Correlative Cosmology, Moral Rectitude, and Buddhist Notions of Health: Selections from the Sūtra of Trapuṣa and Bhallika

TheSūtra of Trapuṣa and Bhallikais a fifth- century apocryphalsūtrain two parts, traditionally attributed to the northern Chinese monk Tanjing.¹ The text is a moral treatise aimed at a lay audience. Its main goal is to explicate and justify two key Buddhist practices: the Five Precepts and the communal Purification Ritual. Told in the form of a conversation between the Buddha and his student Trapuṣa, it provides a code of ethics for lay practitioners and emphasizes the role of the monastic community in providing religious instruction and healthcare services for the community. The first part of the