The Tiwei poli jing 提謂波利経 is an apocryphal scripture compiled by the monk Tanjin 曇靖 under the reign of Emperor Wencheng 文成 of the Northern Wei dynasty. Earlier studies argued that the text had be written in order to fill in a gap in the sacred corpus depleted during the persecution of Buddhism under Emperor Taiwu 太武. Alternatively, it has been suggested that Tanjin’s motive was to educate the common people in the basics of the Buddhist faith. My paper calls these scenarios into question and puts forward a new hypothesis.
I start from the premise that the main motivation in compiling apocryphal scriptures lies in the absence in the existing sacred corpus of doctrinal and spiritual point(s) which the respective author(s) want/s to make, no doubt from a putatively Buddhist stance. Such points will stand out as the unique trait(s) of the apocryphal scripture in question. Based on this presupposition, I look at the unique characteristics of the Tiwei poli jing, also taking into account the historical background of the persecution of Buddhism under Emperor Taiwu and its restoration under Emperor Wencheng. This allows me to pinpoint Tanjin’s main motivations and intentions behind the compilation of this scripture.
