Zhūfǎ běn jīng 諸法本經
Sūtra on the Roots of All Phenomena (parallel to Madhyama-āgama sūtra 113, the Zhūfǎ běn jīng 諸法本經) by 支謙 (Zhī Qiān, 譯)
About the work
The Zhūfǎ běn jīng — sub-titled in the source 出《中阿含》別翻 (“excerpted from the Madhyama-āgama, an alternative translation”) — is a single-fascicle Three-Kingdoms Wú 吳 translation of a discourse on the “roots” of all phenomena: chanda (will/desire) is the root, contact (phassa) is the cause, feeling (vedanā) is the convergence-point, mindfulness is the chief, concentration is the leader, wisdom is the supreme, liberation is the essence, the deathless (amata) is the goal. The Pāli parallel is AN 8.83 Mūla-sutta (and AN 10.58); the Chinese parallel is T26[113] (also titled Zhūfǎ běn jīng).
The text opens at the Jetavana monastery in Śrāvasti, with the Buddha articulating the eight roots and inviting the monks to reflect on them.
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
T59 was produced during Zhī Qiān’s Wú-court translation period (222–253 CE), recorded in the frontmatter. The Indic source is presumed lost. The principal interest of T59 is its preservation of the canonical “roots-of-phenomena” doctrine in mid-third-century Chinese; this material would later be elaborated in Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma and feed into the foundational doctrine of Buddhist phenomenology.
Translations and research
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu, tr. The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2012. — AN 8.83 with notes.
- Anālayo, Bhikkhu. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya, vol. 2. Taipei: Dharma Drum, 2011. — Treats T26[113].
Links
- CBETA online text
- Zhī Qiān DILA
- Kanseki DB
- Dazangthings date evidence (245): CBETA, Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經, ed. Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭 (Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai / Daizō shuppan, 1924–1932) — dazangthings.nz