Text: T1853; 大乘玄論

Summary

Identifier	T1853 [T]
Title	大乘玄論 [T]
Date	after 623 [Brewster 2025]
Author	Jizang, 吉藏 [T]
Compiler 編集	Anonymous (China), 失譯, 闕譯, 未詳撰者, 未詳作者, 不載譯人 [Brewster 2025]

There may be translations for this text listed in the Bibliography of Translations from the Chinese Buddhist Canon into Western Languages. If translations are listed, this link will take you directly to them. However, if no translations are listed, the link will lead only to the head of the page.

There are resources for the study of this text in the SAT Daizōkyō Text Dabatase (Saṃgaṇikīkṛtaṃ Taiśotripiṭakaṃ).

Assertions

Preferred?	Source	Pertains to	Argument	Details
No	[T] T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014.	T1853; 大乘玄論	胡吉藏撰 Entry author: Michael Radich Edit	Title: 大乘玄論 People: Jizang, 吉藏 (author) Identifier: T1853
No	[Xingyun et al., 2003] Xingyun 星雲大師, et al., ed. Foguang dacidian 佛光大辭典. Gaoxiong高雄: Foguang shan wenjiao jijinhui 佛光山文教基金會, 2003. — 814	T1853; 大乘玄論	The Foguang dictionary states that the dates of composition of the Dasheng xuan lun 大乘玄論 T1853 are unclear, but that it can be inferred to be a “late work” in the corpus of Jizang (549–623), since it employs a variety of primary source materials from both Mahāyāna and “Hināyāna” traditions in developing its doctrinal positions. [This inference is problematic. It does not rely on any external evidence, such as bibliographic catalogs or traditional biographies of Jizang. In addition, in other works of Jizang, such as the Bailun shu 百論疏 (T1827) and the Sanlun xuan yi 三論玄義 (T1852), which are firmly datable to the “middle period” of Jizang’s career during the very early 600s, Jizang also avails himself of similar range of sources --- BB.] Entry author: Billy Brewster Edit
No	[Brewster 2025] Brewster, Ernest. “The Essence of the Two Truths is the Middle Way: Jizang’s (549–623) Arguments against the Tiantai Doctrine of Three Truths.” In The Dynamic Non-Duality of Dharmadhātu: Elucidations of Buddhist Truth Expressions, Jun Fujii, ed., 205-240. Hamburg: Hamburg Buddhist Studies, 2025. — 225, n. 41	T1853; 大乘玄論	Although the five-fascicle Dasheng xuanlun T1853 draws heavily from various doctrinal treatises and commentaries more reliably attributable to Jizang himself, premodern East Asian bibliographical studies have long suspected that the work as a whole is not a genuine composition of Jizang, datable to the later part of his career (see the Daijō gen mondō 大乘玄問答 by Chinkai 珍海 [1092–1152 CE], T2303:70.572c28–a3). In more recent years, studies including Cho (2014); Itō (1971, 1972, and 2018); and Okuno (2012) have cast doubt on the traditional attribution by identifying salient discrepancies between the doctrinal claims presented in the Dasheng xuanlun and the contents of the works more solidly ascribed to Jizang’s own hand, such as the Erdi yi 二諦義 T1854 (On the Doctrine of the Two Truths) and the Sanlun xuanyi 三論玄義 T1852 (On the Profound Doctrines of the Three Treatises). In his study isolating various distortions of Jizang’s original teachings as they are represented in the section entitled “On the Doctrine of the One Vehicle” (yisheng yi 一乘義), Okuno (2012: 54–55) points to the existence of overlapping accounts within the Silun xuanyi 四論玄義 (On the Profound Doctrines of the Four Treatises) by Jizang’s contemporary and fellow disciple under the teacher Falang 法朗, Huijun/Hyegyun 慧均 (d.u.). While the mere presence of duplicate accounts within works contemporaneous with Jizang may not be sufficient evidence in and of itself to override the received attribution, it provides one additional data point in a large body of evidence indicating the likelihood that the Dasheng xuanlun comprises a posthumous compilation. Works cited: Cho Yun-kyŏng 조윤경. “Taesŭng hyŏllon Kilchang ch’ansul sŏl-e taehan chaegoch’al: ‘Ije ŭi’ rŭlchungsim ŭro’”『大乘玄論』길장 찬술설에 대한 재고찰—「二諦義」를 중심으로. Sŏn munhwa yŏn’gu禪文化研究16 (2014): 321–360. Itō Takatoshi 伊藤隆壽. Sanron-shū no kiso deki kenkyū 三論の基礎的研究. Tokyo: Daizō shuppan, 2018. ________. “Daijō genron happu gi no shingi mondai (2)”『大乗玄論』八不義の真偽問題（二）. Komazawa Daigaku bukkyō gakubu ronshū 駒澤大学佛教学部論集 3 (1972): 98–118. ________. “Daijō genron happu gi no shingi mondai”『大乗玄論』八不義の真偽問題. Indogaku Bukkyōgaku kenkyū 印度學佛教學研究 19.2 (1971): 637–38. Okuno Mitsuyoshi 奥野光賢. “Daijō genron ni kansuru sho mondai: ‘Ichijō gi’ o chūshin toshite”『大乗玄論』に関する諸問題:「一乗義」を中心として. Komazawa Daigaku bukkyō gakubu kenkyū kiyō 駒澤大學佛教學部研究紀要 70 (2012): 53–71. Entry author: Billy Brewster Edit	People: Anonymous (China), 失譯, 闕譯, 未詳撰者, 未詳作者, 不載譯人 (compiler 編集) Date: after 623

Preferred?

Source

Pertains to

Argument

Details

[T] T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014.

T1853; 大乘玄論

胡吉藏撰

Entry author: Michael Radich

Edit

Title: 大乘玄論
People: Jizang, 吉藏 (author)
Identifier: T1853

[Xingyun et al., 2003] Xingyun 星雲大師, et al., ed. Foguang dacidian 佛光大辭典. Gaoxiong高雄: Foguang shan wenjiao jijinhui 佛光山文教基金會, 2003. — 814

T1853; 大乘玄論

The Foguang dictionary states that the dates of composition of the Dasheng xuan lun 大乘玄論 T1853 are unclear, but that it can be inferred to be a “late work” in the corpus of Jizang (549–623), since it employs a variety of primary source materials from both Mahāyāna and “Hināyāna” traditions in developing its doctrinal positions. [This inference is problematic. It does not rely on any external evidence, such as bibliographic catalogs or traditional biographies of Jizang. In addition, in other works of Jizang, such as the Bailun shu 百論疏 (T1827) and the Sanlun xuan yi 三論玄義 (T1852), which are firmly datable to the “middle period” of Jizang’s career during the very early 600s, Jizang also avails himself of similar range of sources --- BB.]

Entry author: Billy Brewster

Edit

[Brewster 2025] Brewster, Ernest. “The Essence of the Two Truths is the Middle Way: Jizang’s (549–623) Arguments against the Tiantai Doctrine of Three Truths.” In The Dynamic Non-Duality of Dharmadhātu: Elucidations of Buddhist Truth Expressions, Jun Fujii, ed., 205-240. Hamburg: Hamburg Buddhist Studies, 2025. — 225, n. 41

T1853; 大乘玄論

Although the five-fascicle Dasheng xuanlun T1853 draws heavily from various doctrinal treatises and commentaries more reliably attributable to Jizang himself, premodern East Asian bibliographical studies have long suspected that the work as a whole is not a genuine composition of Jizang, datable to the later part of his career (see the Daijō gen mondō 大乘玄問答 by Chinkai 珍海 [1092–1152 CE], T2303:70.572c28–a3). In more recent years, studies including Cho (2014); Itō (1971, 1972, and 2018); and Okuno (2012) have cast doubt on the traditional attribution by identifying salient discrepancies between the doctrinal claims presented in the Dasheng xuanlun and the contents of the works more solidly ascribed to Jizang’s own hand, such as the Erdi yi 二諦義 T1854 (On the Doctrine of the Two Truths) and the Sanlun xuanyi 三論玄義 T1852 (On the Profound Doctrines of the Three Treatises). In his study isolating various distortions of Jizang’s original teachings as they are represented in the section entitled “On the Doctrine of the One Vehicle” (yisheng yi 一乘義), Okuno (2012: 54–55) points to the existence of overlapping accounts within the Silun xuanyi 四論玄義 (On the Profound Doctrines of the Four Treatises) by Jizang’s contemporary and fellow disciple under the teacher Falang 法朗, Huijun/Hyegyun 慧均 (d.u.). While the mere presence of duplicate accounts within works contemporaneous with Jizang may not be sufficient evidence in and of itself to override the received attribution, it provides one additional data point in a large body of evidence indicating the likelihood that the Dasheng xuanlun comprises a posthumous compilation.

Works cited:

Cho Yun-kyŏng 조윤경. “Taesŭng hyŏllon Kilchang ch’ansul sŏl-e taehan chaegoch’al: ‘Ije ŭi’ rŭlchungsim ŭro’”『大乘玄論』길장 찬술설에 대한 재고찰—「二諦義」를 중심으로. Sŏn munhwa yŏn’gu禪文化研究16 (2014): 321–360.

Itō Takatoshi 伊藤隆壽. Sanron-shū no kiso deki kenkyū 三論の基礎的研究. Tokyo: Daizō shuppan, 2018.

________. “Daijō genron happu gi no shingi mondai (2)”『大乗玄論』八不義の真偽問題（二）. Komazawa Daigaku bukkyō gakubu ronshū 駒澤大学佛教学部論集 3 (1972): 98–118.

________. “Daijō genron happu gi no shingi mondai”『大乗玄論』八不義の真偽問題. Indogaku Bukkyōgaku kenkyū 印度學佛教學研究 19.2 (1971): 637–38.

Okuno Mitsuyoshi 奥野光賢. “Daijō genron ni kansuru sho mondai: ‘Ichijō gi’ o chūshin toshite”『大乗玄論』に関する諸問題:「一乗義」を中心として. Komazawa Daigaku bukkyō gakubu kenkyū kiyō 駒澤大學佛教學部研究紀要 70 (2012): 53–71.

Entry author: Billy Brewster

Edit

People: Anonymous (China), 失譯, 闕譯, 未詳撰者, 未詳作者, 不載譯人 (compiler 編集)
Date: after 623