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受歲經

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Text ID
KR6a0050
Date
266–313
Dynasty
西晉

Shòusuì jīng 受歲經

Sūtra of the Receiving of Years (the Pavāraṇā-sūtra; parallel to Madhyama-āgama sūtra 89, the Bǐqiū qǐng jīng 比丘請經) by 竺法護 (Zhú Fǎhù / Dharmarakṣa, 譯)

About the work

The Shòu-suì jīng is a single-fascicle Western Jìn 西晉 translation of the Pavāraṇā-sūtra, the discourse on the pavāraṇā ceremony — the closing-of-the-rains-retreat ritual on which monks formally invite mutual correction from one another. The Chinese title 受歲 (“receiving of years”) refers to the vassa-counting that begins with the pavāraṇā — each successive vassa-completion adding a year of seniority. The Pāli parallel is MN 67 Cātumā-sutta (and SN 8.7 Pavāraṇā-sutta); the Chinese parallel is T26[89] (the Bǐqiū qǐng jīng 比丘請經 of the Madhyama-āgama).

The text opens at the Veṇuvana Monastery (羅閱祇迦蘭陀竹園) at Rājagṛha, with the saṅgha completing the vassa. Mahāmoggallāna addresses the assembly: “Monks who are receiving the years (i.e. completing the rains-retreat), let each of you speak — I should speak, you should speak — admonishing and being admonished by one another.” The body of the text is the systematic instruction on how mutual pavāraṇā-criticism should be received and given.

Prefaces

The text bears no preface or postface. The only paratext is the Western-Jìn translator’s signature at the head: 「西晉三藏竺法護譯」 (cf. KR6a0047).

Abstract

T50 was produced during Dharmarakṣa’s Western Jìn career (266–313 CE), recorded in the frontmatter. The Indic source is presumed lost. The principal interest of T50 is its preservation of the Pavāraṇā doctrine in late-third-century Chinese; the discourse is among the foundational sources for the Buddhist conception of saṅgha-internal accountability.

Translations and research

  • Ñāṇamoli and Bodhi, tr. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995. — MN 67 with notes.
  • Anālayo, Bhikkhu. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya, vol. 1. Taipei: Dharma Drum, 2011.
  • Yifa. The Origins of Buddhist Monastic Codes in China. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2002. — Background on the pavāraṇā ceremony in Chinese reception.

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