Fazang (643–712) and Wuzhensi: With a Special Reference to his Daoist Ties

Abstract

In his biography for the Avatamsaka master Fazang (643–712), Tang Tae Ch'ǒnboksa kosaju pǒn'gyǒng taedǒk Pǒpjang hwasang chǒn (Ch. Tang Da Jianfusi gu sizhu fanjing dade Fazang heshang zhuan) (Biography for Upādhyāya Fazang, the Late Bhadanta-translator and Abbot of Great Jianfusi of the Tang) composed ca. 904, the Korean author Ch'oe Ch'iwon (Ch. Cui Zhiyuan, 857–904) reports a ritual that Fazang performed to pray for snow in order to prevent an imminent drought. The ritual was executed in the winter of 711, barely one year before Fazang's death, beside a pond at the scenic mountain range fifty li west of Chang'an – Mount Zhongnan.