Authors:
Gang Yang Institute for Popular Chinese Culture Studies (中國俗文化研究所) of Sichuan University and Centre for Buddhist Studies at Ghent UniversityNo. 29 Wangjiang Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu 610064, P. R. Chinae-mail: Gang.Yang@ugent.be

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Christoph Anderl Ghent University, Department of Languages and Cultures Blandijnberg 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgiume-mail: Christoph.Anderl@ugent.be

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This paper explores topics and techniques of prognostication as recorded in medieval Buddhist historical literature, with an emphasis on the Gāosēng zhuàn 高僧傳 (GSZ) and Xù gāosēng zhuàn 續高僧傳 (XGSZ). The paper first provides a short survey of how prognostication is treated in Chinese Buddhist translated texts. In these ‘canonical’ sources there is clear ambiguity over the use of supernatural powers: on the one hand, such practices are criticised as non-Buddhist or even heterodox; on the other, narratives on Śākyamuni’s former and present lives as well as accounts of other buddhas, bodhisattvas, and the Buddha’s disciples abound with descriptions of their special abilities, including knowledge of the future. In contrast, the GSZ and XGSZ display a clear standpoint concerning mantic practices and include them as integral aspects of monastics’ lives. The two texts articulate that the ability to predict the future and other supernatural powers are natural by-products of spiritual progress in the Buddhist context. This paper discusses the incorporation of various aspects of the Indian and Chinese traditions in monastics’ biographies, and investigates the inclusion of revelations of future events (for example, in dreams) and mantic techniques in these texts. In addition, it traces parallels to developments in non-Buddhist literature and outlines some significant differences between the GSZ and the XGSZ.

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Editor(s)-in-Chief: Gábor KÓSA

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  • Benedek PÉRI (Eötvös Loránd University)
  • Ágnes BIRTALAN (Eötvös Loránd University)
  • Csaba DEZSŐ (Eötvös Loránd University)
  • Peter B. GOLDEN (Rutgers University)
  • Arlo GRIFFITHS (École française d'Extrême-Orient)
  • Imre HAMAR (Eötvös Loránd University)
  • Zoltán SZOMBATHY (Eötvös Loránd University)
  • István VÁSÁRY(Eötvös Loránd University)
  • Yutaka YOSHIDA (Kyoto University)
  • Peter ZIEME (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities)

 

Dr. Gábor Kósa
Editor-in-Chief
Institute of East Asian Studies
Eötvös Loránd University
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kosa.gabor@btk.elte.hu

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Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
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