Daoming Explained

Daoming (道明) was a Chinese Buddhist monk and the left attendant of the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha.^[1] His father also entered the way of the bodhisattva and became his disciple and the right attendant, Mingong.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Legends

The name "Daoming" was fairly common, and surviving sources contain biographies of over a dozen Buddhist monks with this name. The recurrence of the name among Buddhist monks was acknowledged in the Record of a Returned Soul that explains how the underworld authorities mistook Daoming of Kaishan Monastery for Daoming of Longxing Monastery for a discussion of the various Daomings' related death and afterlife.^[6]

According to the "Record of a Returned Soul", Daoming, a monk who lived in the Kaishan Monastery in Xiang, was summoned to hell by mistake in 778 AD. Before he returned to Earth, he saw a monk who announced that he was Kșitigarbha. Kșitigarbha asked him to propagate throughout the world his true image – that is to say, with the head-dress.^{[7] [8] [9]}

According to the local tradition, Daoming was the son of Mingong, a wealthy man and landowner of the Mount Jiuhua.^[10] Mingong donated all peaks of his mountain to monk Dizang for use as a place of worship where dharma was taught. He even asked his son to accompany Dizang to become a Buddhist monk who was also subsequently called Daoming.^[2] His father also became a follower of Dizang. Soon after that, he became enlightened.^{[11] [12]}

Notes and References

1. Book: Lopez . Donald S. Jr. . Hyecho's Journey: The World of Buddhism . 21 December 2017 . University of Chicago Press . 978-0-226-51806-0 . en.
2. Book: Kooij . K. R. van . Veere . H. van der . Function and Meaning in Buddhist Art: Proceedings of a Seminar Held at Leiden University, 21-24 October 1991 . 1995 . Egbert Forsten . 978-90-6980-079-0 . en.
3. Web site: Marginalized yet Devoted: Buddhist Paintings Commissioned by Nuns of the Early Joseon Palace Cloisters . 2011. Kyungwon Choe.
4. Book: Arts of Asia . 2001 . Arts of Asia Publications. . 978-0-9638932-6-0 . en.
5. Book: Whitfield . Roderick . Whitfield . Susan . Susan Whitfield . Agnew . Neville . Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Art and History on the Silk Road . 2000 . British Library . 978-0-7123-4697-9 . en.
6. Book: The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva: Dizang in Medieval China . 14 August 2007 . University of Hawaii Press . 978-0-8248-3045-8 . en.
7. Book: Guimet . Mus Ee . The Arts of Central Asia: The Pelliot Collection in the Musée Guimet . 1996 . Serindia . 978-0-906026-40-3 . en.
8. Book: Kooij . K. R. van . Veere . H. van der . Function and Meaning in Buddhist Art: Proceedings of a Seminar Held at Leiden University, 21-24 October 1991 . 1995 . Egbert Forsten . 978-90-6980-079-0 . en.
9. Book: Lopez . Donald S. Jr. . Bloom . Rebecca . Carr . Kevin Gray . Chan . Chun Wa . Jun . Ha Nul . Sinopoli . Carla M. . Yokota . Keiko . Hyecho's Journey: The World of Buddhism . 21 December 2017 . University of Chicago Press . 978-0-226-51790-2 . en.
10. Book: アジア文化研究 . International Christian University. . 1987. en.
11. Book: China Tourism . 2002 . HK China Tourism Press . en.
12. Book: Kooij . K. R. van . Veere . H. van der . Function and Meaning in Buddhist Art: Proceedings of a Seminar Held at Leiden University, 21-24 October 1991 . 1995 . Egbert Forsten . 978-90-6980-079-0 . en.