Buddhism, Abortion and Underworld Punishment in Medieval China: the Sutra of Erasing Sins and Protecting Children for Longevity Taught by the Buddha, Bouddhisme=Avortement et punitions infernales dans la Chine du Moyen Age: le Sutra de l’effacement des p´ech´es et de la protection des enfants par la long´evit´e enseign´ee par le Bouddha
Longevity Sutra; Buddhist embryology; abortion; female reproduction; hurting fetuses
摘要
This presentation investigates a heretofore unstudied Chinese Buddhist scripture, the Sutra of Erasing Sins and Protecting Children for Longevity Taught by the Buddha (Foshuo changshou miezui huzhu tongzi jing 佛說長壽滅罪護諸童子經), compiled around the tenth century. The sutra tells the story of a woman who has had an abortion and harshly criticizes those who ”take poison to kill a child or hurt the fetus.” It promises that people who ”hurt fetuses” will incur the karmic retribution of falling into Avīci Hell. The second part of the sutra identifies some causes of miscarriage and stillbirth, such as letting blood from childbirth pollute the ground, so that parents can avoid unintentionally harming their fetus or infant. The sutra offers rituals and dhāraī spells to counteract the negative consequences of abortion, miscarriage and childbirth. Interestingly, unlike Indian Buddhist embryological discourse, which tends to highlight the horror of both fetal and maternal existence, some Chinese Buddhist texts such as the Longevity Sutra shift their focus to protecting the fetus yet preserve a misogynistic attitude toward female reproductive bodies. Even today in Taiwan and some part of China, the sutra and its spells are still widely used in repentance rituals for those who have had an abortion and want to deliver the fetus ghost to another world.
