“The Sacred Text of Bixia Yuanjun” as an Example for the Mediation of Canonical Texts between Religious Teaching and the Community of the Believers

HEIN, Evelina
Sofia University

This article tries to show the mediating role of canonical texts between religious teaching and the community of believers as exemplified by the „Sacred Text of Bixia Yuanjun“ from the Daoist canon. The Daoist religious tradition is an example for such cultural phenomena who symbolize the universal human urge to create a mental horizon and a related ideal for oneself and for one’s direct social surroundings in a way that one can approach the projected ideal state. I will show that within the Daoist religion the holy Dao is such an ideal which is felt to be the highest value and meaning of human existence and thus provides way and orientation for the development of a person and his or her surroundings. This article also investigates the statement that the main task of religious discourse is the continuous definition of the Dao as highest value and the arguing for its relevance. In this context the role of the „Sacred Text of Bixia Yuanjun“ as fulfilling this main task becomes manifest. In the view of the researcher the text from Bixia Yuanjun uses practical images to express the Daoist religious doctrine, by which the community of believers can harmonize the aim of their actions with the noble ideal of the Dao. The researcher sees this as the key role of the canonical text for the maintenance of the religious traditions of Daoism.

Another aspect of this research is the analysis of the double function of the „Sacred Text of Bixia Yuanjun“ both as myth, which defines the world, and as religious legend, which provides rules for correct action and practice in this already pre-defined world. The author bases her research on the only existing translation of the „Sacred Text of Bixia Yuanjun“ into an European language, which has been made by the author. This translation is based on the original text and has been published.

试论道藏经文《碧霞元君护国庇民普济保生妙经》作为宗教教义与信众团体的调停人角色

海丽娜
保加利亚索菲亚大学

本文希望根据《万历续道藏》中的《碧霞元君护国庇民普济保生妙经》（以下简称《碧霞元君妙经》）来说明 经文文本作为宗教教义和信众团体之间的调停人角色。文章将《碧霞元君妙经》作为道教文化现象的案例予以探讨，认为碧霞元君象征着人类的普遍需求，形成了其 自身的精神视野和相关的理想，通过调整其自身及其社会环境，接近​假定的理想。本文认为，在道教的框架下，神圣的“道”就是这样的一个理想，它被视为人类生存的最高价值 和意义，“道”预先确定了人及其环境的发展道路和方向。此外，本文还认为，宗教话语的主要任务是不断地将神圣的“道”定义为最高之价值并证明其能经受住考 验。《碧霞元君妙经》便是完成上述任务的最佳案例。笔者认为，《碧霞元君妙经》通过对碧霞元君栩栩如生的描述阐述了道教的教义，以便让信众将他们的行为和 行动目标与“道”的崇高理想关联起来。由此，笔者认识到在维护道教的宗教传统方面，经书文本起到了非常关键的作用。

此外，本文分析了《碧霞元君妙经》的双重功能：一方面作为一个定义世界的神话，另一方面作为一个宗教寓言故事，规定了此世之中的正确行为。本文作者的研究基础是她本人翻译成欧洲语言的《碧霞元君妙经》的部分章节，这也是欧洲迄今唯一的从中文原文翻译的译本。