Calling Back the Soul: From Apocryphal Buddhist Sutras to Onmyōdō Rituals

Abstract

Three Japanese Buddhist scriptural manuscripts related to the practice of calling back the soul are kept in Nanatsudera, Hōbodaiin in Toji, and Kōshōji, respectively. They show complex lineage connections that have been discussed little. This paper discusses the relations between the two sutras contained in the three manuscripts, traces their respective origins, and analyzes how Japanese authors transformed the apocryphal sutras into a liturgical text. Both the Nanatsudera and the Hōbodaiin manuscripts consist of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, while the Kōshōji manuscript comprises the Duxing Sutra. All of them were classified as Buddhist apocrypha written by Chinese authors. While the two sutras share similar text structures and the use of words, their contents reveal remarkable differences. The Sutra on Calling Back the Soul focuses mainly on how to release the souls of the dead and how to prevent fulian (reconnection with the dead), while the Duxing Sutra focuses on the healing of diseases and the alleviation of disasters through the restitution of the souls of the living. The Sutra on Calling Back the Soul has exerted a long-lasting effect in Japan where it was paraphrased into a liturgical text for the removal of disasters and the prolongation of life.

1. Introduction

Among the old Japanese manuscripts of Buddhist scriptures, there are three related to the practice of calling back the soul. These are the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul招魂経, kept by Nanatsudera七寺1; the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, preserved in Hōbodaiin宝菩提院 in Toji 東寺2; and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and Preventing Fulian by Abhisheka and Duxing (Guanding Duxing Zhaohun Duanjue Fulian Jing灌頂度星招魂断絶復連経), abbreviated as Duxing Sutra (Duxing Jing度星經), preserved in Kōshōji興聖寺3. All three manuscripts were copied by hand by the Japanese, with the earliest copying date to be traced to the 4th year of Jōryaku承暦 (1080). The Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and the Duxing Sutra are also included in the catalogs of Buddhist scriptures of the Southern Dynasties (420–589) and the Sui Dynasty (581–604) and can be classified as Buddhist apocrypha written by Chinese Buddhists. The three manuscripts have similar text structures and word usages but considerably different content that belongs to two lineages; the Nanatsudera manuscript and the Hōbodaiin manuscript focus mainly on the release of the souls of the dead and the prevention of fulian復連 (reconnection with the dead), while the Kōshōji manuscript focuses on the healing of diseases and the alleviation of disasters through the restitution of the souls of living persons.

Naomi Gentetsu made a brief introduction to the Nanatsudera manuscript of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul (Makita and Ochiai 1996, vol. 2, pp. 648–54). He indicated that this sutra is a Buddhist apocrypha written by the Chinese in the late Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589). Shinichiro Masuo investigated the Nanatsudera and Hōbodaiin manuscripts of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and their spread in Japan. Masuo pointed out that the “three hun魂 (ethereal) and seven po魄 (material) souls” mentioned in the scriptures might have represented an influence from Daoism, and the liturgical text (Jp.saimon祭文) used in the Shōkonsai招魂祭 (a ritual to cure diseases and overcome disasters by calling back the soul) by the court and the noble society in the Heian period (794–1185) might have been a product developed from the Sutra. He indicated that the hun-summoning ritual (fuli復禮) practiced after death, also known as the Zhaohun招魂 ritual in the Chinese Confucian world, had rarely taken hold in Japan. Instead, the Japanese esoteric monks, of whom most belonged to Shingon Buddhism, as well as the Onmyōji陰陽師, performed Shōkonsai frequently to pray for relief from disasters and the prolongation of life when encountering weird phenomena or diseases. This distinction may have been influenced by differences in beliefs concerning the soul and the afterlife between Japan and China4 (Masuo 2017, pp. 295–331). Hideki Saitō largely inherited Masuo’s perspective regarding the difference between Chinese and Japanese views of the soul and the underworld and further emphasized that the Shōkonsai rituals were independently created by Onmyōji of Japan (Saitō 2011, pp. 265–93). Wu Xiaojie was the first to notice the Kōshōji manuscript containing the Duxing Sutra. He pointed out that this manuscript was distinctly different from the Nanatsudera and Hōbodaiin manuscripts, as the Kōshōji manuscript was used for preventing the fulian of the dead, later developed into the Retreat for Duxing (Duxingzhai度星齋). Instead, in the Kōshōji manuscript, the Duxing Sutra and the Consecration Sutra (Guanding Jing灌頂經) were copied into one document, likely to satisfy the needs of the rituals (Wu 2013, pp. 21–25; Wu 2020, pp. 353–77).

Based on the scholarship introduced above, this paper first examines the problem of the differences between the Nanatsudera manuscript, the Hōbodaiin manuscript, and the Kōshōji manuscript and traces their respective origins to analyze the reasons for these differences. It further describes the respective creation processes of the manuscripts. Second, the Shōkonsai of Onmyōdō was popular in the court and aristocratic society in the Heian period, and the liturgical text used in the ritual was considerably influenced by the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul. This paper analyzes the specific process of how this apocryphal sutra was transformed into a liturgical text in Japan and examines how the sacrificial ceremony embodies the difference between Chinese and Japanese views of the soul and the underworld by tracing the ideological origin of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul.

2. Fundamentals of the Sutra on Calling back the Soul and the Duxing Sutra

Both the internal and ending titles of the Nanatsudera manuscript are Sutra on Calling Back the Soul. According to the postscript, the manuscript might have been copied in the 3rd year of Jishō治承 (1179). The Hōbodaiin preserves an original and a duplicate manuscript. The original copy has no external title, whereas its internal title is the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and Preventing Fulian by Abhisheka and Duxing, and the ending title is the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul. The manuscript was hand-copied in the 6th year of Hōei宝永 (1709). The postscript further indicates that the original copy was hand-copied in the 4th year of Jōryaku承暦 (1080) (Masuo 2017, pp. 296–99). The internal title of the Kōshōji manuscript is Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and Preventing Fulian by Abhisheka and Duxing; it was copied into one document together with Volume 1 of the Consecration Sutra. According to the internal title and the ending title of the Hōbodaiin manuscript, the Duxing Sutra and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul seem to be the same sutra. However, the situation is more complicated if we judge from the catalogs of Chinese Buddhist scriptures.

The Duxing Sutra first appeared in the Compilation of Notes on the Translation of the Tripiṭaka (Chu Sanzang Jiji出三藏記集). The Catalog of Scriptures (Zhongjing Mulu衆經目錄) compiled by Fajing法經 in the Sui Dynasty mentioned “a book of Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and Preventing Fulian by Abhisheka and Duxing (there is a shorter one of this sutra, both are apocryphal sutras)” (T.no.2146, Taishō, vol. 55, p. 138). This shows that Fajing had seen two versions of the Duxing Sutra with different lengths and therefore called one of them the “shorter book.” The Duxing Sutra was mentioned in several later catalogs, including:

• Catalog of Scriptures of Renshou (Zhongjing Mulu衆經目錄 T.no.2147);
• Catalog of Scriptures of Jingtai (Zhongjing Mulu衆經目錄, T.no.2148);
• Catalog of Buddhist Works in the Great Tang (DaTang Neidian Lu大唐內典錄, T.no.2149);
• Catalog of Scriptures Authorized by the Great Zhou (DaZhou Kanding Zhongjing Mulu大周刊定衆經目錄, T.no.2153);
• Record of Śākyamuniʼs Teachings Compiled During the Kaiyuan period (Kaiyuan Shijiaolu開元釋教錄, T.no.2153).

Additionally, the Catalog of Scriptures penned by Fajing mentioned an apocryphal sutra titled the Sutra on Revealing the Po Souls (Zhaopo Jing照魄經). According to The Record of Śākyamuniʼs Teachings Compiled During the Kaiyuan Period, this sutra had different names in other catalogs, such as:

• Sutra on Calling Back the Soul (Zhaohun Jing招魂經) in the Catalog of Scriptures of Renshou;
• Sutra on Revealing the Po Souls (Zhaopo Jing照魄經) in the Catalog of Scriptures of Jingtai;
• Sutra on Calling Back the Hun and Po Souls (Zhao Hunpo Jing招魂魄經) in the Catalog of Buddhist Works in the Great Tang;
• Sutra on Calling Back the Po Souls (Zhaopo Jing招魄經) in the Catalog of Scriptures Authorized by the Great Zhou.

From this evidence, it can be inferred that Fajing was the first person to have seen the Duxing Sutra and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul simultaneously and that he concluded that both are apocryphal sutras. This view was adopted by Buddhist bibliographers from the Southern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty (618–907).

The records in Japan confirm that the two different sutras had been introduced to Japan separately. In the documents preserved in Shōsōin正倉院, the Catalog of Manuscripts (Jp. Shakyōmokuroku写経目録) written in the 3rd year of Tenpyō天平 (731) mentioned that the “Duxing Sutra, used 3 pieces of paper” (Dai Nihon Komonjo, vol. 7, p. 18). The Duxing Sutra mentioned here is probably an abbreviation for the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and Preventing Fulian by Abhisheka and Duxing, which took three pieces of paper to copy. That means the length of the sutra is the same as that in the existing Nanatsudera and Hōbodaiin manuscripts. The Catalog of Manuscript Repository written in Tenpyō-shōhō天平勝宝5 (753) mentioned a manuscript called Sutra on Abhisheka and Duxing, which also refers to the Duxing Sutra (Dai Nihon Komonjo, vol. 24, p. 22). The Longevity Ritual (Jp. Enmeihō 延命法) of Sho-ajari Shingon Mikkyō Burui Sōroku (諸阿闍梨真言密教部類惣録, T.no.2176), which was edited by Annen安然 in the Heian period, mentioned the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul. Considering the records of the sutra names and the fact that it was categorized as a “Longevity Ritual”, it seems to belong to the lineage of the aforementioned Sutra on Calling Back the Soul.

In terms of content, the Nanatsudera and Hōbodaiin manuscripts are very similar. Apart from tiny textual differences, the Hōbodaiin manuscript contains portions belonging to the mantras of the four heavenly kings and the kings of eight kinds of spiritual beings. The main content of the text from the Nanatsudera and Hōbodaiin lineage describes how the three hun and seven po souls of a certain Buddhist left his body and how the Buddha ordered the deities to release the hun and po souls of that Buddhist so that the life of the Buddhist could be prolonged while the hun and po souls returned to the body. These two manuscripts are very different from the Kōshōji manuscript in which “the certain Buddhist” had died of unfortunate events such as wars, attacks of beasts, imprisonment, or diseases. The Buddha ordered the deities to release the soul and senses of the Buddhist so that he could be reborn in heaven or in the ordinary world among the nobles. After that, the twenty-eight mansions and the degrees of the mansions are mentioned to “lead the dead to be released according to his star mansion”, which means to pray for the liberation of the soul according to the star mansion that the dead belong to. Finally, the sutra, through the words of the Buddha, orders the demons not to fulian (reconnect with) the living persons and not to stay in the home of the living persons.

The major difference between the two different lineages of manuscripts is that the Kōshōji manuscript aims to liberate the souls of the dead from suffering. The Nanatsudera manuscript and the Hōbodaiin manuscript aim to call the three hun and seven po souls back into the living person’s body. Despite this glaring difference between the two sutras, all the sutras are about the liberation of the hun and po souls. They have a very similar structure and word choice, which means they are not apocryphal sutras invented separately. The relationship between the two sutras will be discussed further later in this article.

Based on information from scripture catalogs and the content of the sutras, it can be inferred that the Kōshōji manuscript of the Duxing Sutra is likely the apocryphal version of the same title found in the Compilation of Notes on the Translation of the Tripiṭaka. Additionally, it appears to be the same sutra found in the Shōsōin Repository, which serves the purpose of guiding the dead to a favorable destination. Due to its connection with the Consecration Sutra, it was likely copied alongside it in the Kōshōji manuscript (Wu 2013, pp. 21–25). The Nanatsudera and Hōbodaiin manuscripts of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul might be the Sutra on Revealing the Po Souls seen by Fajing. The sutra is also known as the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, Sutra on Calling Back the Hun and Po Souls, and Sutra on Calling Back the Po Souls. The Sutra on Calling Back the Soul focuses on calling back a living person’s soul that has left the body and has been captured and praying for the prolongation of life. Therefore, when An’nen compiled the esoteric sutras of the eight Japanese monks who visited China in the Tang Dynasty, he categorized the sutra into the Longevity Ritual section. For the Hōbodaiin manuscript, the internal title is Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and Preventing Fulian by Abhisheka and Duxing. Still, the ending title was Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, which might be a short form, while another possible reason for the difference is that the copyist was not aware that the Buddhist scripture catalogs of China distinguished between the two. However, considering its content, it should belong to the lineage of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul.

In terms of the relationship between the two sutras, they share an interrelated internal logic even though they focus, respectively, on the salvation of the soul of a dead person and the retrieval of the soul of a living person. Both sutras have considerable practical applicability; their main purpose is to eliminate diseases and disasters. However, there are differences in methods of preventing diseases and disasters. Following the description in the scriptures and relevant literature, this article refers to the two methods as “liberation of the soul” and “restitution of the soul”, respectively. By tracing the origins of these two different ways of deliverance from adversity, the following sections explore why the two sutras with the same purpose and a common original text evolved into different versions.

3. Liberation of the Soul: The Duxing Sutra and Its Origins

The Duxing Sutra aims to relieve the living from diseases and disasters by liberating the soul of the dead. The sutra mentions the preparation of coffins and garments as offerings to free the souls of the deceased so that they can be reborn in heaven and/or in the ordinary world among the nobles. This kind of thinking can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220), and its basic logic is shown in the title of the sutra, which can be expressed as “preventing reconnection with the dead” (duanjue fulian斷絕復連).

The term fulian is commonly found in funerary texts that include grave-quelling materials and tomb contracts.5 Jao Tsung-I believed that the word “fulian” had a similar meaning to juxiao拘校, chongfu 重復, and zhulian 注連 as well as “the miasmic irruption between the dead and the living peoples in their days of existing in the destiny registers” (Jao 1998, p. 16). Chen Hao pointed out that these words have similar meanings but have different emphases6 (Chen 2020, pp. 198–200). Fulian refers to a series of negative effects the dead may have on the living. “Preventing fulian” was one of the important purposes for these objects to be buried in the tomb, praying that the dead would not pass disease and bad luck to the living. Therefore, the funerary texts emphasize that “life and death are different spheres”, that is, the dead and the living should be separated and should not disturb each other. In addition to “fulian”, “zhu” 注 (miasma) is also a concept that often appears in the funerary texts. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, “zhu” was referred to as an infectious disease (Shiming 2016, p. 116). At this time, the mentioning of zhu in funerary texts may be related to the social background of frequent diseases and epidemics. Later, in the Jin Dynasty (317–420) and the Sixteen Kingdoms period (303–439), “zhu” occupied a significant position in the funerary texts in Dunhuang. At the same time, the meaning of “disease” weakened, and it gradually became a general term for bad luck or disasters (Chen 2020, pp. 198–200). Death is the root cause of “fulian” and “zhu.” Clients who order such funerary texts are believed to be the relatives or descendants of the ones buried in the tombs. They were especially wary of the harm that the dead might bring, and this general fear of the dead is considered by some scholars to have been an anxiety prevalent in society at this time (Bokenkamp 2007, pp. 18–19). People buried these funerary texts with the dead to prevent the dead from bringing harm. According to the records in the text, they might bury five stones, ginseng, and figurines of human shape to prevent the disasters that the dead may bring, or ask the deities in charge of the underground world to order the dead to bear their sins and disasters by themselves, without affecting the living.

Celestial Masters Daoism (Tianshidao天師道) inherited the theories of “fulian” and “zhu” in the funerary texts and provided different solutions. The Daoist priests of the way of the Celestial Masters use the ritual of petitions (Shangzhang上章) to eliminate the diseases and disasters brought by the dead. The dead here especially refer to the deceased ancestors. The concept that the sins of deceased ancestors will spread within the family through blood relationship, which is called chengfu 承負 (inherited burden), had already existed in the early Daoist classic Scriptures of the Great Peace (Taiping Jing太平經) (Strickmann 2002, pp. 39–40). When solving the problem of “fulian” and “zhu” brought by the ancestors, the approach of the religious sect was different from that of the funerary texts, which took the complete separation of the dead and the living as the goal. The petition ritual of the Celestial Masters shows the effort made for salvation, hoping to save the dead through worship and send them to a good place (Cedzich 1993, pp. 32–33). Celestial Masters Daoism began to pay attention to the death journey of the deceased in the underground world (Lai 2003, pp. 21–22), which is also reflected in the tomb contracts of Daoist believers.7

Celestial Masters Daoism saves the dead through the petition rituals, which attempt to clear the path of obstruction for the souls of the dead. In the earlier days of the Way of the Heavenly Masters, there were few ritual petitions used by Daoist priests which have been passed down, mainly concentrated in the two books, Master Red Pine’s Petition Almanac (Chisongzi Zhangli赤松子章曆) and Most High Spreading Benevolence and Fostering Conversion(Taishang Xuanci Zhuhuazhang太上宣慈助化章). The Master Red Pine’s Petition Almanac contains various petitions that aim to clear the path for the deceased and promote the deceased to relieve diseases and disasters encountered by Daoist believers. These petitions include:

• Petition for Announcing Repentance in View of Personal Destiny (本命謝過口啟章);
• Petition for Propitiating Five Tombs (謝五墓章);
• Petition for Deceased Ancestors (謝先亡章);
• Petition for Preventing Reconnection with the Dead (斷亡人復連章);
• Petition to Deceased Ancestors in View of Diseases (疾病謝先亡章);
• Petition for Clearing the Path of Obstruction (開通道路章);
• The Great Petition for Sepulchral Plaints (大冢訟章);
• Petition for Announcing Repentance and Atonement for the Dead to Avoid Punishment (爲亡人首悔贖罪解謫章);
• Petition for Selling the Clothes of the Dead for the Avoidance of Punishment and Promotion (賣亡人衣物解罪謫遷達章);
• Petition to Clear the Path for the Promotion of the Newly Deceased with Eliminating Tuyang (power of the dead that may harm the living) and Preventing Fulian (新亡遷達開通道路收除土殃斷絕復連章).

The reason these petitions are offered to Heaven is that often Daoist believers encounter illnesses and disasters and hope to use the petition ritual to solve such problems. Especially in the case of problems in life such as illnesses, disasters, unstable emotions, frequent nightmares, or dreams of the ancestors, many Daoist believers often attribute such problems to the influence of deceased ancestors, either based on their own guesses or the results of divination. Deceased ancestors may fulian (reconnect with) the living if they are disturbed by their crimes committed before their deaths, unnatural causes of their deaths, or problems in constructing their tombs. When the living offend the ancestors or offer them bad food during rituals, the deceased may also harm the living. This can be summarized as “sepulchral plaints” (zhongsong 冢訟).8 Daoist believers will solve these problems by asking Daoist priests to perform rituals of petitions, in which the petitions focus on releasing and thanking the deceased, relocating the souls of the deceased, preventing fulian, and praying for their relief from disasters, the prosperity of the family, and the safety and stability of their homes. Some believers present such petitions to heaven soon after their family members die.

Also noteworthy is the content of duxing and the twenty-eight mansions in the sutras. The Duxing Sutra lists the degrees of the twenty-eight mansions and mentions that “the dead can be led to liberation through the stars.” Here, “led to liberation through” the stars may be related to Duxing. In the Book of the Hymnal Rules of Lord Lao (Laojun Yinsong Jiejing老君音誦戒經), Kou Qianzhi寇謙之 mentioned the Petition for Duxing (Duxing Zhang度星章). Although the text of Petition for Duxing has not survived, according to Kou Qianzhi, the petition is used to “promote the deceased” (Daozang, vol. 18, p. 213). The Oral Petition for the Healing of Diseases (Zhibing Kouzhang治病口章) constructed during the Six Dynasties (222–589) has content more similar to the description relevant to the twenty-eight mansions in the Duxing Sutra. The Oral Petition for the Healing of Diseases is a petition presented to heaven for Daoist believers who are dying of diseases. The petition mentions that through divination it was found that Daoist believers might have gotten the disease because of their deceased ancestors. The ancestors either suffered from a curse, did evil things before they died, or died tragically. The way to solve this kind of problem is to invite soldiers from the twenty-eight mansions, remove the sins committed by the previous generations, and promote the dead who are trapped in “three paths and eight difficulties” (santu banan三塗八難) to prevent fulian. Each dead person belongs to a determinative star within the twenty-eight mansions, and the soldiers of each star are responsible for removing the sins of the dead who belong to their stars (Daozang, dz129, vol. 32, pp. 719–31). In the Sequence of Presenting Petitions for Diseases (Jibing Qingzhang Cidi疾病請章次第)9 of the Code of the Highest Perfected (Taizhenke太真科),10 cited in Master Red Pine’s Petition Almanac and the Summary of Important Ceremonies, Rules, and Codices to be Practiced (Yaoxiu Keyi Jielüchao要修科儀戒律抄), it can also be seen that the twenty-eight mansions are related to resolving the fulian of the deceased. The Pearlbag of the Three Caverns (Sandong Zhunang三洞珠囊), a Daoist encyclopedia from the Tang Dynasty, preserves the lost texts of Offering for Propitiating Five Tombs (Xiewumu Jiaoyi謝五墓醮儀) and the Scripture of Duxing (Duxing Jing度星經), which point out that the twenty-eight mansions can resolve the curse and fulian brought by the deceased. Among them, the Offering for Propitiating Five Tombs mentions that the twenty-eight mansions could resolve a curse that have been affecting the family for up to forty-sixth generations. In contrast, the Scripture of Duxing mentions the courtesy names of the twenty-eight mansions, pointing out that the twenty-eight mansions can send away the dead and prevent the dead from fulian the younger generations. (Daozang, Dz1139, vol. 25, p. 38). The text implies that Wang Xuanhe王懸河, the editor of the Pearlbag of the Three Caverns, once saw a Daoist classic called the Scripture of Duxing. Although we cannot be certain about the details of this classic, it is believed to include content about how the twenty-eight mansions send away the dead and prevent fulian. In contrast, in the knowledge system of Daoism, the twenty-eight mansions have the function of resolving fulian.

The concept of preventing fulian in the Duxing Sutra can be traced back to funerary texts as old as the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, the funerary texts of the earlier days mainly emphasized the complete separation of the dead and the living. The Celestial Masters Daoism inherited the theories of fulian and zhu in the grave-quelling materials and the tomb contracts. However, contrary to the traditions that took the complete separation of the dead and the living as the goal, the Way of the Celestial Masters also attempts to save and send the dead away to a good place as well as liberate the soul of the dead through worship and chanting. The immediate purpose of these petitions, which are offered to heaven, is usually to free Daoist believers from disease or disaster. At the same time, although there is not even one complete surviving classic regarding the method of duxing in the Daoist scriptures, scattered records mention that duxing is related to sending away the dead to a good place and can resolve fulian. In the Daoist belief in the stars from the same era, we can also see the relationship between the twenty-eight mansions and the passing of the dead and the prevention of fulian. From this, it can be inferred that the Duxing Sutra is a product that was directly affected by the related concepts in Daoism after undergoing an initial Buddhist transformation. The ideological background and type of technique reflected by the sutra are probably closely related to the Petition for Duxing and the Scripture of Duxing of Daoism.

4. Restitution of the Soul: The Sutra on Calling back the Soul and Its Origins

Although the main content of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul also concerns calling back the soul, it has a completely different ideological background. The sutra describes that the soul of a living person can leave the body, which leads to diseases and catastrophes. The soul leaves the body due to the influence of zhu by demons or fulian and is then trapped in stars, including the Sun (Taiyang太陽), the Moon (Taiyin太陰), Venus (Dajiangjun大將軍), the North Star (Beichen北辰), and the Southern Dipper (Nandou南斗). Through the methods recommended in the sutra, such as worship, incense, and the chanting of sutras, the three hun and seven po souls can be recalled into the body, solving various problems caused by the soul’s departure from the body and prolonging life. The sutra does not mention the condition of these Buddhists who lost their souls, but it can be speculated that this “disaster of stars” (xingzai 星災) should have brought some disaster or dangerous disease.

The subtle textual differences between the two sutras merit close attention. Despite the reduction of content, there remains a substantial textual congruence between them, suggesting a shared textual origin. However, it is important to note that the differences in calling back the soul are primarily revealed through certain textual details. For instance, in the Duxing Sutra, the phrase “release the soul of a certain disciple” is used, whereas in the Sutra on Calling Back the soul, it is replaced with “release the three hun and seven po souls of my disciples and return them to their bodies.” This alteration fundamentally transforms the meaning of the entire sutra. The consistent and deliberate nature of the rewriting process is evident in the fact that such modifications were made uniformly throughout the text by the rewriters.

The Duxing Sutra explicitly designates its affiliation with the Duxing lineage, which consists of the Petition for Duxing and the Scripture of Duxing. In contrast, the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul does not provide any indication of its origin or tradition. Nevertheless, an examination of Daoist scriptures demonstrates that the concept of calling back the souls of the living to cure illness, as presented in the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, can also be found in Daoist scriptures.

The abovementioned Sequence of Presenting Petitions for Diseases, a part of the classic Daoist Code of the Highest Perfected, instructs the Daoist priest to present a petition for the soul’s return at a certain stage. The Sequence of Presenting Petitions for Diseases lists the sequence according to which the petitions should be presented for different illnesses. If the previous petition has no effect, a new one must be presented. The order of presenting the petitions is as follows:

The Plaint Petition首狀章, Petition for Acquittal解考章, Petition for Acquittal from Indictments against Deceased Ancestors解先亡罪謫章, Petition for Transfer遷達章, Petition for Capturing and Killing the zhu Demon卻殺收注鬼章, Petition for Release from Misfortune and Evil解禍厄章, Petition for Release from Indictments of Five Tombs解五墓謫章, Petition for Sustaining Frailty and Traversing Calamity扶衰度厄章, Petition for the Return of the Hun Souls and the Restitution of the Po Souls還魂復魄章, Petition for Settling Tombs and Delivery from Strife Due to the Five Soils安墓解五土耗害章, Petition for Pacifying the Home, Stabilizing Spitits and Eliminating Demons安宅鎮神驅除收鬼章, Petition for Resolving Major Inquests Within and Without分解中外大考章, Petition for Making a Request for Life and Dispelling the Fatal Acquittal of the Three Officials子午请命并卻三官死解章, Petition for Thanking the Thirty-Two Heavens仰謝三十二天章, and Petition for Resolving the Eighty-One Litigation of the Great Zhu of the Deceased分解先亡大注八十一章.11

The Sequence of Presenting Petitions for Diseases outlines a specific order for presenting petitions for illness, with each petition serving a particular purpose. The cause of the disease will first be attributed to fulian. Therefore, the petitions for releasing the deceased, as well as capturing and killing the ghost that causes zhu, are first presented for the performance of the relevant rituals. If the illness cannot be healed through these petitions, the Sequence of Presenting Petitions for Diseases suggests attempting to call back the soul of the patient using the Petition for the Return of the Hun Souls and the Restitution of the Po Souls, but it should be noted that there is no complete surviving manuscript of this petition. However, the Gold and Purple Effigy Petition for Severe Distress and Chronic Disease久病大厄金紫代形章 of Master Red Pine’s Petition Almanac retains similar content about calling back the soul to the body to address disasters and cure diseases. The petition aimed at calling the person’s soul back to the body, asking the deities to remove the name of the person from the death register and write the name in the life register, so that the person’s life can be prolonged. The Most High Spreading Benevolence and Fostering Conversion, which was edited by the late Tang and Five Dynasties (907–960) Daoist priest Du Guangting based on the Spreading Benevolence Petition (Xuancizhang宣慈章), collected by Mr. Yu of the Tang Dynasty (Daozang, dz617, vol. 30, p. 145), contains a series of petitions attributing the diseases and disasters encountered by the person to the fact that the soul left the body and was imprisoned in various places, including the Bureau of Heaven, twenty-eight mansions and other stars, the Taishan twenty-four prisons, and the prison of a hundred demons. These petitions include:

• Petition for Rescuing Emergency救疾解計章;
• Petition by Lady Wei of Nanyue for Extending the Life and Relieving Disasters南嶽魏夫人生筭度厄章;
• Petition by a Daoist Master for the Deposition of an Autograph Confession to the Three Officials道士天地水三官手書箓狀章;
• Superior Petition for Making a Request for Extending the Life to the Great Supervision元皇上品六合生筭章;
• Petition for Making a Request for Life to the Three Heaven三天請命章.

In the petitions, the corresponding deities are asked to release the three hun and the seven po souls so that they can return to the body. Also, the deities are asked to remove the person’s name from the death register and write it in the life register so that the person’s life can be prolonged. Among the petitions, Wei Huacun魏華存, the Lady Wei mentioned in Petition by Lady Wei of Nanyue for Extending the Life and Relieving Disasters, once served as a leading priest of the Way of the Celestial Masters and provided important sources for the compilation of early Shangqing School classics after she moved to the south. The Autograph Confessions to the Three Officials (Sanguanshoushu三官手書) is an ancient healing text mentioned in the earliest records of the Way of the Celestial Masters, but has rarely appeared since the Eastern Jin Dynasty (Lai 2002, pp. 16–17). While it is not possible to definitively confirm that the petitions gathered by Du Guangting originated solely in the Six Dynasties, there are indications that these petitions maintain many of the fundamental characteristics of the petitions found in the early Celestial Masters’ system. It can be inferred that the Petition for the Return of the Hun Souls and the Restitution of the Po Souls mentioned in the Code of the Highest Perfected is a petition constructed based on the basis of this theory, while the idea of curing diseases by calling back souls of the living in the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul originated from this.

Most of the petitions mentioned above referred to the need to “remove the name from the death register and write the name in the life register”, or have similar meanings. The concept of ji 籍 (register) had already appeared in the funerary texts of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the living and the dead are recorded in the respective registers.12 Ji was also an important concept in early Daoism, having both secular and religious meanings. In terms of secularity, ji was the equivalent of the household registration in the early Way of the Celestial Masters organization, which allowed governance to understand the population in the religious districts and collect “heavenly rent” (Tianzu天租). In the religious sense, it referred to the household registration and records stored in the divine world in the Daoist belief system. It is the basis for Daoists’ salvation after death.13 A similar concept is also found in the Way of Great Peace, another sect of Daoism. The Scripture on Great Peace, the classic of the sect, mentioned deities that were responsible for the destiny registers. They were responsible for monitoring people’s behavior in the world and increasing or decreasing their years of life according to the situation,14 while the sun, moon, and stars had similar functions. Therefore, the Scripture on Great Peace mentioned that “the register is controlled by the stars, while the life is controlled by the Bureau of Heaven (籍系星宿,命在天曹)” (Taipingjing Hejiao 1960, p. 549). It also mentioned that “therefore, there are sayings that the sun, moon, and stars, the five elements and four seasons all control destinies, the good ones increase, and the evil ones recede (故言四時五姓日月星宿皆持命,善者增加,惡者退去)” (Taipingjing Hejiao 1960, p. 552), which explained the concept that the four seasons; five elements; and sun, moon, and stars were all related to how long people can live.15 The Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and the Duxing Sutra do not directly mention the details related to the destiny registers. The places where the souls of the dead and the living are imprisoned: the Sun, the Moon, Venus, the North Star, and the Southern Dipper, as well as the deities from whom the sutras ask for help to liberate the souls: the Controllers of Fate (Siming司命), twelve lunar counter-stars (Shier Yuejian十二月建), Merit Officers (Gongcao功曹), and the four seasons (Sishi四時) all have the function of controlling the destiny registers, while the twenty-eight mansions here also play the role of liberating the souls of the living/dead.

According to the above analysis, the concept of calling back the souls of the living, as described in the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, can be traced back to a distinct origin and attained a significant level of development during the Six Dynasties period. Still, the relationship of this idea with duxing has not been mentioned frequently in Daoist classics. As pointed out above, Kou Qianzhi of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534) had already mentioned the usage of the duxing ritual and the Petition for Duxing in the “promotion of the dead” to clear the path for the soul of the dead. The Scripture of Duxing cited by the Pearlbag of the Three Caverns of the Tang Dynasty mentioned that the twenty-eight mansions had the functions of sending away the dead and preventing fulian, but the specific nature of this scripture is unknown. Two sets of sources from later periods, that is, the Golden Book of Salvation According to the Lingbao Tradition (Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu靈寶領教濟度金書) written by Lin Lingzhen林靈真 during the end of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) and the Writs of Pardon and Memorials from the Book of Salvation of the Most High (Taishang Jidu Zhangshe太上濟度章赦), which is related to the previously mentioned book and whose author is unknown, mentioned a kind of duxing retreat ritual, which was also centered around preventing fulian. From the early Southern and Northern Dynasties to the period when the Song and Yuan regimes coexisted, duxing had been used to send away the dead rather than for the restitution of souls.

An observation can be made that the concept of restoring the soul in the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and the notion of liberating the soul of the deceased to prevent fulian as mentioned in the Duxing Sutra represent two distinct lineages in Daoism with relatively independent developments. The concept of liberating the souls of the deceased has a long-standing tradition in Daoism and was widely popular. The Duxing Sutra is therefore considered part of the Duxing lineage. In contrast, the idea of restoring the souls of the living, which serves as the basis for the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, has not developed a similar lineage. Most of the petitions mentioned above consider this concept to be a supplementary element of the ritual rather than its main objective. Notably, both the Duxing Sutra and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul contain a significant passage listing the twenty-eight mansions, indicating that both sutras focus on the twenty-eight mansions as the primary object of prayer for achieving liberation. This section of the sutras is likely derived from the Duxing lineage, as demonstrated by the Petition for Duxing mentioned by Kou Qianzhi and the Scripture of Duxing cited in the Pearlbag of the Three Caverns. It can be inferred that the text before the division of the two apocrypha was more similar to the Duxing Sutra and belonged to the Duxing lineage, potentially based on the Petition for Duxing or the Scripture of Duxing of Daoism. Furthermore, the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul is a newly rewritten text based on this apocryphal sutra and incorporates the idea of restoring the souls of the living.

A corroborating detail for determining the sequence of the Duxing Sutra and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul is the use of very similar expressions in the preface sections of both sutras to explain why the Buddha preached the teachings. The Duxing Sutra states that “all sentient beings in the world die at different ends”(天下衆生人民死非一端), with the objective being to save beings who have experienced non-natural deaths, such as those killed by war, predators, and torture, and whose hun and po souls suffer after death. In contrast, the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul alters this expression by replacing it with “people who are missing the three hun and seven po souls”(三魂七魄或不見者) to introduce a new theme. However, descriptions of disciples who have become ghosts due to death by wars, tigers and wolves, torture devices, five poisons, and disease remain present in the text. Significantly, throughout the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, the focus of salvation is on the living who have lost their souls. It is the incompletely revised aspect that serves as a crucial point of reference for determining the sequence of the two sutras.

5. From the Duxing Sutra to the Sutra on Calling back the Soul

Based on this analysis of the different interpretations of calling back the soul in the Duxing Sutra and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, the following conclusions can be drawn. First, the two texts were developed from the same text of an apocryphal sutra, and the differences between the texts appeared after rewriting. Second, the key difference between the two texts is that the Duxing Sutra aims to liberate the souls of the dead, while Sutra on Calling Back the Soul aims to call back the souls of the living that have left the body. Both sutras are related to the soul, and their origins are closely related to the local thinking of China. However, research on Daoist classics reveals no evidence of confusion between the two. For a long time, they developed in parallel as two ways of Daoism to alleviate calamities and cure diseases. Third, the common original text of the Duxing Sutra and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul may be a rewritten version of the Petition for Duxing or Scripture of Duxing of Daoism whose initial goal was to “prevent fulian and send away the deceased” and to liberate the soul of the dead to ensure that the living were not disturbed. Its initial form might have been similar to the extant Duxing Sutra. Later rewriters introduced the idea of liberating the souls of the living and combined duxing with the calling back of the souls of the living to form a new text.

An important precondition for the introduction of the practices of recalling the soul into the two apocryphal sutras was Buddhism’s long-term acceptance and integration of Chinese local soul thought. The dualism of souls—known as hun and po—has long been mainstream, but in recent years several studies have suggested that the impact of the dualism of souls belongs to the realm of scholasticism rather than general beliefs on death. In her study of funerary texts, Anna Seidel pointed out that the dualism of souls, which states that the hun ascends to heaven and the po descends to the earth, was not as widespread as earlier studies had argued.16 Muchou Poo pointed out that the difference between hun and po in the concept of Confucian scholars was very vague in the minds of ordinary people (Poo 1993, p. 216). Ken Brashier held that the dualism existed mainly in the concept of elite scholars, while in the medical literature, the departure of hun and po may lead to disease rather than death. Corresponding to the hunpo buried in the tomb is the shen神(spirits), which enjoy offerings in an ancestral shrine. In many cases, hun and po are still considered the same kind of spiritual existence (Brashier 1996, pp. 125–58). Compared to the dualism of souls, the unitary concept of hunpo would be more consistent with the relevant concepts in Buddhism, especially for concepts such as Shenshi神識 (spiritual consciousness). As Yuetkeung Lo pointed out, after Buddhism was introduced to China, the word Vijñāna, which was initially translated as Shi識 (consciousness), was further “wrongly” translated as Shenshi神識 and Shen神 (spirit), which is subject to rebirth and retribution in a new body (Lo 2008, pp. 50–52). Thus, as far as the Six Dynasties period is concerned, the concept of Hunpo can hardly be considered an inherent concept of Buddhism, but it is nevertheless an idea that was familiar to the Buddhists at that time, and they generally agreed with it.17 This understanding provides the ideological basis for the formation of the Duxing Sutra and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul. These apocrypha sutras are an important part of Buddhism’s absorption and transformation of the hunpo concept.

However, when trying to absorb Daoism’s methods of curing diseases and relieving disasters, the authors of Buddhist apocrypha also had to consider its coordination with Buddhism. The Duxing Sutra focuses on clearing the path for the souls of the dead and liberating the souls, which are concepts directly derived from Daoism’s Petition for Duxing and the Scripture of Duxing. Although the Daoist concepts were accepted by the author of the Duxing Sutra, it seems that there are still many problems remaining. The concept of imprisoning the soul of the dead contradicts the Buddhist concept of reincarnation. Also, the concept of how the dead fulian the living had been very popular since the Eastern Han Dynasty, but it is hardly found in the Buddhist apocrypha, which may also indicate that it is a concept hard to incorporate into the Buddhist system under the circumstances at that time. These questions might have motivated some to rewrite the Duxing Sutra. However, the rewriters did not choose to find alternative methods or techniques from the Buddhist tradition. Still, they returned to the local tool library, looking for elements that were more suitable for their needs and adding them to the text of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul.

A similar approach can also be found in another piece of Buddhist apocrypha, the Sutra on Judgment of Merits or Demerits of the Six Dynasties period. The Sutra on Judgment of Merits or Demerits (Jue Zuifu Jing決罪福經) was first seen in the Compilation of Notes on the Translation of the Tripiṭaka (Chusanzangji Ji 1995, p. 224). In his work Supplement to the Memoir of Eminent Monks (Xu Gaoseng Zhuan續高僧傳), Daoxuan道宣 criticized the practice of placing the Sutra on Judgment of Merits or Demerits alongside concepts of duxing, anzhai 安宅 (pacifying homes), zhancha 占察 (divination), and toulun 投輪 (spinning tops), which had “dubious origins” (Xu Gaoseng Zhuan 2014, p. 1233), but this indicates that this sutra was still influential in the Tang Dynasty. In a passage of the sutra, it is mentioned that if the believers strive to build temples and perform various meritorious deeds, and their intentions are known to the deities, the deities would also remove the names of the believers from the death register and write the names in the life register, liberating their souls and freeing them from calamities and diseases.18 Here, the record of “having one’s name removed from the death register and written in the life register” also appears. Although the wordings were not explicitly mentioned in the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, as the core of the sutra, the twenty-eight mansions are traditionally considered to be important heavenly officials in charge of the destiny register. The existence of the Sutra on Judgment of Merits or Demerits shows that the integrated concept advocated by the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul was not exceptionally special in Buddhism during the Six Dynasties. The efforts of rewriting the apocrypha were not completely ignored; the compilers of the scripture catalogs noticed the difference and recorded the two sutras respectively.

In addition, a section at the end of the Kōshōji manuscript is unique and cannot be found in other texts. It mentions calling back souls by lighting lamps. In detail, it requires setting up a total of eight lamps in the four directions and another lamp in the center. The practice of using twenty-eight mansion lamps was first seen in the Bamboo Text on the Gold Register of the Gold Register (Shangyuan Jinlu Jianwen上元金箓簡文), which is no longer extant. Scholars have edited and restored the section entitled “Solemn Rites of Lighting Lamps” (Randeng Weiyi燃燈威儀) based on the citations from the Liturgical Manual for the Yellow Register Retreat compiled by Du Guangting. The text mentions that one should “light twenty-eight lamps to illuminate the twenty-eight mansions” whose function is to “remove the name of the one who makes the offerings from the death register and write the name on the life register” (Dazang, Dz507, vol. 9, p. 369).19 The Scripture of the Most High Zhengyi Ritual Canon (Taishang Zhengyi Fawen Jing太上正一法文經), constructed in the late Southern and Northern Dynasties also mentions the method of lighting lamps. It mentions burning twenty-eight lamps on the first day or the fifteenth day of a month to “remove the name from the death register and write the name on the life register, to prolong life” (Daozang, Dz1204, vol. 28, p. 412). The Golden Book of Salvation According to the Lingbao Tradition mentioned previously instructs the reader to use the twenty-eight mansion lamps in the Duxing retreat, with more lamps lighted. In the past, twenty-eight lamps were lit to correspond to the twenty-eight mansions, while this book instructs lighting one lamp for each of the stars belonging to the twenty-eight mansions (for the duxing ritual and the use of lamps in the Golden Book of Salvation According to the Lingbao Tradition, see Wu 2020, pp. 363–65). From the changes in the lamp rituals, it appears that the functions of the twenty-eight mansions as deities are not limited to one aspect, and the rewriters of the apocrypha may have reformulated the content based on this fact. Afterwards, the Sinicized apocrypha of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul was introduced and accepted in Japan, and the theme of recalling the soul changed with the participation of Japanese esoteric monks and Onmyōji.

6. The Shōkonsai in Esoteric Buddhism and Onmyōdō of Japan

Masuo and Saitō compared the manuscripts of Nanatsudera and Hōbodaiin, the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, with the liturgical text of Shōkonsai mentioned in the Saimon Burui祭文部類 (Collection of Liturgical Texts) in the Documents of the Wakasugi 若杉Family in Japan. They pointed out that a part of the liturgical text of the Shōkonsai was the same as that of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul (Masuo 2017, pp. 322–24; Saitō 2011, pp. 285–88). The Documents of the Wakasugi Family was a set of documents formerly kept by the steward of the Tsuchimikado土御門 family who served as the head of the Onmyōryō陰陽寮20. The Documents of the Wakasugi Family mainly contain Onmyōdō documents that were either left behind by the Tsuchimikado family when they moved to Tokyo with Emperor Meiji (Jp.Meijitennō明治天皇) or that were originally kept by the Wakasugi family.21 The Saimon Burui is a collection of 14 kinds of Onmyōdō liturgical texts from the 16th century, most of which were copied in the 11th year of Tenshō天正 (1583),22 while the liturgical text of Shōkonsai was used in the 2nd year of Kōji弘治 (1556). The Abe family has played a significant role in Onmyōdō since the Heian period, and the teachings of Onmyōdō were passed down as the family’s heritage23. In the Muromachi室町 period, they started to use “Tsuchimikado” as the family name. The content relevant to Onmyōdō in the Documents of the Wakasugi Family had been inherited in an orderly form within the closed settings of the family, and so the early versions of the text were retained to a considerable extent.

Since the Heian period, Shōkonsai has been frequently recorded in the diaries of the nobles and monks. The earliest records can be traced back to the 2nd year of Eien永延 (988) (Shōyūki, vol. 9, p. 242), but only accounts of the ritual exist, and the details are unknown24. After that, Fujiwara Sanesuke 藤原実資 (957–1046) described his daughter’s illness in the few days before her death during the 7th month in the first year of Shōryaku正暦 (990): On the 4th of the 7th month, his daughter fell ill, and on the 5th, she had a fever due to dysentery and fell into a coma. On the 7th, monks Chōnen奝然 and Kakuen覚縁 came to pray for blessings and ordered monks to chant a thousand volumes of the Diamond Sutra (Jp. Kongōkyō金剛経) and worship the Yama (Jp. Enmaten炎摩天) while the Onmyōji performed a Shōkonsai. On the 11th, Sunesuke’s daughter died. The Shōkonsai performed at that time should have had a similar effect to chanting the Diamond Sutra and worshipping the Yama, which is to cure the disease (Shōyūki, vol. 1, pp. 223–25). Another interesting case is that which occurred on the 8th day of the fifth month in Manju 2 (1025). After the death of Fujiwara Kishi藤原嬉子, a queen, the Onmyōji Nakahara Tsunemori中原恒盛, brought the dead man’s clothes to the roof to perform a ritual called tamayobi魂呼び25. However, nobles, including the Onmyōji, thought that this was a ritual that “had not been heard of in the recent era.” As a result, they consulted Kiyohara Yoritaka清原賴隆, an expert in Confucian classics, who pointed out that the ritual was well-documented in the classics. Specifically, the ritual involves climbing from the east eaves to the top of the roof while holding the deceased’s clothes, facing north, calling out the deceased’s name, and descending from the northwest of the roof. The material cited by Kiyohara Yoritaka is likely related to the hun-summoning ritual in Yili儀禮. (Shōyūki, vol. 7, p. 116; Sakeiki, p. 152). Masuo and Saitō also noticed this record, which shows that except for the experts in Confucian classics, Japanese nobles at that time had very little knowledge of the hun-summoning ritual. Up to the Kamakura鎌倉 period (1185–1333), there were about 15 instances in the historical records of Shōkonsai being held26. In the entries with details, the reasons for performing the rituals were mostly diseases and hikarimono光物. This refers to things that emit light in an unusual way, such as will-o’-wisps, ghosts, and human souls. Therefore, Shōkonsai has been held in Japan since the Heian period when rituals were mainly offered to treat illnesses or remove misfortunes such as hikarimono and had nothing to do with the Confucian hun-summoning ritual.

Also, in the Documents of the Wakasugi Family, in the Bunkanshō文肝抄, which recorded the process and offerings used in the Onmyōdō rituals, there is a section titled “Shōkonsai.” The Bunkanshō records that Shōkonsai were usually held when encountering diseases, disasters, and hikarimono, and that the rituals were performed facing north. The spell used in the Shōkonsai includes “three hun and seven po souls: Sōrei突靈, Shōkō昭光, Yūsei幽成, Sekishi尺尸, Sakuin作陰, Kōzoku项賊, Hidoku非毒, Joe除穢, Shufutsu就拂, all come back here.”27 Five seats for the deities were set, fish dishes (Jp.gyomi 魚味) were used for offerings, and five banners were used in the ritual. The phrase “three hun and seven po souls” can be traced back to The inner chapters of the Master Who Embraces Simplicity (Baopuzi Neipian 抱朴子内篇) (See Baopuzi Neipian Jiaoshi 1985, p. 326.), and the earliest record of the respective names is in the Formula for the Practice of Purple Text (Ziwen Xingshi Jue紫文行事決) of the Dunhuang manuscripts.28 According to the more-recognized records in Daoist scriptures, Sōrei should be Shuangling爽靈 (Jp. sōrei), Shōkō should be Taiguang胎光 (Jp. taikō), Yūsei should be Youjing幽精 (Jp. yūsei), Sekishi should be Shigou尸狗 (Jp. shiku), Sakuin should be Queyin雀陰 (Jp. shakuin), Kōzoku should be Tunzei吞賊(Jp. donzoku), and Shufutsu should be Choufei臭肺 (Jp. shuhai). Many words in the Bunkanshō that were adopted based on pronunciation may be traces of oral transmission left in the text.29

The liturgical text of the shōkonsai ritual, as recorded in the Saimon Burui, expresses the desire for the return of lost souls due to various factors such as wars, attacks, raids by thieves, long journeys, carriage accidents, harassment by evil spirits, resentment of the dead, spirits of the deceased, and strange dreams. The text prays to the five emperors of five directions to release the souls trapped in the Sun, the Moon, Venus, the Northern Dipper (Beidou北斗), or the Southern Dipper and bring them back. It should be noted that while the liturgical text simplifies the reasons for the loss of the soul, the place where the three hun and seven po souls are trapped, and the deities prayed for, they still bear a striking resemblance to those in the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul. Although the liturgical text has removed obvious Buddhist elements, it is undoubtedly influenced to a considerable extent by the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul. The concluding statement of the liturgical text states that this ritual aims to “ refer to the old styles of Song Yu, to construct a new ritual for calling back the soul(尋彼宋玉之遺風、将致招魂之新禮).”30 It cited the Summons of the Soul (Zhaohun招魂) in the Verses of Chu (Chuci楚辞) as the origin of its idea but also showed a tendency to try to find another basis outside of Buddhism.

The Shōkonsai performed by Onmyōdō had a close relationship with Japanese esoteric Buddhism and might have even been directly inspired by it. Masuo has noticed that the temples belonging to the system of Shingon真言 Buddhism kept the ritual books relating to calling back the soul under the influence of the Nanatsudera manuscript of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul. Since the main focus is on the phrase “calling back the soul”, he also noticed that the books kept by temples of Tendai天台 Buddhism and Shingon Buddhism mentioned the ritual of resurrection, but these are not directly related to the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, which focuses on the restitution of the soul (Masuo 2017, pp. 309–18).

It is worth noting that the liturgical text of Five Rituals of Calling Back the Soul from the Stars (Zokushō Shōkon Gorei Saimon 属星招魂五礼祭文), found in the additional volume of Ruihishō類秘抄, compiled by the monk Kanshin寛信 (1084–1153) in the 4th year of Hōan保安 (1123), shows similarities to the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul. Ruihishō was compiled by Kanshin by copying and summarizing materials, including ritual documents, oral instructions left by saints and predecessors, and images. The earliest extant manuscript was copied in the 2nd year of Jōkyū承久 (1220) (Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan 1997, p. 307). The beginning of the liturgical text records a date: “the 7th of the third month, spring of Jiayin, the 2nd year of Kaiyuan of Tang”(維大唐開元二年甲寅春三月七日), while the previous liturgical text records a date: “the 2nd year of Yonghui of Tang”(維大唐國永徽二年). Mugitani believes that the text was rewritten based on the court liturgy text of the Tang Dynasty before it was submitted to Japan.31 In this liturgical text, the emperor was sick and sought help from the Buddha. The Buddha revealed that the emperor, a Buddhist, might be cursed by ghosts who died due to five poisons and illness, and his three hun and seven po souls were imprisoned in the Sun, the Moon, Venus, the Northern Star, or the Southern Dipper. The Buddha ordered the deities to release the disciple’s hun and po souls, and offerings such as fragrant flowers, salvation lamps, fragrant water, butter and honey, fruits, and silk were made to the King of the Brahma Heaven, Śakra, the four heavenly kings, and the stars of the twenty-eight mansions, and also prayers were offered to the King Father of the East (Dongwangfu東王父), Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu西王母), the four seasons (Sishi四時), the five emperors of the five directions (Wudi 五帝), and all the divine kings to remove the curse, prolong life, and return the three hun and seven po souls to the bodies. Finally, the Buddha commanded that the various ghosts leave immediately and not stay.

This liturgical text of Five Rituals of Calling Back the Soul from the Stars shares many key elements with the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, including the cause of the illness, the disciple being cursed by ghosts who died due to five poisons and illness; the possible locations where the three hun and seven po souls were trapped, the Sun, the Moon, Venus, the Northern Dipper, or the Southern Dipper; and the objects of prayer, the King Father of the East, the Queen Mother of the West, the four seasons, and the five emperors of the five directions, and the possible locations where the three hun and seven po souls could be trapped are nearly the same as those in the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, except for the replacement of the Northern Star with the Northern Dipper, which is also found in the liturgical text of shōkonsai from the Saimon Burui. This liturgical text simplifies the deities to be prayed for regarding the release of the souls, but more content from the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul is inherited than in the texts in the Saimon Burui, which only retain the Five Emperors. In contrast, the names of the ghosts commanded to leave have been simplified compared to the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, and this part of the content has been completely deleted in the Saimon Burui. Therefore, it can be inferred that the Onmyōdō’s liturgical text was not a direct rewriting of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, but rather was influenced by this material.

In addition, in both the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul and the two liturgical texts, the potential locations where the souls could be trapped are primarily associated with the deities who oversee an individual’s fate and destiny. The Shingon temples and schools in Japan also keep certain rituals books about how to cure diseases and prolong life by “removing the name from the death register and writing the name in the life register”, which were said to be written by Yixing一行 and Amoghavajra不空. Some of the books have been included in the Taishō Tripiṭaka. For example, the Procedures for the Fire Ritual for the Seventh Luminary (Beidou Qixing Humofa北斗七星護摩法), probably written by Yixing, instructs the reader to practice Homa with methods such as chanting mantra to prolong life, eliminate disasters, and increase blessings. The texts that were likely written by Amoghavajra include Ritual Proceeding of Offering to Yama (Yanluowang Gong Xingfa Cidi閻羅王供行法次第) and Secret Essentials for Practicing Fire Ritual for the Seventh Luminary (Beidou Qixing Humo Miyao Yigui北斗七星護摩祕要儀軌). The Ritual Proceeding of Offering to Yama instructs the reader to make offerings to Yama, to pray for the elimination of diseases, and to ensure the removal of the name from the death register and the writing of the name in the life register. The Secret Essentials for Practicing Fire Ritual for the Seventh Luminary instructs the reader to make offerings by practicing Homa and worshipping so that the person who makes the offerings can have the name removed from the death register and written in the life register, can be liberated from disasters, and have a long life. The Book of Fate Calculation (Lumingshu祿命書), which was popular in the Tang Dynasty, was cited in the book. The manuscripts and publications of the three books have survived only in Japan, and they are not found in the Sho-ajari Shingon Mikkyō Burui Sōroku. Therefore, it is hard to confirm whether the books were written by Yixing and Amoghavajra. Nevertheless, it is believed that the content had a significant influence in Japan. As mentioned previously, Fujiwara Sanesuke performed the ritual of worshipping the Yama heaven at the same time as holding a Shōkonsai when his daughter became sick. Shingon monk Kanjo寛助 (1057–1125) in the late Heian period mentioned that worshipping the Northern Dipper could help remove the name from the death register (Betsugyō别行, T.no.2476, Taishō, vol. 78, p. 181), while his disciple Yōgon永厳 (1075–115) mentioned the Ritual Proceeding of Offering to Yama of Amoghavajra (Yōsonbō要尊法, T.no.2478, Taishō, vol. 78, p. 209). Jitsuun実運 of the Kamakura period (1105–1160) mentioned that worshipping the Northern Dipper could help remove a name from the death register and cited the Procedures for the Fire Ritual for the Seventh Luminary and the Secret Essentials for Practicing Fire Ritual for the Seventh Luminary (Shoson Yōshō諸尊要鈔, T.no.2484, Taishō, vol. 78, p. 313). Jōgen成賢 (1162–1231) mentioned that Myōken Bosatsu妙見菩薩 could remove the name from the death register (Usuzōshi Nijū薄雙紙二重, T.no.2495, Taishō, vol. 78, p. 681). When discussing the function of Homa, Raiyu頼瑜 (1226–1304) also mentioned the two ritual books about the North Star and the Northern Dipper (Hishō Mondō祕鈔問答, T.no.2536, Taishō, vol. 78, pp. 555–56). These materials all show that Shingon monks of Japan were not only familiar with the relevant knowledge but also practiced it as a relatively common method.

This idea that the star deities are responsible for registering life and death may have originated in local Chinese traditions. Buddhist apocrypha written in China had adopted similar concepts, arguing that offering sacrifices to the star deities responsible for life and death could remove names from the death register and thereby cure diseases, alleviate disasters, and prolong life. After this kind of Buddhist sutra was introduced to Japan, it had a significant impact on Japanese Buddhism, especially the Shingon Buddhist system. During the Heian period, nobles usually sought help from monks or Onmyōji in cases of illness and disaster. The practices of the Onmyōji were influenced by Buddhism, especially Japanese esoteric Buddhism, which was very popular at the time.

Therefore, it is plausible to argue that the concept of calling back the soul from the Sutra Calling Back the Soul, which had its origins in China and was influenced by Daoist traditions, had a certain impact on the Shingon monks. This influence likely led to the rewriting of the sutra and its incorporation into the liturgical texts of the Shingon tradition. The liturgical text was later adopted by the Onmyōji, who removed the obvious Buddhist features from it. This long-standing Daoist concept of invoking the souls of the living was adopted from the Buddhist apocrypha and, after its introduction to Japan, was accepted by Shingon monks and Onmyōji who developed a new tradition of rituals. However, if we conclude that the Shōkonsai ritual represents a unique view of the soul and the underworld that is different from the Chinese one, we would be ignoring the Daoist tradition of asking for soul possession to cure diseases and remove disasters since the Six Dynasties, which existed at the same time as the Confucian hun-summoning rituals.

7. Conclusions

This article discussed three Buddhist apocryphal texts that share the theme of “calling back the soul”. All of these texts, preserved in Japan, were copied by Japanese monks after being introduced from China. These texts can be divided into two different lineages based on their content. The Kōshōji manuscript of the Duxing Sutra is an apocryphal sutra with the same name as recorded by Sengyou. Its primary function is to save the dead. The Nanatsudera and Hōbodaiin manuscripts of the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul might derive from the Sutra on Revealing the Po Souls, which was first mentioned by Fajing. This sutra is also known as the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, Sutra on Calling Back the Hun and Po Souls, and Sutra on Calling Back the Po Souls. The Sutra on Calling Back the Soul attempts to cure diseases and remove disasters by calling back the soul of the living and asking it to return to the body.

The Duxing Sutra and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul offer deliverance through adversity by means of the liberation and restitution of the soul, respectively. Both ideas have clear origins in funeral texts and Daoist petitions. The Duxing Sutra solves the problem of fulian by praying for the liberation of the soul of the deceased. The concept of preventing fulian can be traced back to the funeral texts of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which aimed to completely separate the dead and the living. The Way of the Celestial Masters inherited this tradition. However, instead of fully embracing the concept of complete separation, Celestial Masters Daoism focused on how to save the dead and send them to a good place. Liberating the souls of the dead and opening the way for them was a new method created by the Celestial Master to prevent fulian. According to the existing records, Daoism applied this concept to practice as early as the Wei and Jin Dynasties (220–420), creating a ritual named duxing, as revealed in relevant documents such as the Petition for Duxing and Scripture of Duxing. The Duxing Sutra is believed to be Buddhist apocrypha written in accordance with the tradition of Daoism. The method of the restitution of the soul advocated by the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul holds that the soul leaves the body and is trapped somewhere, resulting in diseases and disasters. Therefore, it is necessary to recall the soul in order to cure the disease or alleviate the disaster. While similar understandings are found in early Daoist petitions, it was not part of the Daoist tradition to connect them with sending the dead to a good place or with duxing.

It is inferred that the Duxing Sutra and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul may have originated from a rewritten version of the Petition for Duxing and Scripture of Duxing of Daoism. The original goal of these texts was to liberate the soul of the dead to ensure that the living were not affected. During the Six Dynasties, Buddhism recognized the local Chinese traditional concepts of soul to a certain extent, and the rewriting was based on this recognition. However, it had not considered some major contradictions between these concepts and Buddhist thought. Later, the rewriters realized that the concept of fulian (reconnection with the dead) could not be easily incorporated into the Buddhist system; thus, they tried to introduce the idea of the restitution of souls and transformed it to create new texts.

The two Buddhist apocrypha mentioned above were introduced in Japan, and the Sutra on Calling Back the Soul, which attempts to prolong life with the restitution of souls, had a lingering effect. The esoteric Buddhist monks in Japan took this classic and tried to put it into practice, paraphrasing it into a liturgical text for the removal of danger and the prolongation of life. Offerings to star deities to have one’s name removed from the death register and written in the life register, as well as prayers for the removal of dangers and the prolongation of life, also became popular. Since then, the Onmyōji developed it into a kind of ritual in the Onmyōdō, removing the obvious Buddhist features from it. Nevertheless, the attempts to cure diseases and alleviate calamities through the restitution of souls had been part of Daoist ritual traditions since the Six Dynasties. Therefore, the view that the Shōkonsai ritual represents a unique view of the soul and the underworld that is different from the Chinese one, which is based on the comparison with the hun-summoning ritual, ignores the Daoist tradition of asking for soul possession to cure diseases and remove disasters that has existed since the Six Dynasties.