B​i​o​g​r​a​p​h​i​e​s​ ​o​f​ ​D​i​v​i​n​e​ ​M​o​n​k​s

“Biographies of Divine Monks” continues the Buddhist biographical tradition of works such as “Biographies of Eminent Monks” and “Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks,” selecting stories of monks from successive dynasties who displayed miraculous deeds, achievements in propagating the Dharma, or virtuous spiritual responses. During the reign of the Yongle Emperor, great importance was placed on the compilation of Buddhist scriptures and the printing of the canon. This work is attributed to the Yongle Emperor and survives in an Inner Palace printed edition from the fifteenth year of Yongle, reflecting the institutional background of official Buddhist textual compilation and court printing. Its contents may be compared with the “Biographies of Eminent Monks,” “Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks,” and “Song Biographies of Eminent Monks” for the study of concepts of holy monks, miracle narratives, and the political culture of Buddhism in the Ming dynasty.