Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale

Journal | Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
Journal issue | 60 | 2024
Research Article | State-Sponsored Maitreya Cult and the Shouluo Biqiu Jing

State-Sponsored Maitreya Cult and the Shouluo Biqiu Jing

A Case of a Transmission of a Heterodoxy to Korea

Abstract

In this paper, the author analyses the apocryphal text Shouluo biqiu jing, centred around the saviour bodhisattva Yueguang Tongzi (Candraprabhākumāra in Sanskrit). It is possible that this text was written in Silla, with some connection with its royalty and the hwarang group. This paper confronts this hypothesis with other ones that connect it to some Sui-Tang millenarian movements. Chosen methodology is the historical and philological analysis. The conclusion is that the text was likely written in China, bu it possibly circulated in Korean Peninsula. The text is probably the result of composition and manipulation.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: Feb. 27, 2024 | Accepted: May 2, 2024 | Published July 25, 2024 | Language: en

Keywords PaekcheTang dynastyDunhuangNanyue HuisiHwarangDaoismYueguang TongziSillaMillenarismMaitreyaCandraprabhākumāraBuddhismSui dynasty


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