聞分館君 Ask BunKanKun

釋摩男本四子經

3 min read

Text ID
KR6a0054
Date
222–253
Dynasty
吳

Shì Mónán běnsìzǐ jīng 釋摩男本四子經

Sūtra on the Original Four Sons of the Śākyan Mahānāman (the Cūḷa-dukkhakkhandha-sūtra; parallel to Madhyama-āgama sūtra 100, the Kǔyìn jīng 苦陰經, and to Kǔyìn yīnshì jīng 苦陰因事經 (KR6a0055)) by 支謙 (Zhī Qiān, 譯)

About the work

The Shì Mónán běnsìzǐ jīng is a single-fascicle Three-Kingdoms Wú 吳 translation of the Cūḷa-dukkhakkhandha-sūtra, the Buddha’s discourse on the gratification, danger, and escape from sensual pleasures, addressed to the Śākyan layman Mahānāman 摩訶男 (here transcribed 摩男 Mónán). The sūtra is one of the principal Pāli sources for the Buddhist analysis of kāma (sense-pleasure). The Pāli parallel is MN 14 Cūḷa-dukkhakkhandha-sutta; the Chinese parallels are T26[100] (the Kǔyìn jīng 苦陰經) and Kǔyìn yīnshì jīng 苦陰因事經 (KR6a0055) by Fǎjù.

The text opens “in the country of the Śākyas” (釋羈瘦國 = Sakyesu — “among the Śākyas”), at the Banyan Park (尼拘類園 = Nigrodhārāma) in Kapilavastu (迦維羅衛兜國). Mahānāman approaches the Buddha and asks why, despite his having long known and accepted the Buddha’s teaching, he is still subject to lust and aversion. The body of the discourse is the Buddha’s analysis of how sense-pleasures arise, what their gratification is, what their danger is, and what their escape is.

Prefaces

The text bears no preface or postface. The only paratext is the Wú-period translator’s signature at the head: 「吳月支國居士支謙譯」.

Abstract

T54 was produced during Zhī Qiān’s Wú-court translation period (222–253 CE), recorded in the frontmatter. The Indic source is presumed lost. T54 is one of the earliest surviving Chinese versions of the Cūḷa-dukkhakkhandha and provides a useful pre-Saṃghadeva comparand for the doctrine of the three-fold analysis of kāma. The unusual title 釋摩男本四子 (“Original Four Sons of the Śākyan Mahānāman”) refers to a sub-narrative in the discourse about Mahānāman’s four monk-sons, which is more developed in T54 than in the parallel versions.

Translations and research

  • Ñāṇamoli and Bodhi, tr. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995. — MN 14 with notes.
  • Anālayo, Bhikkhu. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya, vol. 1. Taipei: Dharma Drum, 2011.
  • Nattier, Jan. A Guide to the Earliest Chinese Buddhist Translations. Tokyo: IRIAB, 2008. — Treats Zhī Qiān’s corpus.

Graph View

Backlinks