《达摩一掌经》 Guide: A Folk Destiny Manual of Hand-Based Fate Calculation
《达摩一掌经》 is a traditional destiny divination text circulated in folk practice, using the twelve palaces, lunar year/month/day/hour, and palm-based formulas to infer life patterns, with value for both metaphysical analysis and folk cultural research.
Damo Yizhang Jing (《达摩一掌经》) is a title used for palm-based fate-calculation manuals. “Bodhidharma” and “Yixing” in their attributions do not establish historical authorship. The identifiable Kanming Yizhang Jin (《看命一掌金》) is used here for comparison; similarly titled books are not automatically identical texts.
An identifiable witness
CBETA records Kanming Yizhang Jin as X59n1043. Its opening invokes the Tang monk Yixing, discusses selecting candidates for monastic life, and describes counting from year to month, day and hour on a hand diagram. This establishes what this witness says, rather than who actually wrote it. Read the text.
The hand serves as a counting aid; this is not simply palm-line reading. Longer manuals bearing the Damo title require separate comparison before their palace names, instructions and predictions can be attributed to the same textual lineage.
Reading advice
Record the edition, its full title and publication details. Check counting directions and calendar conventions before comparing rules. Read claims about previous lives and fortune in their religious and folkloric setting.
Revision
2026-10-24: removed the direct equation of the two titles, the palmistry label, and an unverified rebirth-realm table. This is a bibliographic guide, not evidence of predictive accuracy.
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