Fujita, Kōtatsu. “The Textual Origins of the Kuan Wu-liang-shou ching: A Canonical Scripture of Pure Land Buddhism.” In Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha, edited by Robert Buswell, 149–173. Honolulu: University of Hawai`i Press, 1990.
| Assertion | Argument | Place in source |
|---|---|---|
A Tibetan translation of the Maitreya Contemplation Sutra is found in the sDe-dge and Lhasa editions of the canon (only), but is a retranslation from the Chinese. No Indic versions of the text are thus known. The Maitreya Contemplation Sutra is thus one of a group of 'contemplation' sūtras, appearing around the same time in Chinese, which share certain conditions: apparent debts to earlier texts in the Chinese tradition; the absence of parallel texts in other Buddhist languages; etc. Juqu is said to have obtained this text in Turfan, and according to Fujita (following Ogasawara Senshū), the compilation of the text in the region of Turfan is 'well documented'. |
157 |
|
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Fujita concludes that the Guan Wuliangshou jing 佛說觀無量壽佛經 T365 should not be seen as an entirely Chinese composition, nor as a direct translation from an Indic language. Instead Fujita suggests that the “core” of the text contained a Central Asian form of meditation that most likely arrived in China via oral transmission by Kālayaśas. Fujita argues that the text received a “Chinese colouring” due to the consultation of Chinese texts during the process of translation and elaboration. |
163 |
|
The 觀佛三昧海經 T643 ("Samādhi Sea Sūtra", Fujita; "Ocean Samādhi Sūtra", Yamabe) mentions a "weiwu samādhi" 惟無三昧, which is thought to have its source in the Weiwu sanmei jing 惟無三昧經. However, Dao'an labelled the Weiwu sanmei jing as “apocryphal.” However, according to Fujita, the concept of weiwu sanmei was also found in the Guan fo sanmei hai jing 首楞嚴三昧經 T642 and the Guan yaowang yaoshang erpusa jing 觀藥王藥上二菩薩經 ("Baiṣajyarāja Contemplation Sūtra") T1161. Fujita refers to CSZJJ T55:2145.38c: 惟務三昧經一卷(或作惟無三昧, 38c1-2; in the 新集安公疑經錄). |
161, 170 n. 89 |
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Fujita briefly notes that the Avataṃsaka-sūtra 大方廣佛華嚴經 T278 is said to have been translated by Buddhabhadra from a Sanskrit manuscript from Khotan. He cites: Chusanzang jiji 出三藏記集 T2145; Gao seng Guan 高僧傳 T2059; and Shih, Biographies des moines éminents, pp. 90-98. |
157, 169 n.56 |
|
Fujita notes that the Guan Xukongzang pusa jing 觀虛空藏菩薩經 T409 lacks Tibetan and Sanskrit equivalents, as well as any other Chinese version. In this sense, Fujita discusses T409 as one of a whole group of "contemplation sūtras", appearing around the same time in Chinese, which share certain conditions: apparent debts to earlier texts in the Chinese tradition; the absence of parallel texts in other Buddhist languages; etc. Others among this group which have been studied more intensively have been regarded as composed in China or Central Asia. |
155 |
Fujita mentions in passing that he considers the Wuliangshou jing 無量壽經T360 (traditionally ascribed to Kang Sengkai="*Saṃghavarman") to have been translated by Buddhabhadra and Baoyun from a “newly obtained manuscript from India”. He also notes that this as the translation of the Larger Sukhāvatīvyūha-sūtra drawn upon in the composition of the Guan Wuliangshou jing 觀無量壽佛經 T365. |
157, 160 |
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Fujita suggests that the “original manuscript” for the Guan Fo sanmei hai jing 首楞嚴三昧經 T643 may have originated in Central Asia, “along with the other contemplation sūtras.” His reasons for this assertion include Buddhabhadra and Baoyun's knowledge of central Asia, and the origin of other texts which they translated; a Buddha image described in the text sports a moustache, one of the unique characteristics of Gandhāran Buddhas; it also accurately describes a famous cave in Nagahāra. Fujita notes that the Guan fo sanmei hai jing was translated before the Guan Wuliangshou jing 觀無量壽佛經 T365, and the latter text was likely influenced by the former. Furthermore, he adds that Friedrich Weller has demonstrated that the Guan fo sanmei hai jing corresponds to a Sogdian manuscript, a manuscript which Hans Reichelt had previously considered to be related to the Guan Wuliangshou jing. Hans Reichelt, Die soghdischen Handschriftenreste des Britischen Museums, I. Teil (Heidelberg: Carl Winters Universitätsbuchhandlung, 1928), S. 33-56 (Der Dhyāna-Text). Friedrich Weller, Bemerkungen zum soghdischen Dhyāna-Texte,” Monumenta Serica (Journal of Oriental Studies of the Catholic University of Peking) 2 (1935-1937): 341-404; 3 (1938): 78-129. |
154, 157, 158, 161 |
|
Fujita writes that it is “well known” that the Guan Puxian pusa xing fa jing 觀普賢菩薩行法經 T277 (Samantabhadra Contemplation Sūtra) draws heavily from Kumārajīva's translation of the Saddharmapuṇḍarika-sūtra. He claims its likeness is so strong that it is referred to as “a concluding sūtra of the Lotus sūtra.” He adds that the text lacks Tibetan and Sanskrit equivalents, as well as any other Chinese version. In this sense, Fujita treats T277 as one of a number of scriptures dating from around the same time, teaching "contemplation" 觀 meditations, which share the same conditions---usually, they are "sole examplars" (in Nattier's phrase), i.e. no known alternate versions are known in Sanskrit, Tibetan or Chinese; they sometimes have known sources in prior Chinese texts; and so on. Scholars have often argued that texts in this broader group were composed in Central Asia or China. |
155, 161-162 |
Fujita notes that the Guan Yaowang Yaoshang er pusa jing 觀藥王藥上二菩薩經 (Baiṣajyarāja-sūtra) T1161 translated by Kālayaśas 畺良耶舍 lacks Tibetan and Sanskrit versions, as well as any other Chinese counterparts. In this sense, Fujita treats T1161 as one of a number of scriptures dating from around the same time, teaching "contemplation" 觀 meditations, which share the same conditions---usually, they are "sole examplars" (in Nattier's phrase), i.e. no known alternate versions are known in Sanskrit, Tibetan or Chinese; they sometimes have known sources in prior Chinese texts; and so on. Scholars have often argued that texts in this broader group were composed in Central Asia or China. Fujita adds that the text contains the term weiwu sanmei 惟無三昧 (“samādhi of non-existence only”), which is also found in the Guan Fo sanmei hai jing 首楞嚴三昧經 T643, which is believed to have drawn in turn from the Weiwu sanmei jing 惟無三昧經, a text labeled as “apocryphal” by Dao'an. |
155, 161 |
|
Fujita suggests that the Guan Mile pusa shangsheng Doushuai tian jing 觀彌勒菩薩上生兜率天經 ["Maitreya Contemplation Sutra "] T452 was compiled in the Turfan vicinity (Juqu Jingsheng is said to have obtained the text in Turfan), and has no Sanskrit equivalent as well as any other Chinese version. Fujita notes that a Tibetan translation is included in the sDe dge [D199] and Lhasa editions, but not the Peking, sNar thang or Co ne editions of the Tibetan canon. However, according to Fujita, the Tibetan is translated from the Chinese, which suggests that no Sanskrit version was known in Tibet. Fujita adds that there is “reason to believe” that the Guan Wuliangshou jing 佛說觀無量壽佛經 T365 was influenced by the Guan Mile pusa shangsheng Doushuai tian jing. In a broader context, T452 is one of a whole group of 'contemplation sūtras, appearing around the same time in Chinese, which share certain conditions: apparent debts to earlier texts in the Chinese tradition; the absence of parallel texts in other Buddhist languages; etc. and according to Fujita follows Ogasawara Senshū in concluding that the compilation of the text in the region of Turfan is "well documented". |
155, 157, 161 |