Karmic Perplexities: Assessing an Intergenerational Blood-Copy of the Huayan Sutra

This project focuses on the rhetorical modes of assessing reincarnation and karmic connections presented in prefaces and postfaces by Chinese literati from the Ming dynasty to the Republican Era who venerated the blood-copy of the Huayan Sutra by the Yuan dynasty monk Shanji善繼 (1286-1357). An intergenerational production, the progenitor of the project was thought to be the eminent monk Yongming Yanshou永明延壽 (904-975), who reincarnated as Shanji, and who completed the project through a second reincarnation as the great early Ming statesman Song Lian宋濂 (1310-1381).Literati argumentation often adopted a uniquely Buddhist method of historical proof premised on assessments of reincarnation, karmic connections, dream encounters, and personal realization. This work analyzes their assessments to better understand how these concepts functioned within the contexts of elite literati Buddhist belief and engagement with venerated artifacts like this very unique intergenerational blood-copy of the Huayan Sutra.