The scripture on the ten kings and the making of purgatory in medieval Chinese Buddhism

Alternate Titles

• Shih wang ching. English.

Description

Between the seventh and ninth centuries, the Chinese mind became preoccupied with a concept of the afterlife that persists into modern times. To be reborn, the deceased must successfully negotiate passage through ten courts of law, each ruled by a magistrate or king. The pains of transition from death to rebirth can be alleviated by the intercession of the living with contributions to the Buddhist church and bribes of spirit money. The cosmology, morality, and rituals of the ten kings are described for the first time in surviving sources in an illustrated text, The Scripture on the Ten Kings, which is here translated for the first time.

Subjects

Series Statement

• Kuroda Institute studies in East Asian Buddhism ;

Other Editions

• The scripture on the ten kings and the making of purgatory in medieval Chinese BuddhismUniversity of Hawaii Press1994-01-01
• Scripture on the Ten Kings and the Making of Purgatory in Medieval Chinese BuddhismUniversity of Hawaii Press2022-01-01