Nattier, Jan. “Now You Hear It, Now You Don’t: The Phrase ‘Thus Have I Heard’ in Early Chinese Buddhist Translations.” In Buddhism Across Asia: Networks of Material, Intellectual and Cultural Exchange, edited by Tansen Sen, 39-64. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2014.
| Assertion | Argument | Place in source |
|---|---|---|
Nattier notes briefly that the 羅云忍辱經 T500 is ascribed to Faju 法炬 in the Taishō, but treated as anonymous by Dao'an. Nattier also notes that this text is one of only four translation texts featuring a highly unusual version of the opening formula, evaṃ mayā śrutam: 阿難曰：吾[昔]從佛聞如是. The other texts are the 溫室洗浴眾僧經 T701, ascribed to An Shigao 安世高; the 出曜經 (Udānavarga) T212, ascribed to Zhu Fonian 竺佛念; and the 中本起經 T196 by Kang Mengxiang 康孟詳. |
45 |
|
|
Nattier gives this text as an example of the role played by "the translator's own sense of what is appropriate for his intended audience....For example, we find Zhi Qian glossing a list of the five precepts for laity (pañcaśīla) with references to indigenous Chinese virtues, or Kang Senghui using the term tai shan 太山 'Mt. Tai' together with diyu 地獄 "earth prison" to render the Buddhist concept of hell." Nattier states that T76 contains similar "glosses", but "the fact that [T76] conforms closely, in other respects, to the content of the Brahmāyusutta makes it clear that this is not an apocryphon but a genuine translation containing added glosses designed to make its content clear to a Chinese audience." |
52, 61 n. 56 |
|
Nattier notes briefly that the 溫室洗浴眾僧經 T701 is ascribed to An Shigao 安世高 in the Taishō, but to Dharmarakṣa by Sengyou. Nattier also notes that this text is one of only four translation texts featuring a highly unusual version of the opening formula, evaṃ mayā śrutam: 阿難曰：吾[昔]從佛聞如是. The other texts are 羅云忍辱經 T500, ascribed to Faju 法炬 in the Taishō; Udānavarga 出曜經 T212, ascribed to Zhu Fonian 竺佛念; and the Zhong benqi jing 中本起經 T196 by Kang Mengxiang 康孟詳. |
45 |
|
Nattier gives this text as an example of the role played by "the translator's own sense of what is appropriate for his intended audience....For example, we find Zhi Qian glossing a list of the five precepts for laity (pañcaśīla) with references to indigenous Chinese virtues, or Kang Senghui using the term tai shan 太山 'Mt. Tai' together with diyu 地獄 "earth prison" to render the Buddhist concept of hell." Nattier states that the Fanmoyu jing 梵摩渝經 T76 contains similar "glosses", but "the fact that [T76] conforms closely, in other respects, to the content of the Brahmāyusutta makes it clear that this is not an apocryphon but a genuine translation containing added glosses designed to make its content clear to a Chinese audience." The 八師經 T581 is another Zhi Qian text containing such glosses. but it has no known parallel. "Though an Indic-language parallel to the Bashi jing has not yet been found, it is likely that this is another case of the same type." |
52, 61 n. 56 |