Dealing with Childbirth in Medieval Chinese Buddhism: Discourses and Practices Hsin-Yi Lin A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Columbia University 2017 © 2017 Hsin-Yi Lin All Rights Reserved This work may be used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. For more information about that license, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. For other uses, please contact the author. ABSTRACT Dealing with Childbirth in Medieval Chinese Buddhism: Discourses and Practices 中古中國佛教裡的產孕之道: 觀念論述與歷史實踐 Hsin-Yi Lin 林欣儀 In Buddhism birth is regarded as the origin of suffering and impurity, whereas it also forms the physical basis indispensible for seeking and attaining awakening. Birth is both the starting points of incuring defilement and achieving sanctity. Pointing out this paradox on birth in Buddhism and situating the issue within the context of Chinese religion and history, this dissertation extensively investigates Buddhist discourses and practices of reproduction in medieval China. It anwsers how Buddhist discourses and practices of childbirth were transmitted, transformed, and applied in medieval China, and how they interacted with indigenous healing resources and practices in both Chinese religious and medical realms. Through examining the primary sources such as the excavated Day Books (Chapter One), Buddhist hagiographies (Chapter Two), Buddhist obstetric and embryological discourses (Chapter Three and Four) and healing resources preserved in Tripiṭaka and Dunhuang manuscripts, Dunhuang transformation texts and tableaux, and miracle tales and anecdote literature (Chapter Three, Four and Five), I argue that not only was there a paradoxical dualism at the heart of Buddhism's relationship with reproduction, but also Buddhism provides abundant healing resources for dealing with childbirth on the practical level. Overall I contend that Buddhist healing resources for childbirth served as an effective channel through which Buddhist teaching, worldview and concepts of gender and body were conveyed to its supplicants. Through this investigation, this dissertation contributes to the understanding of the association of Buddhism with medicine, the influence of Buddhist discourses and practices of reproduction on China, and the transmission of Buddhist views of gender, the body, and life to China through its healing activities related to childbirth. Table of Contents List of Figures iv Acknowledgements vi Introduction 1 Buddhism and Childbirth: A Few Cases 1 Key Issues: Buddhist Healing, Indigenous Religions, and Gender 8 Some More Questions 12 Buddhism and Reproduction in China: Approaches and Sources 13 Dissertation Outline 16 Chpater One Time and Space, Divination and Taboos: Reproduction under Ancient Chinese Correlative Cosmology 21 Divination and Taboos: Daily Practices on Childbirth in the Day Books 25 Human Reproduction as a Representation of Cosmic Creation 45 Han literati's Writings on Childbirth: the Theory of Qi Transformation and the Reproductive Customs 50 Divination and Taboos in the Medical Works 57 Conclusion 60 Chapter Two Sacred Birth: Reproductive Scenes in Chinese Buddhist Hagiographies 62 Māyā's Pregnancy: Dohada and Magical Healing Power 68 Other Aspects of Māyā's Pregnancy: Dreams, Purity, and Auspicious Signs 73 Chinese Buddhist Representations of Māyā's Pregnancy and the Buddha's Birth 80 i Chinese Buddhist Hagiography: Eminent Monks and Nuns’ Birth Scenes 94 Conclusion 109 Appendix: Reproductive Scenes of Māyā and the Buddha in Dunhuang 114 Chpater Three The Origin of Suffering: Buddhist Obstetrics, Birth Duḥkha, and Filial Piety 122 From Indian Medicine to "Buddhist Medicine" 129 "Buddhist Obstetrics" 135 Birth Duḥkha: "Buddhist Embryology" 144 Birth Duḥkha and Filial Piety in Medieval China 150 Conclusion 178 Chapter Four Dealing with Childbirth in Medieval Chinese Buddhism: Canonical Sources 180 Treating Infertility and Seeking Conception 183 Pregnancy Care 186 Difficult Birth 189 Postnatal Care for Mothers and Newborns 200 Miscarriage and Abortion 208 Conclusion 223 Chapter Five Dealing with Childbirth in Medieval Chinese Buddhism: Historical and Archeological Sources 226 Treating Childbirth with Incantations, Talismans and Seals 235 ii Protective Goddesses for Childbirth: Avalokiteśvara, Hārītī, and Bāla-grahā 255 Praying for Birth: Liturgy, Sūtra-Copying and Others 277 Treating Childbirth with Dharmic Medicine and by Monks: Cases from Hagiographies, Miracle Tales and Literati's Notes 292 Epilogue 304 Reproduction in Religion and Medicine 304 Reproduction in Medieval Chinese Buddhism and Religious Medicine 312 Rethinking Female Reproductive Pollution in Chinese Buddhism 314 Bibliography 316 iii List of Figures Figure 1.1 Huamn-form divination chart in the Shuihudi Day Book 44 Figure 1.2 Human-form divination chart in the Mawangdui Taichanshu 44 Figure 1.3 "Yucang maibao tu" ("Burying the afterbirth chart secreted by Yu") 60 Figure 2.1 "The Bodhisattva riding a white elephant into the womb," Mogao Cave No. 431, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534 CE) 114 Figure 2.2 "Māyā having her conceiving dream," "partial enlargement: the prince riding on the white elephant and going to enter into the womb," " Māyā holding a tree and giving birth to the prince from her right side," Mogao Cave No. 290, Northern Zhou dynasty (557-581 CE) 115 Figure 2.3 "The Bodhisattva riding a white elephant into the womb," Mogao Cave No. 322, Sui dynasty (581-618 CE) 116 Figure 2.4 "The Bodhisattva riding a white elephant into the womb," Mogao Cave No. 329, Early Tang period (618-712 CE) 117 Figure 2.5 "The Bodhisattva riding a white elephant inside a circle and on clouds flying to Māyā," Yulin Cave No. 36, Five Dynasty (907-979 CE) 118 Figure 2.6 "Māyā gave birth to the Prince from her right side; the small prince is looking back to the Queen; a dragon on the left side of the small prince is spilling water for bathing him; "partial enlargement," Mogao Cave No. 76, Song dynasty(960- 1279CE) 119 Figure 2.7 "Māyā holding a tree, a maid helping her in the left, and the prince being born from the right side," Yulin Cave No. 3, Tangut Kingdom (1038-1227 CE) 121 Figure 3.1 The whole scene of the transformation tableau based on the fourth version of the "Sūtra on the Depth of Parental Kindness," Dafo wan No. 15 Cave, Dazu, iv Sichuan province, Southern dynasty (1127-1279 CE) 174 Figure 3.2 The transformation tableau "The first kindness of bearing and protectng [the child] in the womb," Dafo wan No.15 Cave, Dazu, Sichuan province, Southern dynasty 175 Figure 3.3 The transformation tableau "The second kindness of the suffering right before giving birth," Dafo wan No. 15 Cave, Dazu, Sichuan Province, Southern Song dynasty 176 Figure 3.4 The transformation tableau "The third kindness of forgetting all the worry after giving birth to a son," Dafo wan No. 15 Cave, Dazu, Sichuan Province, Southern Song dynasty 177 Figure 5.1 The Samādhi Seal of the Buddha, P. 3874 238 Figure 5.2 The Seal of Buddha, T. 1238, p.184b13 242 Figure 5.3 Dunhuang manuscript Beijing 8738 244 Figure 5.4 The large talisman for dfficult birth, S. 2498 249 Figure 5.5 The small talisman for difficult birth, S. 2498 249 Figure 5.6 Fabing shu 發病書, P. 2856, the upper one fifth part of one of thirteen columns of the manuscript 253 Figure 5.7 Dhāraṇī of Thousand-Turning and Eliminating Sins of the Sacred Avalokiteśvara, P. 4514 258 Figure 5.8 Dhāraṇī of Thousand-Turning and Eliminating Sins of the Sacred Avalokiteśvara and the eleven rectangular dhāraṇī-amulets surrounding it, P. 4514 258 Figure 5.9 Six Female Goddesses related to Children-Protection, Dunhuang Cave No. 9, the 9th century 271 Figure 5.10 The Image of the Fifteen Goddesses collected in Yamatobunkakan 274 Figure 5.11 The Prayer for the Difficult Month, S. 1441 280 v Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have reached its current form without the generous help and support of many people. My deepest gratitude first goes to my two advisors, Chün-fang Yü and Bernard Faure. They led me into this wonderland of the study of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism and guided me on this road with their kindness, wisdom and insight. The memories of every conversation with them not only inspire my imagination in thinking of questions but also teach me by their own examples to be always hard-working, brave in exploring, and most importantly, to enjoy serious works with the sense of humor and fun. I am indebted especially and mostly to Chün-fang Yü, who was so patiently willing to give me time and space to try and grow up. She has spent so much time working with me on my imperfect English in my term papers and all of my dissertation chapters. I cannot say enough words to express my profound gratitude to her for all she has done for me over these eight years. Her patience, kindness and every timely support are no doubt my source of strength to finish this dissertation. The other committee members, Stephen F. Teiser, Michael Como, and Zhaohua Yang, have also given me much help over the course of writing and provided valuable comments for revision at the defense. Buzzy Teiser's course on Buddhism and Daoism at Princeton offered a substantial basis for me to further explore my topic within the medieval context of Buddho-Daoist interaction. He was also so generously willing to share with me his manuscript on Dunhuang healing liturgy, which constitutes the grounds for my discussion of Dunhuang birth prayer in Chapter Five. Michel Como's highlighting of cross-regional perspective on Sino-Japanese religions in all of his courses and his own studies kept reminding me of the importance of situating my topic in a larger framework. Having the chance to know Zhaohua and participate in his courses during the last two years of my dissertation writing was really my great luck.