Source: Naitō 1955

Naitō Ryūo 内藤竜雄. "Dai hōben butsu hō'on kyō ni tsuite 大方便仏報恩経について." IBK 3, no 2 (1955): 313-315.

Assertions

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Naitō argues that the 大方便佛報恩經 T156 draws upon various earlier Chinese texts (ranging in date down to about the S. Song, Guṇabhadra) and was apparently composed in China. The text contains about 20 stories of which only five so far have no known parallel. Parallels are found in the "Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish” 賢愚經 T202; the 雜寶藏經 T203; the 菩薩本行經 T155; the 六度集經 T152; the 菩薩本生鬘論 T160 [which is very late, but see Brough 1964-1965]; the 佛本行經 T190; and the 菩薩本緣經 T153. Among these texts, the relation with T202 is closest. The stories as found in T156 differ in various particulars from these parallels---setting, characters, plot order, and the insertion of Mahāyāna elements. Naitō characterises the text as unoriginal, in a manner which he states is rare in the sūtra literature. He characterises the text as a "sūtralization" [using Takasaki's term] of avadāna materials organised around a central theme. Material relating to ekayāna and the appearance of a jewelled stūpa show the evident influence of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka. The text also features "theoretical/doctrinal" sections, for which an extended parallel can be identified in the anonymous 薩婆多毘尼毘婆沙 T1440. Another identifiable source is Guṇabhadra’s 菩薩善戒經 T1582/T1583. Naitō thus regards it as highly unlikely that the text is a true translation. However, he also suggests that the content is not "sinified", and that perhaps it is more appropriate to think of it as having been compiled, edited or revised in China. He argues that the text should date sometime between 431 and 490.

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 Naito argues that the 大方便佛報恩經 T156 draws upon various earlier Chinese texts (ranging in date down to about the S. Song, Gunabhadra) and was apparently composed in China. The text contains about 20 stories of which only five so far have no known parallel. Parallels are found in the "Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish” 賢愚經 T202; the 雜寶藏經 T203; the 菩薩本行經 T155; the 六度集經 T152; the 菩薩本生鬘論 T160 [which is very late, but see Brough 1964-1965]; the 佛本行經 T190; and the 菩薩本緣經 T153. Among these texts, the relation with T202 is closest. The stories as found in T156 differ in various particulars from these parallels---setting, characters, plot order, and the insertion of Mahayana elements. Naito characterises the text as unoriginal, in a manner which he states is rare in the sutra literature. He characterises the text as a "sutralization" [using Takasaki's term] of avadana materials organised around a central theme. Material relating to ekayana and the appearance of a jewelled stupa show the evident influence of the Saddharmapundarika. The text also features "theoretical/doctrinal" sections, for which an extended parallel can be identified in the anonymous 薩婆多毘尼毘婆沙 T1440. Another identifiable source is Gunabhadra’s 菩薩善戒經 T1582/T1583. Naito thus regards it as highly unlikely that the text is a true translation. However, he also suggests that the content is not "sinified", and that perhaps it is more appropriate to think of it as having been compiled, edited or revised in China. He argues that the text should date sometime between 431 and 490. T0156; 大方便佛報恩經; Da fangbian Fo bao'en jing