripture states. The original intent of the scripture is only to demonstrate a wide range of boons of Medicine Master Buddha worship, including a favorable rebirth. Huaigan’s pecular view reflects his concern to make the Medicine

Master Buddha worship well-suited for the Pure Land tradition.

Huaigan’s effort is more noticeable in his comparison of the two divinities. In the

Shi jingtu qunyi lun, he makes a simile to illustrate that Medicine Master Buddha’s twelve vows do not conflict with Amitābha’s forty-eight vows. Huaigan argues that a

Buddha who instructs living beings in accordance with their particular needs is like a healing master. Such healer has various kinds of medicines and herbs in his storage, but he only gives his patients the most appropriate and efficient drugs based on their symptoms of diseases. Huaigan claims that the two divinities basically share a similar intent to save one from sufferings, but they present it in distinct ways in order to liberate different groups of people. From Huaigan’s point of view, the vows and teachings of the two Buddhas are different only because living beings have varying capacities and

65 Ibid., 43b4-15.

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dispositions. Fundamentally, Medicine Master Buddha’s twelve vows do not tend to contradict those of Amitābha.66

Other Chinese monks, such as Kuiji, a disciple of Xuanzang, also assimilated the

Medicine Master Buddha worship into part of the Pure Land movement. Kuiji was primarily affiliated with Yogācāra Buddhism, which explains the different types of consciousness and human mental projection of phenomena. Aside from his interest in

Yogācāra philosophy, he also wrote commentaries on a wide range of scriptures translated by Xuanzang, including scriptures centered on Amitābha.

In his exegeses on the Pure Land texts, Kuiji loosely quotes from canonical sources to draw a link between Medicine Master Buddha and Amitābha. For example, his Xifang yaojue shiyi tonggui 西方要決釋疑通規 (Basic Rules to Clear up Doubts on the Resolving to Western Realm) explains:

The Medicine Master Scripture indicates that Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī consults [with the Buddha] for the living beings at the age of semblance dharma. The four-fold assembly, who want to be reborn in the western realm but without a determined mind, should recollect the name of Medicine Master Buddha, and then their doubts will be immediately cleared up. At the end of the life, the eight bodhisattvas will show them the way to be reborn [in the Pure Land].67

藥師經云､文殊菩薩為像法眾生請云､四眾弟子､求往生西方不定者､念藥師名､即斷疑網。臨命終時､八大菩薩､示往生路。

The text tends to organize various practices into a coherent scheme. Accordingly, Kuiji indicates the compatibility between the two cults and argues that one’s devotion to

66 T 47. 42a10-b12.

67 Xifang yaojue shiyi tonggui, T 47.108c26-29.

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Medicine Master Buddha does not conflict with an aspiration to be reborn in the Land of

Bliss.

The same argument also can be found in Kuiji’s Amituo jing shu 阿彌陀經疏

(Commentary on the Smaller Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra). In the commentary, Kuiji suggests that one may be reborn in Amitābha’s world by fixing one’s mind on Medicine Master

Buddha and recollecting his name.68 It is apparent that both texts exemplify Kuiji’s ecumenical stance, which includes a tendency to embrace different cults.

The third example is from the writings of Jiacai, a seventh-century Buddhist monk who studied under Daochuo 道綽 (562-645). In his Jingtu lun 淨土論 (Treatise on the

Pure Land), Jiacai claims that listening to (wen 聞) Medicine Master Buddha’s name can assist one’s rebirth in Amitābha’s Pure Land.69 Furthermore, while Jiacai classifies

Buddhist scriptures, he declares that the texts centered on Medicine Master Buddha should be included into the broader category of Amitābha texts. In the Jingtu lun, Jiacai selects twelve texts, including the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture, to represent the most important sources that should be studied by the faithful of the Pure Land tradition.

He presumes that these texts will help one to appreciate the advantages of the

Amitābha cult and strengthen one’s faith in Amitābha.70 All things considered, Jiacai’s opinions are quite similar to those of Kuiji and Huaigan.

Although these commentators from the Tang dynasty believed that the cults of

Medicine Master Buddha and Amitābha could coexist without any conflict, we should

68 Amituo jing shu, T 37.326b9-15.

69 Jingtu lun, T 47.94b13.

70 T 47.91c-94b.

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bear in mind that they did not place equal weight on both cults. While they took an inclusive approach to integrate Medicine Master Buddha into the Pure Land tradition, they intentionally emphasized the superiority of Amitābha and promoted the Land of

Bliss as the most splendid realm. For example, while Huaigan admitted that the reciting of Medicine Master Buddha’s name could facilitate one’s rebirth in the Land of Bliss, he also argued that the recollection of Amitābha’s name would be the most direct and efficient means to procure a desirable rebirth.71

The amalgamation of Amitābha and Medicine Master Buddha created a win-win scenario. By embracing the beliefs and practices of different cults, the Pure Land tradition enhanced its dominant status. Meanwhile, the prevalent Amitābha tradition also served as a catalyst that boosted Medicine Master Buddha’s popularity. Through dynamic exchanges with the Pure Land tradition, Medicine Master Buddha worship continued to flourish and attract a broad range of devotees in China.

Concluding Remarks

Overall, the examples analyzed in this chapter can be viewed as illustrations of the blurred boundaries between different religious beliefs and practices in China. The assumption that medieval Chinese Buddhists were exclusively dedicated to a single deity may lead to misinterpretations or misconceptions of their religious beliefs.

Exclusive commitment toward only one divinity rarely occurred in Chinese religious history. Instead, devotees often got involved in the reverence of several supernatural beings, be they Buddhist or non-Buddhist divinities. They also tended to associate with a wide range of cults and syncretize different modes of devotional practices.

71 Shi jingtu qunyi lun, T 47.43b14-15.

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Pertinent examples include Zhiyi 智顗 (538-597), arguably the best-known representative of the Tiantai 天台 school, who attempted to systematically organize

Buddhist teachings into a coherent whole. He is also renowned for his combination of various Buddhist rites and his formation of complex ritual procedures. Throughout his life, he took a liberal attitude towards multiple divinities. According to Zhiyi’s biography, composed by his principal disciple Guanding 灌頂 (561-632), Zhiyi was seriously ill by the end of his life. It is said that he believed in Amitābha’s salvific power to release his sufferings. Thus, he mindfully recollected the name of Amitābha and Guanyin when he was taking medicine.72 Meanwhile, Zhiyi also had faith in Maitreya. In his last days, he commissioned an image of Maitreya at Shicheng 石城, located at the West gate of

Tiantai mountain.73 He finally passed away in front of the Maitreya sculpture at

Shicheng in 597.74

Another similar example is Kuiji, who commented on some of the scriptures centered on Amitābha. In addition to Amitābha and Medicine Master Buddha, he also developed faith in Maitreya, probably in part because of Maitreya’s special role in the

Yogācāra school. Kuiji composed the Guan mile shangsheng doushuaitian jing zan 觀彌

勒上生兜率天經贊 (Exegesis on the Contemplation of Maitreya’s Ascent to Tuṣita

Heaven Scripture), in which he argues that Maitreya worship can help one eliminate bad

72 Sui tiantai zhizhe dashi beizhuan 隋天台智者大師別傳, T 50.196a14-18.

73 T 50.195c21-196a13.

74 Fozu tongji 佛祖統紀, T 49.248a11. For more on Zhiyi’s account, see Koichi Shinohara, “Guanding’s Biography of Zhiyi, the Fourth Patriarch of the Tiantai Tradition,” 98-218.

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karma.75 Kuiji’s arguments imply that, like the veneration of other divinities, the devotion to Maitreya will bring about many supposed boons. Kuiji not only cultivated the visualization of Maitreya’s Tuṣita Heaven but also aspired to meet Maitreya after death.76 It seems likely that Kuiji favored Maitreya over other Buddhas. Even so, he still stood for the harmonious co-existence of multiple cults.

On the whole, worship of Medicine Master Buddha should not be placed in the category of sui generis religion. The worship did not form an independent or autonomous movement but kept interacting with other prevailing religious trends. In addition to its connection with Amitābha, it had a certain level of interchange with

Dizang worship. As Zhiru Ng has pointed out, there are several paintings and statues that illustrate the subtle connection between Medicine Master Buddha and Dizang.77

Pertinent examples include the murals in Mogao Caves 166, 176, 205, and 444, which depict their images together.78 Similar themes can also be found in niches 279 and 281 of the Beishan 北山 grottoes, at Dazu 大足. These records suggest that the tenth- century locals at Dazu paired Medicine Master Buddha with Dizang.79

Although Amitābha and Medicine Master Buddha were linked together by their overlapping devotees, their interrelation does not necessarily denote that they can be interpreted as a unified system of beliefs and practices. Their dynamic interchange

75 Guan mile shangsheng doushuaitian jing zan, T 38.297c23.

76 See Alan Sponberg, “Meditation in Fa-hsiang Buddhism,” 15-44.

77 See Zhiru Ng, The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva: Dizang in Medieval China,142-150.

78 See Dunhuang shiku neirong zonglu, 66, 70, 82, and 183.

79 Zhiru Ng, 146-150.

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illustrates a blurring of religious boundaries, but their nature and function cannot be over simplified as constituting a single movement. Within a larger context, the cults centered around the two divinities occurred together and mutually influenced each other; but on many occasions, they demonstrated their own specific and distinct characteristics. Their nuanced relationship and mutual interaction tell us that Buddhism underwent complex processes of formation, growth, transmission, and reconfiguration in China.

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CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION

The discussion on Medicine Master Buddha worship in this work explores its historical development, transformation, and interaction with other Chinese religious movements. Through the careful examination of the spectrum of predicaments and reasons that influenced Chinese devotees to venerate the Buddha, the study reveals that in the medieval context the Buddha was believed to be a polyfunctional deity who responded to devotees’ pursuit of mundane welfare and desire for favorable rebirth. His salvific powers were interpreted in a number of ways, many of which went beyond a narrow focus on healing. By analyzing pertinent canonical texts, miracle tales, inscriptions, and visual materials, this work also investigates the actual cultic practices that worshippers engaged in and the various needs that the Buddha filled for his devotees.

When the Medicine Master Buddha cult spread widely throughout China, it encompassed a broad range of phenomena and embraced different social groups, including numerous individuals with upper-class and lower-class backgrounds. The devotees included members of imperial family, scholar-officials, merchants, monastics, and common people. Evidence suggests that devotees from different social backgrounds held a similar set of expectations toward the Buddha. They concurrently wished that the divinity’s distinct power and salvific potency could release them from assorted sufferings and the merit derived from participating in cultic worship would bring forth tangible rewards. Within that context, the Buddha’s multifaced persona and his specific characteristics depended on the changing needs or interests of his devotees, who were in search of a variety of beneficial outcomes. Accordingly, the cult

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spontaneously involved within a web of active exchanges between the deity and his human supplicants.

In addition to the devotees’ diverse spiritual needs and mundane concerns,

Medicine Master Buddha worship was developed within the wider social, cultural, and political milieus of medieval China. As discussed in Chapters 4 and 5, the worship was rooted in the context of the society and culture in which Chinese monastics and laypersons lived. In some cases, the Buddha was identified as a fertility deity and became a favorite figure of worship for medieval women, especially when they struggled to have at least one male heir. Undoubtedly, such mode of worship was influenced and transformed by socially constructed norms and notions of kinship. At other occasions, the worship became a way for devotees to publicly demonstrate their cultivation of filial piety, an important traditional virtue that had wide currency in medieval society.

Performing worship for the welfare of one’s deceased parents was perceived as a commendable moral action and encouraged by the wider society. In that sense, the

Buddha cult reflected medieval worshippers’ response to traditional Chinese ethical values and prevalent social norms.

From a political perspective, the full-blown development of Medicine Master

Buddha worship was intertwined with the Tang emperors’ pursuit of national peace and security, especially when they faced political crises or challenging predicaments.

Without their lavish patronage, the public forms of worship might not have gained such immense popularity during the Tang era. As the Buddha worship became a widespread movement in China, its influence also extended to other regions of East Asia. During the eighth century, the Medicine Master Buddha cult became a state-supported movement

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in Japan. Pertinent examples include the devotion of Emperor Kanmu 桓武 (r. 781-806), who feared that restless spirits would cause calamities or impede the prosperity of the nation. He sponsored the Buddha’s worship in order to pacify the spirits and secure the peace of the country.1 These Chinese and Japanese monarchs’ faith in the Buddha was individually developed against specific politico-religious backdrops, which in turn made it possible for Medicine Master Buddha worship to take firm root in East Asian soil.

After the Tang dynasty, Medicine Master Buddha worship continued to flourish and remained its dominant position in Chinese Buddhism. However, the persona of the

Buddha and the prevalent understanding of his role within Buddhism did not remain unchanged. He gradually transformed from a multi-functional deity to a supreme healer whose power could relieve devotees of ill health and help them live long lives.

Accordingly, Medicine Master Buddha worship became a prominent form of a healing cult.

During the late imperial period, not only did the Buddha represented a personification of healing, but also his scriptures were interpreted as the embodiment of healing power by Chinese Buddhists. Pertinent examples of such tendencies can be found in the records of Hanshan Deqing 憨山德清 (1546-1623), a renowned monk from the Ming 明 dynasty (1368-1644).2 In his comments on a Ming-era devotee’s act of copying the Medicine Master Buddha Scripture, he argues that the scripture symbolically functions as sacred medicine. If one obtains such powerful scripture, one

1 For a study of Emperor Kanmu’s involvement in Medicine Master Buddha worship, see Yui Suzuki, Medicine Master Buddha: The Iconic Worship of Yakushi in Heian Japan, 29-34.

2 He is also known as Hanshan Laoren 憨山老人. For a study of Hanshan, see Markus Leong, Hanshan Deqing (1546-1623) on Buddhist Ethics.

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immediately gets rid of diseases.3 His argument seems to demonstrate typical views regarding the Buddha cult of that time.

Throughout Chinese history, the Medicine Master Buddha cult encompassed multiple modes of representations, according to different contexts and times. In addition to the Buddha’s shifting roles from a universal savior to a divine healer, the transformation of the cult is also evident in its dynamic interactions with other religious traditions. As indicated in Chapter 6, during the Sui and the Tang periods, Medicine

Master Buddha worship formed a close relationship with the Pure Land tradition, which primarily focused on venerating Amitābha Buddha. The mutual interaction and enrichment of these two cults contributed to their efflorescence. In the same vein, such religious cross-fertilization occurs in a modern context. Present-day Medicine Master

Buddha worship does not form an autonomous religious movement, but rather constantly connects and interacts with other beliefs and practices.

In a contemporary context, Medicine Master Buddha is primarily venerated as a potent healing divinity, as he keeps on playing a central role in the religious lives of many Chinese devotees. To a large extent, such beliefs and practices are reflected in the popularity of performing the “Medicine Master repentance rite” or “Yaoshi chan” 藥師

懺, a communal rite devoted to the Buddha. Moreover, the influence and prevalence of this type of repentance rite is not merely limited to Buddhism, as evidenced by a similar rite developed in Daoist communities.4 The Buddhist and Daoist “Medicine Master repentance rites” affect or overlap each other in several domains. While they have

3 X 73.684c13-14.

4 For a study of the rites practiced by contemporary Buddhists and Daoists, see Appendix.

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certain shared features, they also emphasize their unique religious functions. These types of religious rites often developed through complex processes of assimilation and confrontation. By and large, the Buddhist-Daoist mutual exchange reveals the blurred boundaries among the Chinese religions.5

The Medicine Master Buddha cult keeps on developing and transforming, albeit at a very slow pace. Several pertinent issues still await to be explored, and a complete picture of Medicine Master Buddha and his worship remains beyond the scope of this study. For instance, to gain further insights into the broader scope of the cult requires additional investigations of its position in ongoing cross-religious exchanges, including its interactions with the Daoist tradition.

By tracing the early history and formative growth of Medicine Master Buddha worship, this study sheds light on how medieval Chinese understood and venerated

Medicine Master Buddha within a set of fluid of religious frameworks. It also helps us better appreciate the rich complexity of the prevalent modes of worship, which were influenced by a broad range of factors. These included the devotees’ utilitarian concerns, dominant social norms and cultural values, other religious movements, and assorted political reasons. The study thus serves as a compressive overview for the development and character of this important cult. More extensively, it also contributes to a broader scholarly understanding of Chinese Buddhism, especially the growth and transformation of primary modes of cultic veneration.

5 For a study of the interactions between Buddhism and Daoism, see Christine Mollier, Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China, 2008.

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APPENDIX BUDDHIST AND DAOIST MEDICINE MASTER REPENTANCE RITES

In a contemporary context, at the core of Medicine Master Buddha worship is the belief in the healing power and potency of the Buddha. Such belief is usually expressed in the renowned repentance ritual known as the “Medicine Master repentance rite” (Ch.

Yaoshi chan 藥師懺), a communally-oriented worship that consists of several types of liturgical activities. A similar rite is also developed and practiced by Daoist communities, which reflects nuanced connections and dynamic interactions between Buddhism and

Daoism.

Since the seventeenth century, Medicine Master Buddha has become the patron divinity of the “Medicine Master repentance rite,” which characterizes Chinese innovation of Buddhist practice in ways that did not occur in Indian Buddhism.

Nonetheless, the underlying concept of the rite inherits long-existing Buddhist ideas related to confession and repentance. The earliest Buddhist confession and repentance are best illustrated by the twice-monthly monastic observance of poṣadha (Ch. busa 布

薩), a formal meeting for the recitation of monastic codes. It also involves public confession of individuals’ offenses, which provides an opportunity to renew one’s mind and re-energize one’s religious commitment. Traditionally, the observance is regarded as a crucial practice that maintains the unity, serenity, and harmony of Buddhist monastic order.1

1 For more details about poṣadha, see David M. Eckel, “A Buddhist Approach to Repentance,” 122-142; and Charles S. Prebish, Buddhist Monastic Discipline: The Sanskrit Prātimokṣa Sūtras of the Mahāsāṃghikas and Mūlasarvāstivādins, 26-28.

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The “Medicine Master repentance rite” is not exclusively undertaken by Buddhist monastic community, but rather is open to the public. The rite does not include the recitation of precepts, nor does it place heavy emphasis on public confession of individuals’ transgressions. Its goal is to prevent and avoid negative consequences of bad karma. The rite enables the participants to purify their mind and body, which may subsequently lead to the alleviation of suffering caused by their wrong deeds, thoughts, and attitudes.

The initial development of this repentance rite can be traced back to the second half of the sixth century, as evidenced by the Exposition on Fast and Repentance of

Medicine Master (Yaoshi zhai chan wen 藥師齋懺文), a sixth-century text composed by

Emperor Wen of the Chen dynasty 陳文帝 (r. 560-566).2 However, this short text does not provide any detailed explanations of the ritual.

Evidence suggests that the “Medicine Master repentance rite” became a full- fledged practice during the late Ming 明 (1368-1644) and the early Qing 清 (1644-1911) eras. At the time, Tianxi Shoudeng 天溪受登 (1607-1675), a monk who resided at the

Dajue 大覺 Monastery at Tianxi, greatly contributed to promulgating the repentance rite devoted to the Buddha.3

Shoudeng’s interest in the repentance rite was intertwined with his cultivation of meditative contemplation and his affiliation with the Tiantai school. He actively propagated the Tiantai teachings and became a popular Tiantai teacher in central China

2 T 52.334b13-c6.

3 Tianxi is located at present-day Hangzhou 杭州. Tianxi Shoudeng is also known as Tianxi Jingchun 天溪景淳.

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during the mid-seventeenth century.4 In his Yaoshi sanmei xing fa 藥師三昧行法

(Methods of Medicine Master Intense Concentration), he argues that those who violate

Buddhist precepts and moral codes cannot achieve the state of meditative absorption.

He suggests confession and repentance as parts of a training series to attain mental purification.5

It is worth mentioning that Shoudeng did not innovate the rite but mainly edited and organized the preexisting work. According to the preface of the Yaoshi sanmei xing fa, Shoudeng explains that the text is based on the preliminary work made by Renan Yi

仁菴義, a sixteenth century monk active at Yangzhou 揚州 and Hangzhou 杭州.6

Shoudeng’s text is comprehensive, encompassing many detailed instructions describing how to properly perform the ritual. It consists of ten sections explaining appropriate procedures. They are (1) adornment of the sanctuary, (2) purifying the participant’s body, mind, and speech, (3) making offerings, (4) invocating the triple gem and divinities, (5) praising the triple gem, (6) venerating Buddhas, (7) taking vows and chanting spells, (8) confession and repentance, (9) ritual circumambulation, and (10) contemplation.

The overall structure and format of Shoudeng’s text are fundamentally molded after the Repentance Rite of Lotus Flower Intense Concentration (Fahua sanmei can yi

法華三昧懺儀), an influential Tiantai ritual manual composed by Zhiyi 智顗 (538-597).7

4 X 57.522a20-522c18.

5 X 74.567b9-16.

6 X 74.563c23-564a3.

7 T 46.949b10-955c4. For a study of Zhiyi’s innovation of the repentance rite, see William Theodore de Bary, et al., Sources of Chinese Tradition, vol. 1, 462-471.

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The aforementioned ten procedures of the rite precisely resemble those proposed by

Zhiyi. It is evident that Shoudeng presents a syncretic rite by incorporating Medicine

Master Buddha into the pre-existing Tiantai ritual.

However, Shoudeng’s text is not widely accepted by contemporary Buddhist communities, perhaps in part because of its overwhelming elaborations. Even so, it serves as a preliminary model for the formation of The Precious Repentance Liturgy of

Compassionate Medicine Master (Cibei yaoshi baochan 慈悲藥師寶懺; hereafter referred to as Cibei yaoshi). The authorship of this ritual manual is unclear, and it may have been compiled and revised by several authors.

The extant version of Cibei yaoshi is divided into three fascicles. It presents a well-designed structure and eliminates Shoudeng’s redundant elaborations. As a whole, it promotes a more systemized and simplified ritual performance. Like Shoudeng’s work, the main purpose of the Cibei yaoshi is to guide devotees to repent their wrongdoings and reduce bad karmas through the veneration of Medicine Master Buddha. In this ritual manual, the divinity is named “Medicine Master Buddha of Eliminating Calamities and

Prolonging Life” (Xiaozai yanshou yaoshi fo 消災延壽藥師佛), which underlines the

Buddha’s function as a this-worldly savior.8

Using the Cibei yaoshi as the principal ritual text, present-day “Medicine Master repentance rite” is designed to be carried out within three hours and includes three major parts of liturgical performance. The first section begins with concurrent verse- chanting and incense offerings. The congregation then reads a short passage

8 X 74.573c13-23.

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explaining the reason for performing the rite and prostrates to a number of Buddhas.

The participants also recite passages explaining the teachings of Medicine Master

Buddha and the importance of spiritual purification. This is followed by the second and the third sections that consist of additional chanting and prostrations. The ritual usually ends with the praise of the Buddha’s virtue, taking refuge in the triple gem, and the dedication of merits.9

In general, this kind of repentance rite is not exclusively dedicated to Medicine

Master Buddha. Similar rituals are performed to venerate other Buddhist divinities such as Dizang and Guanyin.10 Ceremonies of this sort are usually integrated into part of weekly or monthly services of Chinese monasteries and temples, including overseas

Buddhist communities. Various reasons might contribute to the far-reaching popularity of these types of rites. From a spiritual aspect, they function as ceremonies of renewal that enable religious practitioners to improve spiritual purification and to remove impediment of their spiritual liberation. The rites also reflect the mundane and utilitarian aspects of religion. While taking part in the services, the participants expect to procure immediate and practical rewards such as good health. Meanwhile, the rites play a key role in facilitating the financial stability and enhancing the economic growth of Buddhist organizations. From a social perspective, the rites establish a close bond between the

9 X 74.571b08-577c23.

10 For example, the Great Compassion Repentance Ceremony, initially formed by Siming Zhili 四明知禮 (960-1028) is dedicated to Bodhisattva Guanyin. By the same token, the Dizang Repentance Ceremony has become the integral part of the Dizang cult. See Yu Chunfang, Kuan-Yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteś vara, 263-291; and Wang Juan 汪娟, “Lidai dizang chan yi xi lun” 歷代地藏懺儀析論, 169-207.

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monastics and the laity, as the rites create many opportunities to foster interactions between the monasteries and local society.

Furthermore, the “Medicine Master repentance rite” is practiced not only by

Buddhists but also by Daoists. In Daoism, it is better known as “Yao can” 藥懺 or

“Medicine repentance.” The Daoist and Buddhist rites have certain commonalities. For example, they both underscore the importance of physical and spiritual purification.

Additionally, they use similar ritual manuals to conduct the rites. Contemporary Daoist priests and ritual specialists employ a group of liturgical manuscripts to perform the

“Medicine repentance.” Although the titles of these manuals contain minor differences, they essentially present similar content. The following list includes three texts currently circulating among present-day Daoist communities in Taiwan, especially in the south:

1. Taishang hongming yaoshi baochan 太上鴻名藥師寶懺 (The Precious Repentance Liturgy of Supreme and Renowned Medicine Master).

2. Taishang lingbao badu yaoshi baochan 太上靈寶拔度藥師寶懺 (The Precious Lingbao Repentance Liturgy of Supreme and Salvific Medicine Master; hereafter referred to as Badu yaoshi). It is also titled Wugu shennong yaoshi baochan 五穀神農藥師寶懺 (The Precious Repentance Liturgy of Medicine Master, the Five Grains God).

3. Wushang shiwang liuli yaoshi baochan 無上十王琉璃藥師寶懺 (The Precious Repentance Liturgy of Ultimate Ten Kings and Lapis Lazuli Medicine Master; hereafter referred to as Liuli yaoshi)

The provenance of these ritual manuals is unknown, and they are not included in the collection of Daoist canonical texts. In general, they appear to be manuscripts transcribed by the faithful and disseminated in local communities. Due to the complex process of hand-copying, these texts may have been transcribed by different persons at different times. Certain noticeable scribal errors can be seen in the texts. For instance,

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the Guanding jing 灌頂經 is occasionally recorded as the Luoding jing 蘿頂經.11

Although they contain minor errors and have little coherence in content, they are significant to the study of intimate exchanges between Daoism, Buddhism, and popular religions.

These texts typically contain a combination of ideas associated with various religious traditions. For example, the popular beliefs of Ten Kings are amalgamated into the Liuli yaoshi.12 In addition, Buddhist views and interpretations of Medicine Master

Buddha are incorporated into these ritual texts’ overall content. Pertinent examples include the Badu yaoshi, which states that the divine healer presides over the Lapis

Lazuli World in the eastern realm.13 The text also indicates that one may rid oneself of nine types of ill-fated death by venerating the supreme healer, which corresponds to the descriptions of the Buddhist texts centered on Medicine Master Buddha.14

In addition to Medicine Master Buddha, Shennong 神農 (Divine Farmer), a prominent mythical and heroic figure in China, is recurrently mentioned in these ritual manuals. Although these manuals incorporate the beliefs of Medicine Master Buddha, they present Shennong as the central deity to be worshipped. Shennong is traditionally regarded as a cultural hero associated with the invention of agricultural irrigation, farming tools, and the drinking of tea. Moreover, he is said to have discovered the use

11 See Wugu shennong yaoshi baochan, 3.

12 On the cult of the Ten Kings, see Stephen F. Teiser, The Scripture on the Ten Kings and the Making of Purgatory in Medieval Chinese Buddhism, 19-84; and Lothar Ledderose, Ten Thousand Things: Module and Mass Production in Chinese Art, 163-185.

13 See Taishang lingbao badu yaoshi baochan, 12.

14 Ibid, 32.

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of herbal medicine to cure diseases. He is credited with testing hundreds of plants to identify their healing properties, which have influenced the use of Chinese herbal medicine.15 In the “Medicine repentance,” Shennong is worshipped as Medicine King

(Yao wang 藥王) or Divine King of Testing Drugs and Curing Diseases (Changyao jiubing shen wang 嘗藥救病神王).16

While the Buddhist rite centered on Medicine Master Buddha aims to improve the health of the living, the Daoist rite emphasizes the salvation of the deceased. The

“Medicine repentance” becomes part of Gongde fashi 功德法事 or the Rite of Merit, a type of funeral ritual to improve the status of the dead, eliminate their suffering in purgatory, and ensure their liberation. It is usually practiced as part of weekly rite during the forty-nine-day mourning period. It may be also performed on the day before the cremation rite, and on the first or the third anniversaries after death.17

The “Medicine repentance” is mainly practiced by the living family to liberate those who die from illnesses. It implies that sickness is caused by sin, and that the repentance rite allows the deceased to confess and be absolved of sin. In addition, the rite is closely associated with Daoist beliefs about lian du 煉度 (salvation through refinement).18 It denotes the ideas that the souls and bodies of the deceased have been

15 On Shennong’s position in Chinese culture, see Yang Lihui and Deming An, Handbook of Chinese Mythology,190-199; and Mario Poceski, Introducing Chinese Religions, 26.

16 See Taishang lingbao badu yaoshi baochan, 24 and 35.

17 For more on the Rite of Merit, see Kenneth Dean, “Funerals in Fujian,” 19-78; and Tan Hwee‐San, "Saving the Soul in Red China: Music and Ideology in the Gongde Ritual of Merit in Fujian," 119-140.

18 For a discussion of Daoist concepts of lian du, see Xie Shiwei 謝世維, “Lian xing yu lian du: liuchao daojiao jingdian dangzhong de sihou xiulian yu wangzhe jiudu” 練形與鍊度: 六朝道教經典當中的死後修練與亡者救度, 739-777. For a study of Daoist liturgy associated with lian du, see Judith M. Boltz, “Singing to the Spirits of the Dead: A Daoist Ritual of Salvation,” 177-225.

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damaged or defiled by illness, which impedes their liberation after death. Therefore, the dead must undergo several processes of refinement. The performance of the repentance rite may purify the deceased’s souls and refine their bodies, subsequently leading them to salvation.19

One of the fundamental features of the “Medicine repentance” is that the rite transforms the traditional concepts of healing, which primarily focuses on improving the health of living beings. More extensively, the rite implies that healing journey continues even after the sick people have died. Meanwhile, it provides a means to not only liberate the deceased but also comfort living relatives.

As far as I have been able to obtain, few records indicate the early development of the Daoist rite of “Medicine repentance.” Little is known about when and how the

“Medicine repentance” began to establish into an integral part of Daoist tradition. Given the present state of evidence, we cannot identify whether the abovementioned Daoist ritual texts predated the seventeenth-century Buddhist ritual manual compiled by

Shoudeng.

Nonetheless, it seems certain that both Daoist and Buddhist repentance rites have wide appeal and coexist in modern China. The two repentance rites have their distinct functions and are concurrently practiced by different groups of people. Although the Daoist rite incorporates several features related to the Medicine Master Buddha cult, it also distinguishes itself from Buddhism by highlighting the long-established Daoist beliefs about the afterlife, especially the concept of lian du. Meanwhile, the Buddhist rite

19 For a study of the practice of “Medicine repentance,” see Zhang Yuxun 張譽薰, “Daojiao wuye badu yishi zhi yanjiu” 道教午夜拔度儀式之研究, 94-117.

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continues to respond to human pursuit of healing. The harmonious coexistence of the two rites may be seen as a reflecting point of religious diversity in China.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Yujing Chen is a Buddhist nun of the Mahāyāna tradition who has been trained at the Yuan-Kuang Institute of Buddhist Studies, Taiwan. In 2006, Chen graduated with an

M.A. in Religious Studies from the National Cheng-Chi University in Taiwan. She received her Ph.D. in Asian Religious Studies from the University of Florida in the summer of 2017.

Her research spans the medieval and contemporary periods of Buddhism. She is also interested in examining mutual interactions between Buddhism and other religions.

She has been an adjunct professor at Santa Fe College, Gainesville, Florida. She has accepted a one-year teaching position (2017-2018) in East Asian Religions at Grinnell

College, Iowa.

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