In Chinese Buddhism we find a scripture known as the High King Guanyin Sutra 高王觀音經. This sutra has already been featured twice before on this blog:
first in translation: https://edwardwhite123.blogspot.com/2020/11/high-king-avalokitesvara-sutra.html
and secondly as to its preface: https://edwardwhite123.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-original-preface-to-high-king.html
However, it has recently come to my attention that Some Chinese buddhists consider this sutra an Apocryphal sutra 偽經 and hence a suboptimal means of devotion, In this post I shall translate a responsa given by Master Jingkong as to this sutra, available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNYVi96YA98
這位同修問：「《高王觀世音經》，請問是真經或是偽經？」
A Devotee asked: "Is the High King Guanyin Sutra a true or apocryphal sutra?
答：古大德說這個經是後人偽造的，不是佛說的。
Answer: "The Great Virtuous ones of old stated that this scripture [i.e. the High King scripture] is created by later people, and is not spoken by the buddha
"你喜歡念也可以，總而言之，都是勸善，不是教你作惡的。 You can recite it if you please- after all, it encourages people to do good, rather than evil.
假如你真的有智慧，為什麼不去念《普門品》 But if you really have Prajna [Wisdom], why not recite the "Universal Gate chapter?
或者是《楞嚴經》第六卷「觀世音菩薩耳根圓通章」？Or indeed, the sixth chapter of the Surangama Sutra "The Chapter of Guanyin's Ear root completion?"
《華嚴經》跟《楞嚴經》觀世音菩薩這兩章經文都有單獨流通，合《法華經‧普門品》，叫「觀音三經」。"These two chapters, from the Flower Ornament Sutra, the Surangama Sutra, along with the Guanyin Chapter of the Lotus sutra, are collectively called the "Three Sutras of Guanyin."
這是真實的，決定不是虛偽的，為什麼不念這個？這是給諸同修自己去選擇。 These are true scriptures, and are not false. Why not recite those? I leave the choice to all those who intend to cultivate [the Buddhist path]"
***
Comments:
When read together with the preface shown above, it is evident why the scripture is considered "false" or 'Apocryphal' as it was not transmitted by the Buddha. As the preface makes plain, this scripture was revealed by a monk who appeared in a dream to someone.
Indeed, Master Jingkong's point actually restores the hierarchy that was inverted in the High King Sutra's preface. Said preface explicitly states that the person to which the sutra was revealed, chanted the Lotus sutra's Guanyin chapter endlessly to no effect.
But, returning to Master Jingkong's speech, he does not state the scripture is harmful: after all, about half the scripture is consisted of nothing but the names of buddhas and Buddhisatvas. Indeed, the comments left beneath the youtube videos suggest that the sutra is still effective- eg reporting cures of cancer after reciting the sutra ten thousand times
Another commentator added that reciting this scripture allowed them to have a dream-vision of their mother
More broadly, one wonders if this rejection of the sutra yet another example of the protestantisation of buddhism- emphasis more securely canonical works, rather than extra-canonical literature like this. In any case, I recently heard form a Singaporean acquaintance, when he tried to ask Internal Printers-- a Singaporean company that exclusively prints Buddhist scriptures-- if they could print this scripture, they refused to do so, saying "it is not a buddhist scripture".
In any case, it is interesting to note that this scripture has also found its way into the Taisho Tripitaka-- albeit under volume 85,the volume of (amongst other things) "Doubtful sutras")
http://tripitaka.cbeta.org/T85n2898_001
