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Chen points out that according to Fajing, the Jing du sanmei jing 淨度三昧經 was translated by Baoyun 寶雲 [T2146 (LV) 115b14], but that Fajing also mentions a version of the text that was "tampered with" by Xiao Ziliang 蕭子良 [T2146 (LV) 127a16-b8]. Before Fajing, Sengyou (CSZJJ) had also listed two versions of the text, one similarly by Xiao Ziliang, but the other anonymous. Chen suggests that some link between Baoyun and the Jing du sanmei jing may be plausible, based on the following facts: 1) Baoyun came from Liangzhou (ruled over at that time by the Northern Liang); 2) In the Northern Liang region, votive stūpas (studied by Stanely Abe, Eugene Wang, Yin Guangming and others) have been found which feature a set of "Eight Trigrams Deities", an idea Chen traces to Daoist sources; 3) the Eight Trigrams Deities" feature in the Jing du sanmei jing (or one of its source texts), so that the Jing du sanmei jing itself can be regarded as evidence that those deities had been adopted into Buddhist practice in Liangzhou. Partly on these grounds, Chen dates the Jing du sanmei jing to the period 400-450. As further support of this possible link between the Jing du sanmei jing and Baoyun, Chen also notes that on one of the votive stūpas (the Suo E 索阿 or Suo Ejun 索阿俊 stūpa) there appears the phrase tian shen wang 天神王, which also appears in a text ascribed to Baoyun (and Zhiyan 智嚴), the Si tianwang jing 四天王經 T590.
Chen is careful to state that some of his arguments strictly pertain to "only one section of the so-called composite version of Jingdu sanmei jing, a section that may be called 'Record of the Days of the Eight Kings'." Catalogues include evidence indicating that the Jing du sanmei jing as a whole might have been modified after its initial composition, and scholars (Sunayama, Kamata) have suggested that it may contain heterogeneous material "composed by different 'translators'". Sengyou (CSZJJ) also says that a text entitled Ba wang ri zhai yuan ji 八王日齋緣記 is excerpted from the Jing du sanmei jing [T2145 (LV) 91a4], and a similar account of the Days of the Eight Kings appears in the Tiwei jing 提謂經, suggesting that this portion of the text might have circulated independently in various contexts.
Among the various contents of the Jing du sanmei jing, Chen identifies as the earliest to treat the Days of the Eight Kings "a fragmentary quotation titled 'The Eight King Messengers Inspect Good and Evil on the Six Abstinence Days' 八王使者於六齋日簡約善惡". This passage is quoted in the Jing lü yi xiang 經律異相, in a passage which seems to combine various sources, including the Dunhuang manuscripts S. 4546 and B. 8654. Among these sources is also B. 8222, which bears a note stating that it is the first juan of the Jing du sanmei jing, and is also paralleled in the second juan of the Nanatsu-dera version of the text.
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58-59, 69-72 |
Chen points out that according to Fajing, the Jing du sanmei jing 淨度三昧經 was translated by Baoyun 寶雲 [T2146 (LV) 115b14], but that Fajing also mentions a version of the text that was "tampered with" by Xiao Ziliang 蕭子良 [T2146 (LV) 127a16-b8]. Before Fajing, Sengyou (CSZJJ) had also listed two versions of the text, one similarly by Xiao Ziliang, but the other anonymous. Chen suggests that some link between Baoyun and the Jing du sanmei jing may be plausible, based on the following facts: 1) Baoyun came from Liangzhou (ruled over at that time by the Northern Liang); 2) In the Northern Liang region, votive stupas (studied by Stanely Abe, Eugene Wang, Yin Guangming and others) have been found which feature a set of "Eight Trigrams Deities", an idea Chen traces to Daoist sources; 3) the Eight Trigrams Deities" feature in the Jing du sanmei jing (or one of its source texts), so that the Jing du sanmei jing itself can be regarded as evidence that those deities had been adopted into Buddhist practice in Liangzhou. Partly on these grounds, Chen dates the Jing du sanmei jing to the period 400-450. As further support of this possible link between the Jing du sanmei jing and Baoyun, Chen also notes that on one of the votive stupas (the Suo E 索阿 or Suo Ejun 索阿俊 stupa) there appears the phrase tian shen wang 天神王, which also appears in a text ascribed to Baoyun (and Zhiyan 智嚴), the Si tianwang jing 四天王經 T590.
Chen is careful to state that some of his arguments strictly pertain to "only one section of the so-called composite version of Jingdu sanmei jing, a section that may be called 'Record of the Days of the Eight Kings'." Catalogues include evidence indicating that the Jing du sanmei jing as a whole might have been modified after its initial composition, and scholars (Sunayama, Kamata) have suggested that it may contain heterogeneous material "composed by different 'translators'". Sengyou (CSZJJ) also says that a text entitled Ba wang ri zhai yuan ji 八王日齋緣記 is excerpted from the Jing du sanmei jing [T2145 (LV) 91a4], and a similar account of the Days of the Eight Kings appears in the Tiwei jing 提謂經, suggesting that this portion of the text might have circulated independently in various contexts.
Among the various contents of the Jing du sanmei jing, Chen identifies as the earliest to treat the Days of the Eight Kings "a fragmentary quotation titled 'The Eight King Messengers Inspect Good and Evil on the Six Abstinence Days' 八王使者於六齋日簡約善惡". This passage is quoted in the Jing lu yi xiang 經律異相, in a passage which seems to combine various sources, including the Dunhuang manuscripts S. 4546 and B. 8654. Among these sources is also B. 8222, which bears a note stating that it is the first juan of the Jing du sanmei jing, and is also paralleled in the second juan of the Nanatsu-dera version of the text. Baoyun, 寶雲 Xiao Ziliang 蕭子良 Jing du sanmei jing 淨度三昧經 X0015; Jing du sanmei jing 淨度三昧經; Jing du jing 淨度經; 淨度三昧經 |