Text: T0545; 佛說德護長者經

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[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.

• T0545; 佛說德護長者經

Entry author: Michael Radich

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• Title: 佛說德護長者經
• People: Narendrayaśas, 那連提耶舍, 長耳三藏 (translator 譯)
• Identifier: T0545

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[Eltschinger 2010]  Eltschinger, Vincent. “Apocalypticism, Heresy and Philosophy: Towards a Sociohistorically Grounded Account of Sixth Century Indian Philosophy.” In Indo shūkyō shisō no tagenteki kyōzon to kan’yō shisō no kaimei インド宗教思想の多元的共存と寛容思想の解明 [Investigation of Religious Pluralism and the Concept of Tolerance in India], edited by Shaku Goshin 釈悟震 et al., 425-480. Heisei 19-21 nendo Kagaku kenkyūhi hojokin kiban kenkyū (A) (kadai bangō 19202003) kenkyū seika hōkokusho 平成19－21年度科学研究費補助金基盤研究(A) (課題番号19202003)研究成果報告書. Tokyo: Zaidan Hōjin Tōhō Kenkyūkai, 2010. — 465

• T0545; 佛說德護長者經

Following Zürcher (1982): Narendrayaśas borrows from and significantly amplifies a prophecy already found in the earlier, anonymous Shenri jing 申日經 ("probably fifth century", Zürcher), which is nowhere found in earlier versions of the present text by Dharmarakṣa and Guṇabhadra. Zürcher suggests that the prophecy may have been inserted by Narendrayaśas himself to refer flatteringly to Yang Jian, who had summoned him a year earlier to Daxing shan si.

Entry author: Michael Radich

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• People: Narendrayaśas, 那連提耶舍, 長耳三藏 (translator 譯)
• Date: 584

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[Zürcher 1981]  Zürcher, Erik. “Eschatology and Messianism in Early Chinese Buddhism.” In Leyden Studies in Sinology: Papers Presented at the conference Held in Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Sinological Institute of Leyden University, December 8-12, 1980, edited by Wilt L. Idema, 34-56. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1981. — 47-48

• T0545; 佛說德護長者經

Zürcher argues that Narendrayaśas’s 583 version of the Dehu zhangzhe jing 德護長者經 T545 appropriates the story of Bodhisattva Yueguang tongzhi in in order to legitimate the position of the Sui emperor Wen. Ch.2, p. 849b-c of T545 features a passage which serves to exalt Wen: “In the final era of the doctrine, in the country of Great Sui on the continent of Jambudvīpa, he will be a great king called Daxing 大行, who will be able to make all beings in the country of great Sui have faith in the Buddha’s doctrine and plant all roots of goodness.” Zürcher argues that the passage goes on to allude to Wen’s large-scale support of Buddhism: “He will have innumerable hundreds of thousands of Buddha-images made, and he will establish innumerable hundreds and thousands of Buddhist sanctuaries.” Zürcher says the earliest recorded passage in which Yueguang is associated with China is contained in the Shenrijing 德護長者經 T535 (although he adds that belief in the bodhisattva as “a saintly reviver of the Doctrine in China” is found earlier, and is referred to in a letter from Xi Zuochi to Dao’an in 365 AD); he notes that several later texts manipulated the figure in the service of religious propaganda. Zürcher adds that the Sui emperor Wen is known to have manipulated Buddhist belief towards his own political ends.

Entry author: Sophie Florence

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[Strickmann 1990]  Strickmann, Michel. "The Consecration Sutra: A Buddhist Book of Spells" in Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha, edited by Robert E. Buswell, Jr., 75-118. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1990. — 103

• T0545; 佛說德護長者經

The Śrīgupta-sūtra 德護長者經 T545 contains an interpolation which, according to Strickmann, is an example of “scriptural tampering” in the service of an emperor. The passage states that Candraprabhā-kumāra will be reborn as Daxing, a pious ruler of the Sui dynasty devoted to the worship of the Buddha’s almsbowl, which will arrive in China during his reign. While he is in power, all in his kingdom will have faith in the Dharma. After half a century, in an act of great inspiration to all of his subjects, Daxing will become a monk. For more information Strickmann cites: Forte, Political Propaganda, and Forte, Mingtang and Buddhist Utopias in the History of the Astronomical Clock: The Tower Statue and Armillary Sphere Constructed by Empress Wu.

Entry author: Sophie Florence

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