Tàishàng shuō Fēngdū bákǔ yùlè miàojīng 太上說酆都拔苦愈樂妙經
Marvelous Scripture of the [Heavenly Worthy of the] Joy that Rescues from the Distress of Fēngdū, Spoken by the Most High
About the work
A single-folio Daoist mortuary scripture devoted to the Fēngdū 酆都 underworld, transmitted in the Dàozàng in a composite juàn with DZ 378 and DZ 380 (KR5b0062, KR5b0064).
Prefaces
No prefaces in the source. The text opens directly with the scene of the Bákǔ Yùlè tiānzūn in the Palace of the Far East and carries no author preface or transmission colophon.
Abstract
Dated by Lagerwey (Schipper & Verellen, Taoist Canon 3: 991, DZ 379) to the Southern Sòng. Dwelling in the Palace of the Far East — normally associated with the Jiùkǔ tiānzūn in the upper regions of Fēngdū — the Tiānzūn “of the Joy that Rescues from Distress” (Bákǔ Yùlè tiānzūn 拔苦愈樂天尊) radiates a light of five colours that reveals the innumerable sufferings of the souls in hell. Moved by what he sees, the Tiānzūn preaches this “marvelous scripture that saves all the denizens of Fēngdū” in order to “save all those poor souls who are guilty of sins.”
Translations and research
- Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, 3:991 (DZ 379).