In this post I will translate The Sutra of the Moon 太陰星君聖經, or Sutra of the Stellar Worthy of the Great Yin which is a hymn to the Moon. In a previous post I have translated The Sutra of the Sun 太陽星君聖經 , its companion. That post contains more context about these sutras.
It is worth noting that the Sutra of the Sun and Sutra of the moon seem to have always circulated together: The first miracle tale in this post bears this out. Textually, both scriptures are also written in seven character verse, with the exception of two lines (marked 12 and 13) in this scripture. The part, absent in the Sutra of the Sun, is an invocation to the Three Jewels and Amithaba, followed by a prayer to dispel disasters. The position of this invocation is logical if the sutras of the Sun and Moon were chanted together.
It is also worth noting that line 13 is also found in another incantation, the Mantra of the White-robed great one 白衣大士神咒, recited after the 'heart' of the mantra proper.
I must admit that I do not understand the meaning of lines 5 and 6 of the sutra. Are they a description of the rain-giving power of venerating the buddhas, or are they a description of the power of the Bodhisattva of the Moon? Any assistance on this matter will be appreciated.
As in the case of the Sutra of the Sun, there are three miracle tales that are attached to this sutra. Unlike the sutra of the sun though, these tales are relatively recent texts: the first is from Singapore, during the Syonan period (i.e. the Japanese occupation, 1942-1945) The other two seem to be from the late 20th century. One is dated Wushen 戊申 - Earth Monkey, and so is either 1908 or 1968 (the latter seems more probable). The second is dated Renshen 壬申 - Water Monkey, so possibly 1992.
As before, I have taken as the base text this edition from Singapore. https://archive.org/details/taiyangjingimages/page/n7/mode/2up, but have made one emendation to the text (in line 2), based on the edition on taolibrary https://www.taolibrary.com/category/category86/c86011.htm
太陰星君聖經
朝日靜夜誦念七遍求則得之
Recite this Seven times morning an night, you will get what you desire
1-太陰菩薩向東來
The Buddhisatva of the Moon comes from the East,
2-十重地獄九重開
Of the Ten Deep hells, she can open nine.
*I have taken the reading from Tao Library. The Singaporean edition has 千 (thousand) for 10;
3-十萬八千諸菩薩
Of all the 10800 Buddhisatvas,
4-諸佛菩薩兩邊排
All of them, arranged in two rows.
5-諸尊佛敬無雲地
All the Worthy Buddhas respected [in a] Cloudless land,
6-出水蓮花滿地開
Give forth water [causing] lotuses to bloom everywhere.
7-頭帶七層珠寶塔
[She] carries on hear head a Seven-layered treasure pagoda
8-婆娑世界眼光明
All across the Saha world, [her] eyes shine bright.
8- 一佛報答天地恩
First, the Buddha repays the kindness of Heaven and Earth,
9-二佛報答父母恩
Second, the Buddha repays the kindness of parents.
10 在生父母増福壽
Parents in this world shall have their lifespan increased.
11- 過世父母早超生
Parents who have died; they shall soon achieve liberation.
12南無佛南無法南無僧 .
Namo Buddha, Namo Dharma, Namo Sangha, Namo Amithaba
13 天羅神，地羅神，人離難，難離身，一切災殃化爲塵，
Gods of the Heaven’s net, Gods of the Earth’s net, May I leave hardship, may hardship leave my body; All disasters will be transformed to dust.
14 有人念得七遍太陰經
If anyone recites this Moon scripture seven times,
15-生死不踏地獄門
In life or death, they shall never step into the gate of hell.
****
<instructions for use of scripture and miracle tales>
八月拾五日爲太陰朝元之辰，必須虔誠齋戒焚香禮拜
The 15th day of the 8th Lunar month is the day the Moon Holds Court to the prime. You must keep the precepts of purity, sincerely burn incense and pray [to Her]
又每月十伍、十六兩日，太陰團圓。誦者務宜敬謹齋戒，盥手焚香禮拜。誦念此經拾卷，合家清吉福壽雙全。
Upon the 15th and 16th of each month, the Moon is in Her fullness. Those who would [recite the scripture] must reverently and strictly adhere to the precepts, and with washed hands offer incense and pray; Reciting this scripture ten times would bring harmony auspiciousness, fortune and longevity to the family.
附五月十五、十六兩日，乃天地交泰之期，必須夫婦分床，切勿犯之務。宜潔净為是。慎之慎之。
Furthermore, the 15th and 16th days of the 5th month are the days in which Heaven and Earth mate and mingle. The husband and wife should separate their beds [i.e. do not have sex on these days]. On no account should they forego this precaution. It is best to remain pure – Note this well! Note this well!
<At this point is printed a poem called Master Chunyang's for extending life and rearing children. 純陽祖師延壽育子歌 As the subject of this poem is irrelevant to the sutra, it is neither translated nor reproduced here>
啓者：信士李恒，住在新加坡松柏街三十二號，昭南時期因患脚氣瘋癱不能行走 ，後得友人勸説每日早晨誦太陰太陽經七遍 。二 月後開始能行動，三月後霍然痊癒。爲酬謝神恩，已 刊送太陰太陽經 二千本 ，以後 一路平安順利，爰特再刊送此經一 萬本。
The believer Li Heng, living in 32 Pine Street, Singapore, during the Syonan period [i.e. the Japanese Occupation], owing to a foot injury was unable to walk. After, a friend encouraged him to chant the Sutra of the moon and Sutra of the sun seven times every morning. Within two months he was able to walk, and three months later, his disease was of a sudden completely cured. In order to thank the gods, he has printed 2000 copies of the Sutra of the Sun and Sutra of the Moon. Further, to ensure his future prosperity, he has printed another 10,000 copies of this scripture
啓者： 信女 ，因久病， 家境貧極，幾乎絶途 ，幸得此經于新加坡萬壽山，蓮峰寺， 三寶殿 ，日夜誦念 ，數月後，病癒又得職業，
This Believing Woman had a Chronic Illness, and lived in extreme poverty, She was about to end her existence(絶途), when she fortunately got this scripture in the Three Treasures Hall in LianFeng temple, in Wanshou shan , Singapore. She chanted it day and night, and after several months was cured of her illness and got a job.
Again, owing to her baby’s numerous illnesses, she vowed to print a thousand copies of the book to beg for its safety. The numinous response [to her prayer] was extremely effective, and she now vows to reprint and distribute this scripture. [She records] this not to tug at people’s heartstrings, but rather to show its true efficacy. She hopes that all men and women will recite this scripture sincerely, and thus naturally get a hundred blessings. --- Wushen year, 3rd month, 19th day.
啓者： 中國廣東省 新會縣 羅江鄉稷田裏人
爲人隨和勤勉謙虚，常年爲錢財經濟而煩惱，好幾次幾乎絶途，幸好有緣巧得太陰太陽星君 聖經日夜誦念 ，發願翻印傳送。果然應驗時來運轉，
A Millet-farmer of Luojiang Village, Xinhui prefecture, Guangdong, China:
As a friendly encouragement to humility: back then, the author, owing to financial difficulties, was on numerous occasions about to end his existence. Thankfully, fate would have it that he encountered the Sacred Scriptures of the Stellar Worthies of the Sun and the Moon. He chanted them day and night, and made a vow to reprint and distribute them. There was a swift response; his luck changed for the better.
此并非傳教實有靈驗，希各界士女如有困難，虔誠誦念自然化解。
The author hopes this will not be yet another record of a miracle, but will prove to be an encouragement to everyone who is suffering difficulties to chant this scripture sincerely: If they do so the difficulties will naturally resolve themselves.
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