The Scripture on Saving and Protecting Body and Life: An Introduction and Translation

This article introduces and translates the Scripture on Saving and Protecting Body and Life (Jiuhu shenming jing 救護身命經), a text likely composed in sixth-century China that claims to represent the words of the Buddha. The article traces the treatment of this text in Chinese catalogues, and analyzes its themes with regard to other works composed roughly contemporaneously. Particular attention is paid to notions of the “Evil Age of the Five Pollutions” (wuzhuo eshi 五濁惡世), “venomous arts” (gu dao 蠱道), “six spirits” (liu shen 六神), and to a reference to copying the text on “fine paper” (hao zhi 好紙). It shows how Chinese authors drew on indigenous techniques, cosmologies, practices, and materials to respond to threats said to face those living in an age after the Buddha’s passing. The annotated translation is based on a manuscript from Nanatsu-dera, but it refers to the Dunhuang and Fangshan shi jing editions as well