Source: Hosaka 1939

Hosaka Gyokusen 保坂玉泉. “Butsu yuikyō gyō no seiritsu ni tsuite 佛遺教經の成立に就いて.” Komazawa daigaku jissen sōjō kenkyūkai nenpō 駒澤大學實踐宗乘研究會年報 7 (1939): 30-39.

Assertions

Assertion Argument Place in source Search

Hosaka examines the issue of the origin of the Fo yijiao jing 佛遺教經 (佛垂般涅槃略説教誡經, also entitled 佛遺教經, T389 ascribed to Kumārajīva). According to him, different views have been proposed, including that T389 might have a non-Buddhist origin, or that T389 might have been developed from/separated from/developed into the Fo suoxing zan 佛所行讚 (T192, a version of the Buddhacarita by Aśvaghoṣa 馬鳴, ascribed to *Dharmakṣema 曇無讖), since T389 and the Parinirvāṇa chapter 大涅槃品 of T192 share the same contents (as does also the Parinirvāṇa chapter 大滅品 of the Fo benxing jing 佛本行經 Buddhacarita T193, ascribed to Baoyun 寶雲). Hosaka argues that T389 was separated and developed from the Nirvāṇa chapter 涅槃品 of the original text of T192, a chapter which Aśvaghoṣa wrote based on texts such as the Mahāparinirvaṇa-sūtra, the Ambaṭṭha-sutta, the Ba nian jing 八念經 Madhyamāgama (T26) 74, and the Qi che jing 七車經 MĀ 8.

Hosaka deals with two parts of the text separately: sections describing Buddha’s entry into parinirvāṇa 入滅; and sections describing his last sermon.

Sections describing the Buddha’s death:

Hosaka points out that a part of the contents of the sections describing Buddha’s death shows striking similarities with the third juan 巻下 of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra 大般涅槃經 (T7 ascribed to Faxian 法顯). Specifically, in T389, the introductory section 序分, the beginning of the Xiuxi shijian gongde fen 修習世間功徳分 section, and from the Xianshi ruzheng jueding fen 顯示入證決定分 section up til the end section, have contents practically identical with T7. Hosaka quotes a number of passages from T7 corresponding to T389 to demonstrate this claim (quotations on 32-33). Hosaka maintain that the close relation between the two texts is evident, since no other scripture shows such a high degree of matching with T389.

Sections describing the Buddha’s last sermon:

According to Hosaka, the part of T389 relating to the Buddha’s last sermon, which consists of part of the Xuixing shijian gongde fen 修習世間功徳分 (七誡) and the Chengjiu chushijian daren gongde fen 成就出世間大人功徳分 (八大人覺), did not come from any of the texts on Buddha’s biography or his death, but rather, from the Āgamas 阿含. In this respect, Hosaka cites Masunaga's work focusing on the "eight kinds of attentiveness proper to great persons" (ba daren jue 八大人覺) and their relation to T389.

Hosaka quotes a number of passages from the Dīrghāgama equivalent to the Ambaṭṭha-sutra 阿摩晝經 DĀ (T1) no. 3, on the topics of the 修習世間功徳分 (七誡) in T389, which match closely with what we see in T389 (35-37). As a result, Hosaka claims that the practices of renouncers 出家行 in DĀ 3 corresponds extremely well with the 修習世間功徳分 (七誡) of T389, strongly suggesting that DĀ 3 is related to the development of T389.

Hosaka also presents a chart showing which sections of T389 are related to which texts (chart on 37-38). He points out that the other texts are seem to have been used in a systematic manner: T7 is related to the introductory and end sections; DĀ 3 is related to six out of the seven Xiuxing shijian gongde fen 修習世間功徳分 (七誡) sections; and the Ba nian jing 八念經 Madhyamāgama (T26) 74 and Qi che jing 七車經 MĀ 8 are related to the Chengjiu chushijian daren gongde fen 成就出世間大人功徳分 (八大人覺) section. (This means that only the text/s or sources related to the Xianshi bijing shenshen gongde fen 顯示畢竟甚深功徳分 section [and the 誡諂曲 section of the Xiuxing shijian gongde fen 修習世間功徳分 (七誡)] have not been identified.)

In conclusion, Hosaka maintains that 1) in writing the Nirvāṇa chapter 涅槃品 of the original Buddhacarita, Aśvaghoṣa compiled texts such as the Mahāparinirvaṇa-sūtra, as represented in Chinese translation by T7, the Ambaṭṭha-sutta, the Ba nian jing 八念經 Madhyamāgama (T26) 74, and Qi che jing 七車經 MĀ 8; 2) Aśvaghoṣa embellished what he took from those materials with similes and beautiful expressions in the Nirvāṇa chapter, as he does in the other chapters of the Buddhacarita as well; and 3) T389 represents essentially this Nirvāṇa chapter of the Buddhacarita later separated as an independent text. Hosaka claims that the beautiful style of T389 strongly suggests that some intermediate material must have intervened between T389 and its source scriptural materials (in T26 and MĀ). Hosaka adds that, if his hypothesis is correct, the view that T389 has a non-Buddhist origin can safely be rejected.

Edit

 Hosaka examines the issue of the origin of the Fo yijiao jing 佛遺教經 (佛垂般涅槃略説教誡經, also entitled 佛遺教經, T389 ascribed to Kumarajiva). According to him, different views have been proposed, including that T389 might have a non-Buddhist origin, or that T389 might have been developed from/separated from/developed into the Fo suoxing zan 佛所行讚 (T192, a version of the Buddhacarita by Asvaghosa 馬鳴, ascribed to *Dharmaksema 曇無讖), since T389 and the Parinirvana chapter 大涅槃品 of T192 share the same contents (as does also the Parinirvana chapter 大滅品 of the Fo benxing jing 佛本行經 Buddhacarita T193, ascribed to Baoyun 寶雲). Hosaka argues that T389 was separated and developed from the Nirvana chapter 涅槃品 of the original text of T192, a chapter which Asvaghosa wrote based on texts such as the Mahaparinirvana-sutra, the Ambattha-sutta, the Ba nian jing 八念經 Madhyamagama (T26) 74, and the Qi che jing 七車經 MA 8. Hosaka deals with two parts of the text separately: sections describing Buddha’s entry into parinirvana 入滅; and sections describing his last sermon. Sections describing the Buddha’s death: Hosaka points out that a part of the contents of the sections describing Buddha’s death shows striking similarities with the third juan 巻下 of the Mahaparinirvana-sutra 大般涅槃經 (T7 ascribed to Faxian 法顯). Specifically, in T389, the introductory section 序分, the beginning of the Xiuxi shijian gongde fen 修習世間功徳分 section, and from the Xianshi ruzheng jueding fen 顯示入證決定分 section up til the end section, have contents practically identical with T7. Hosaka quotes a number of passages from T7 corresponding to T389 to demonstrate this claim (quotations on 32-33). Hosaka maintain that the close relation between the two texts is evident, since no other scripture shows such a high degree of matching with T389. Sections describing the Buddha’s last sermon: According to Hosaka, the part of T389 relating to the Buddha’s last sermon, which consists of part of the Xuixing shijian gongde fen 修習世間功徳分 (七誡) and the Chengjiu chushijian daren gongde fen 成就出世間大人功徳分 (八大人覺), did not come from any of the texts on Buddha’s biography or his death, but rather, from the Agamas 阿含. In this respect, Hosaka cites Masunaga's work focusing on the "eight kinds of attentiveness proper to great persons" (ba daren jue 八大人覺) and their relation to T389. Hosaka quotes a number of passages from the Dirghagama equivalent to the Ambattha-sutra 阿摩晝經 DA (T1) no. 3, on the topics of the 修習世間功徳分 (七誡) in T389, which match closely with what we see in T389 (35-37). As a result, Hosaka claims that the practices of renouncers 出家行 in DA 3 corresponds extremely well with the 修習世間功徳分 (七誡) of T389, strongly suggesting that DA 3 is related to the development of T389. Hosaka also presents a chart showing which sections of T389 are related to which texts (chart on 37-38). He points out that the other texts are seem to have been used in a systematic manner: T7 is related to the introductory and end sections; DA 3 is related to six out of the seven Xiuxing shijian gongde fen 修習世間功徳分 (七誡) sections; and the Ba nian jing 八念經 Madhyamagama (T26) 74 and Qi che jing 七車經 MA 8 are related to the Chengjiu chushijian daren gongde fen 成就出世間大人功徳分 (八大人覺) section. (This means that only the text/s or sources related to the Xianshi bijing shenshen gongde fen 顯示畢竟甚深功徳分 section [and the 誡諂曲 section of the Xiuxing shijian gongde fen 修習世間功徳分 (七誡)] have not been identified.) In conclusion, Hosaka maintains that 1) in writing the Nirvana chapter 涅槃品 of the original Buddhacarita, Asvaghosa compiled texts such as the Mahaparinirvana-sutra, as represented in Chinese translation by T7, the Ambattha-sutta, the Ba nian jing 八念經 Madhyamagama (T26) 74, and Qi che jing 七車經 MA 8; 2) Asvaghosa embellished what he took from those materials with similes and beautiful expressions in the Nirvana chapter, as he does in the other chapters of the Buddhacarita as well; and 3) T389 represents essentially this Nirvana chapter of the Buddhacarita later separated as an independent text. Hosaka claims that the beautiful style of T389 strongly suggests that some intermediate material must have intervened between T389 and its source scriptural materials (in T26 and MA). Hosaka adds that, if his hypothesis is correct, the view that T389 has a non-Buddhist origin can safely be rejected. T0389; 佛垂般涅槃略說教誡經