Divination as a Karmic Diagnostic: The Divination Texts of Ouyi Zhixu
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Although Buddhist monastic codes formally prohibit divination, astrology and fortune-telling by Buddhist monks, the late imperial Chinese Buddhist monk Ouyi Zhixu (1599-1655) describes engaging in such activities throughout his life. Shengyan considers Ouyi’s practice of divination anomalous among Buddhist scholastics, but he does not elaborate on its possible significance for Ouyi, which is one of the main criticisms raised by Jan Yün-hua in his review of Shengyan’s work. In this paper, I argue that divination serves as a karmic diagnostic for Ouyi, enabling him to determine his karmic status by identifying past sins, signaling spiritual potential, or indicating future rebirths. Divination not only offers insight into how Ouyi understands karmic causality and cosmology, but it also reflects his own values and spiritual aspirations.
