Text: T0817; 佛說大淨法門經

Summary

Identifier T0817 [T]
Title 佛說大淨法門經 [T]
Date December 21, 266 [Boucher 1996]
Unspecified Huichang 慧常; Jinxing 進行 [Shoulengyan hou ji]
"handle the Indic text", [手]執梵[文], [手]執胡[本] Zhi Shilun, 支施崙 [Shoulengyan hou ji]
Translator 譯 Dharmarakṣa 竺法護, 曇摩羅察 [T]
"chose the wording" 自屬辭 Zhang Tianxi 張天錫 [Shoulengyan hou ji]

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.

Entry author: Michael Radich

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No

[Kawano 2006]  Kawano Satoshi 河野訓. Shoki kan'yaku butten no kenkyū: Jiku Hōgo o chūshin to shite 初期漢訳仏典の研究 : 竺法護を中心として. Ise: Kōgakkan Daigaku Shuppanbu, 2006. — Table 6, p. 87

On the basis of a complex examination of the evidence in the catalogues from CSZJJ to KYL (73-92), Kawano arrives at this corpus of 41 texts, which he thinks can most safely be ascribed to Dharmarakṣa and dated, in order to construct a basis for examining Dharmarakṣa's corpus for the development of translation idiom over the course of his career. This note lists that corpus. Kawano arrives at this corpus on the basis of the following criteria: (1) He accepts texts which were probably dated in the original CSZJJ, as represented by the Koryŏ (Kawano shows that the version of CSZJJ received via the Song[-Yuan-Ming] line of transmission includes a large set of problematic additional dates); (2) He accepts texts first dated in Fajing, as long as the date was accepted by Zhisheng in KYL; (3) He rejects texts for which a translation date first appears in LDSBJ; (4) He adds one further text (T810) that can be dated on the basis of a (very early manuscript) colophon.

[Note: This list includes four (or five?) lost texts, and a couple of texts ascribed to other translators in the received canon. The number of lost texts is uncertain, because the list includes a 無量壽經, which some modern scholars would be inclined to identify with T360 ascribed to Kang Sengkai 康僧鎧---MR.]

Entry author: Michael Radich

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No

[CSZJJ]  Sengyou 僧祐. Chu sanzang ji ji (CSZJJ) 出三藏記集 T2145. — T2145:55.7b12-8c9

In the list of texts ascribed to Dharmarakṣa by Dao'an, 28 bear dates. One of these (the 五蓋疑結失行經) has a note saying that Dao'an did not think it looked like a Dharmarakṣa text. This note lists the remaining 27. [Zürcher (2007): 66 suggests that this may be evidence that "in these cases [Dao'an's] attribution was based upon early dated colophons", which may mean that these attributions can be regarded as some of the strongest in the Dharmarakṣa corpus, on external grounds.]
光讚經十卷(十七品太康七年十一月二十五日出) T222
賢劫經七卷(舊錄云賢劫三昧經或云賢劫定意經元康元年七月二十一日出) T425
正法華經十卷(二十七品舊錄云正法華經或云方等正法華經太康七年八月十日出) T263
普耀經八卷(三十品安公云方等部永嘉二年五月出) T186
大哀經七卷(二十八品舊錄云如來大哀經元康元年七月七日出) T398
度世品經六卷(或云度世或為五卷元康元年四月十三日出) T292
密迹經五卷(或云密迹金剛力士經或七卷太康九年十月八日出) T310(3)
持心經六卷(十七品一名等御諸法一名莊嚴佛法舊錄云持心梵天經或云持心梵天所問經太康七年三月十日出) T585
修行經七卷(二十七品舊錄云修行道地經太康五年二月二十三日出) T606
漸備一切智經十卷(或五卷元康七年十一月二十一日出) T285
海龍王經四卷(或三卷太康六年七月十日出) T598
普超經四卷(一名阿闍世王品安錄亦云更出阿闍世王經或為三卷舊錄云文殊普超三昧經太康七年十二月二十七日出) T627
阿惟越致遮經四卷(太康五年十月十四日出) T266
寶藏經二卷(舊錄云文殊師利寶藏經或云文殊師利現寶藏太始六年十月出) T461
寶結經二卷(一名菩薩淨行經舊錄云寶結菩薩經或云寶結菩薩所問經永熙元年七月十四日出) T310(47)
離垢施女經一卷(大康十年十二月二日出) T338
大淨法門經一卷(建始元年三月二十六日出) T817
須真天子經二卷(泰始二年十一月出) T588
魔逆經一卷(太康十年十二月二日出) T589
德光太子經一卷(或云賴吒和羅所問光德太子經太始六年九月三十日出) T170
文殊師利淨律經一卷(一本云淨律經太康十年四月八日出) T460
寶女經四卷(舊錄云寶女三昧經或云寶女問慧經太康八年四月二十七日出) T399
如來興顯經四卷(一本云興顯如幻經元康元年十二月二十五日出) T291
方等泥洹經二卷(或云大般泥洹經太始五年七月二十三日出) T378
大善權經二卷(或云慧上菩薩問大善權經或云慧上菩薩經或云善權方便經或云善權方便所度無極經太康六年六月十七日出) T345
滅十方冥經一卷(元熙元年八月十四日出) T435
普門經一卷(一本云普門品太康八年正月十一日出) T315

Entry author: Michael Radich

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No

[Mei 1996]  Mei Naiwen 梅廼文. “Zhu Fahu de fanyi chutan 竺法護的翻譯初探.” Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 中華佛學學報 9 (1996): 49-64. — 54 n. 26

Mei begins with the 76 texts ascribed to Dharmarakṣa in the present Taishō which also appear in Sengyou. She then eliminates eight for the following reasons: five are listed as lost by Sengyou's time (T182, T288, T496, T558, T1301); T1301, moreover, contains details that makes it appear as if it may have been composed in China; T103 and T453 have been regarded as dubious by modern scholars (Gao Mingdao and Yinshun); and Sengyou's description of the 佛為菩薩五夢經 that he ascribes to Dharmarakṣa does not match T310(4). This leaves 68 texts Mei thinks can reliably be matched against Sengyou. This entry lists those 68 texts. [Note: Mei erroneously gives the number T627 for what is properly T636---MR.]

Entry author: Michael Radich

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No

[Zürcher 1959/2007]  Zürcher, Erik. The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China. Third Edition. Leiden: Brill, 1959 (2007 reprint). — 66

Zürcher states that in the list of texts ascribed to Dharmarakṣa by Dao'an, 29 bear dates [I actually count 28; further, one, the 五蓋疑結失行經, has a note saying that Dao'an did not think it looked like a Dharmarakṣa text, and so I also exclude it---MR]. This note lists the remaining 27. Zürcher suggests that this may be evidence that "in these cases [Dao'an's] attribution was based upon early dated colophons". [This may mean that these attributions can be regarded as some of the strongest in the Dharmarakṣa corpus, on external grounds.]

Entry author: Michael Radich

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No

[Boucher 1996]  Boucher, Daniel. "Buddhist Translation Procedures in Third-Century China: A Study of Dharmarakṣa and his Translation Idiom." PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1996. — 273

In the appendix to his dissertation Boucher provides a list of ninety-five texts attributed to Dharmarakṣa by Sengyou in his Chu sanzang ji ji 出三藏記集 T2145, along with a note on relevant scholarship. Among these texts is the Da jing famen jing 大淨法門經 Mañjuśrīvikrīḍita-sūtra T817, which Sengyou dated December 21, 266.

Entry author: Sophie Florence

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No

[Chen 2005]  Chen, Jinhua. "Some Aspects of the Buddhist Translation Procedure in Early Medieval China: With Special References to a Longstanding Misreading of a Keyword in the Earliest Extant Buddhist Catalogue in East Asia." Journal Asiatique 293.2 (2005): 603-662. — 657-661

Chen lists thirty-three texts discussed in Sengyou's Chu sanzang ji ji for which dates are given, but where those dates cannot be corroborated by any "translation documents" [meaning primary sources discussing circumstances etc. of translation, such as colophons]:

Fangdeng nihuan jing 方等般泥洹經 T378;
Deguang taizi jing 德光太子經 T170;
Baozang jing 文殊師利現寶藏經 T461;
Da shanquan jing 慧上菩薩問大善權經 T345;
Hailong-wang jing 海龍王經 T598;
Puchao jing 文殊師利普超三昧經 T627;
Pumen jing 普門品經 T315;
Baonü jing 寶女所問經 T399;
Miji jing 密跡經 K[oryŏ taijanggyŏng = 高麗大藏經]997;
Ligoushi nü jing 離垢施女經 T338;
Baoji jing 大寶積經 T310;
Dushi pin jing 度世品經 T292;
Rulai xingxian jing 如來興顯經 T291;
Shoulengyan jing 首楞嚴經;
Wugai yijie shixing jing 五蓋疑結失行經;
Mie shifang ming jing 滅十方冥經 T435;
Dajing famen jing 大淨法門經 T817;
San fadu 三法度;
Puyao jing 普耀經;
Sitianwang jing 四天王經 T590;
Guangbo yanjing jing 大方廣普賢所說經 T268;
Chan miyao 五門禪經要用法 T619;
Fomu bannihuan jing 佛母般泥洹經 T145;
Nianfo sanmei jing 菩薩念佛三昧經 T414;
Pomo tuoluoni jing 無量門破魔陀羅尼經 T1014;
Za baozang jing 雜寶藏經 T203;
Fu fazing yinyuan jing 付法藏因緣傳 T2058;
Fangbianxin lun 方便心論 T1632;
Shanjian piposha lü 善見律毘婆沙 T1462;
Guanshiyin chanhui chuzui zhoujing 觀世音懺悔除罪咒經;
Shi'er yinyuan jing 十二因緣經;
Xuda zhangzhe jing 須達經 T73.

Entry author: Sophie Florence

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No

[Suzuki 1995]  Suzuki Hiromi 鈴木裕美. “Koyaku kyōten ni okeru yakugo ni tsuite: Jiku Hōgo yakushutsu kyōten wo chūshin toshite 古訳経典における訳語について―竺法護訳出経典を中心として.” IBK 43, no. 2 (1995): 198-200.

Suzuki regards the texts listed in this entry as genuine Dharmarakṣa translations. She groups them into five types, on the basis of stylistic features:

A: T222, T588 , T636
A': T186, T263, T266, T285, T291, T292, T310, T310(3), T310(47), T345, T398, T403, T460, T461, T565, T606, T627, T817
B: T585
B': T338
C: T103, T170, T182AB, T199, T283, T315AB, T317, T342, T349, T378, T399, T425, T435, T459, T481, T589, T598, T737

Entry author: Michael Radich

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No

[Shoulengyan hou ji]  Anonymous. Shoulengyan hou ji 首楞嚴後記, as reported by CSZJJ 出三藏記集 — T2145 (LV) 49b18-49b29

According to this anonymous note, in 373 CE the regional ruler of Liangzhou, i.e. the regional inspector Zhang Tianxi 張天錫, sponsored the translation of the Shoulengyan jing 首楞嚴 (lit. ‘brought [it] out’ 出) . While the note begins with a discussion of the Shoulengyan jing translation itself, it quickly goes on to list three other translations produced under Zhang’s supervision, and the impression one gets is that they were all executed in relatively quick succession (in any case, no specific dates are given for any of the three): 須賴、 上金光首 [cf. T817, which features an otherwise unknown protagonist by this name --- MR]、 如幻三昧 [cf. T342, ascribed in T to Dhr ---- MR]. The note then goes on to specify that the ‘hu text’ (of the Shoulengyan jing? of all four texts?) was ‘held in the hand’ 手執胡本 by a certain Zhi Shilun 支施崙, a lay devotee of Yuezhi ethnicity. We further read that on the Shoulengyan jing translation project, and perhaps also in the work on the remaining three translations (although there is some ambiguity here), the actual ‘translator’ 譯 was a certain Bo Yan 帛延, introduced as a bilingual member of the Kuchean royal clan. The record adds that the translation activities were attended by three leading officials from the regional administration and by the monks Huichang 慧常 and Jinxing 進行, as well as that Zhang Tianxi himself ‘chose the wording’ 自屬辭.

Entry author: Rafal Felbur

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No

[Bie lu (DH mss)]  "Liu Song" Zhongjing bie lu 劉宋眾經別錄, S.2872, P.3747. Dating complex and unclear.

In the "Liu Song" Zhongjing bie lu 劉宋眾經別錄, as represented by a Dunhuang manuscript fragment, P.3747, are listed the following titles corresponding to extant texts by Dharmarakṣa (titles in the DH mss. Bie lu are identified by the numbering given to the manuscripts in Tan 1991): T170 = Tan#3, T199 = Tan#53; possibly T222 = Tan#20 (the title given is 小品經), T310(3) = Tan#78, T317 = Tan#52, T323 = Tan#6, T324 = Tan#4, probably part of T325 = Tan#31, T338 = Tan#8, T433 = Tan#51, T460 = Tan#1 (title missing, but ms. here can be reconstructed on the basis of comparison with CSZJJ); T534 = Tan#9, T567 = Tan#11, T569 = Tan#50, T589 = Tan#10, T811 = Tan#7, T812 = Tan#2, T817 = Tan#5.

In addition, the Bie lu features interlinear notes following the following titles, directly identifying Dharmarakṣa as the translator of the text(s) in question, and/or giving dates and other circumstances of translation. These notes largely correspond verbatim to similar notes given for various parts of the Dhr corpus in CSZJJ, either in Sengyou's own interlinear notes, or, in a couple of cases, in independent documents relating to the texts in question: T460 = Tan#1 (see T2145 [LV] 51b8-13); T567 = Tan#10 (CSZJJ 50b6-10); T222? = Tan#20 (CSZJJ 9b28-c4). An open question is whether such notes in the Bie lu are meant to apply only to the single title that they follow, or to groups of titles (and if they apply to groups of titles, how many titles are covered by each single note).

A slightly more complex case is T638 = Tan#62, where an interlinear note already gives the information (carried elsewhere too) that the text was produced by Dharmarakṣa and then revised by Nie Chengyuan, This information corresponds closely in wording to CSZJJ 9c6-8.

Dating of this Bie lu is a complex matter; see other CBC@ entries directly on these DH manuscript witnesses, citations in later catalogues etc.

Entry author: Michael Radich

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No

[Bie lu (DH mss)]  "Liu Song" Zhongjing bie lu 劉宋眾經別錄, S.2872, P.3747. Dating complex and unclear.

In the "Liu Song" Zhongjing bie lu 劉宋眾經別錄, as represented by a Dunhuang manuscript fragment, P.3747, the following title appears: 大淨法門品經 (title #5 in the numbering given to the Bie lu manuscript in the transcription of Tan 1991). This title corresponds to T817. The title is followed by an interlinear note:

建始元年(301 CE)三月廿六日出

The wording of this note corresponds verbatim to an interlinear note to the same title in CSZJJ, 太始六年九月三十日出, T2145 (LV) 7c16. The verbatim correspondence of wording between these two sources raises interesting but difficult questions about the chronological priority between the Bie lu and CSZJJ. A further difficult question is whether one of the two directly borrowed from the other, or whether they drew on a common third source. Consideration of these questions must take into consideration the fact that the Bie lu, as witnessed in two Dunhuang fragments, contains a number of notes displaying such correspondences to the wording of CSZJJ.

Entry author: Michael Radich

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