Buddhist Apocrypha: 分珠經 The scripture on the Divisions of the beads

分珠經：偽造

The scripture on the Divisions of the beads (APOCRYPHAL)

This is the second of a series of buddhist apocrypha from that are collected in this 1931 edition of Chanmen Risong: 禪門日誦 Zen Daily Recitations. For an introduction to what this book is, you should read this post about another apocryphon in the same collection, the Scripture of Wondrous Sand 

This present scripture- the Fen Zhu Jing -- 分珠經 -- Scripture of the division of beads  is a curious one. It is composed in two parts that have little to do with one another. 

All genuine Buddhist sutras begin with a scene describing where the Buddha delivered the sutra, as well as  who was present. This text also possesses such a scene, but it was quite obviously, and crudely, tacked on to the "sutra proper", which describes how you can evade  hell, through (in effect) deceiving the underworld guards. This transition is particularly obvious, as the introduction is written in prose, whilst this section is written in seven-character verse, with the title of the scripture even mentioned at the very end of it! 

Like an other apocrypha in this collection (eg: the Scripture of Wonderous Sand above), the scripture on the division of beads expresses a concern about crossing the River Nai. This is the river which separates the world of the living from hell. Sinners are pushed straight into the river to be tormented, whilst the good may ascend a golden or silver bridge over the river. However this bridge is guarded What the scripture shows, is that If you tell the guards of you are from the Naga-puspa assembly (龍華會 Longhua hui = dragon flower assembly) – i.e. the assembly around Nagapuspa tree, under which Maitreya will become a buddha, you will get to crosss the bridge, and go straight to the western paradise of Amithaba without any questions asked. 

The second section of the scripture begins just as abruptly. The assembly asked the Sixth Patriarch (i.e. Huineng) why the japamala has 108 beads.  The replies by giving a list of buddhist lists, the total number of articles adds up to 108. He finishes by describing respectful treatment of a japamala. One of the things that seems to be noted is that you should not put the japamala over the "Storehouse of the seven treasures"-- perhaps meaning buddhist scriptures.  The author has heard of a similar prohibition that is still extant today. 

 The scripture concludes with a reiteration of the benefits of the scripture. 

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The edition from which I have taken the scripture is accessible here at google books

Note, however, that this book has been digitalised back to front, so as you scroll down the page, you will go earlier in the book. There is a 1915 edition of the Zen Daily Recitations that has this scripture, but it is not punctuated.It is accessible here  There is additional a 19thc manuscript copy of the sutra accessible here https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=UvNpSbgSqFEC&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=%E5%88%86%E7%8F%A0%E7%B6%93&pg=PP48#v=onepage&q=%E5%88%86%E7%8F%A0%E7%B6%93&f=false but I have not checked the text below against this manuscript. 

Buddhist Apocrypha: 妙沙經 The Scripture of Wondrous Sand

妙沙經 (偽造)

Miao Sha Jing 

The scripture of Wonderous Sand: APOCRYPHAL 

The frontispiece to a Ming-dynasty (萬曆辛丑年=1601  copy of the Scripture, now kept in Tokyo. From  Open Museum 

This scripture will be a first in a series of apocryphal scriptures that are collected in this 1931 edition of Chanmen Risong: 禪門日誦 Zen Daily Recitations. The heart of this book are the Buddhist morning and evening services: collections of scriptures that are chanted in the mornings and evenings by buddhist monasteries, a practise that continues to this day. However, in addition to the morning and evening services, the book contains other material that would be useful to buddhists, like  hymns that would be sung before and after sutras were recited, essays on various aspects of buddhism, tables of religious festivals, mantras for various purposes, and finally, short sutras. 

This is where the current apocryphal text, the "Scripture of Wondrous Sand" Miaosha Jing 妙沙經  fits in. This extremely short scripture is an incantation, invoking hosts of buddhas. The scripture proclaims that reciting it would allow you to deliver yourself- and your ancestors- from hell. In that respect, it resembles things like the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Litany 八十八佛懺 or the Three Thousand Buddhas Repentance litany 三千佛洪名寶懺: Still-practised rites which consist of lists of buddhas's names (although these rites are based on non-apocryphal sutras). It is not inconceivable that this "sutra" started off life as a litany or hymn that eventually was ascribed magical powers. Indeed, as we shall see, all the apocrypha in the Zen Daily recitations have a common feature: Reciting them has magical power. 

 Unlike other scriptures in the collection, The compilers of this text clearly marked it as 偽造 FALSELY CREATED, or perhaps idiomatically "Apocryphal" But if it was marked as "false", why would it be included in such a collection in the first place?

This was probably because the scripture was probably very popular, The scripture is rather short, and easily memorised even by people of meagre ability, empowering them to take over the destinies of their ancestors and themselves. Indeed, as can be seen above, this popularity spread to elite circles. Emperor Shenzhong-- the Wanli Emperor-- commissioned a copy of the sutra written in gold characters.  Religious professionals could ill-afford to ignore the wishes of their lay clients, who placed trust in such scriptures. 

However, in the end, orthodoxy triumphed. As far as the author can tell, This scripture is no longer recited by modern-day buddhists. As such, this intriguing little incantation has no English translation, apart from what is presented below.