Xūdá jīng 須達經
Sūtra of Sudatta (Anāthapiṇḍika) (the Velāma-sūtra; parallel to Madhyama-āgama sūtra 155, the Xūdáduō jīng 須達哆經, to Sānguī wǔjiè cíxīn yànlí gōngdé jīng 三歸五戒慈心厭離功德經 (KR6a0072) / Zhǎngzhě shībào jīng 長者施報經 (KR6a0074), and to Ekottara-āgama 27.3) by 求那毘地 (Guṇavṛddhi, 譯)
About the work
The Xūdá jīng is a single-fascicle Xiāo-Qí 蕭齊 (Southern Qí) translation of the Velāma-sūtra, addressed to the great householder Sudatta 須達 (better known by his epithet Anāthapiṇḍika 給孤獨, “Feeder of the Solitary”) — donor of the Jetavana monastery. The Pāli parallel is AN 9.20 Velāma-sutta; the Chinese parallels are T26[155], T72, T74 and T125[27.3].
The text opens with the Buddha addressing Anāthapiṇḍika on the subject of the merit produced by various grades of religious gift, and the still-greater merit produced by faith, by the keeping of the precepts, by the cultivation of mettā, and by the contemplation of impermanence.
Prefaces
The text bears no preface or postface. The only paratext is the Xiāo-Qí translator’s signature at the head: 「蕭齊中印度三藏求那毗地譯」 — “translated by the Tripiṭaka master Guṇavṛddhi of central India, under the Xiāo-Qí.”
Abstract
Guṇavṛddhi 求那毘地 (Skt. Guṇavṛddhi “Increase-of-Virtue”; Chinese gloss 安進 / 德進; DILA Authority A000526; d. 502/503) was an Indian monk from central India (中天竺) who arrived in Jiànkāng during the Xiāo-Qí 蕭齊 period and worked as a translator there until his death in late 502 or early 503 CE. He is best known for his translation of the Bǎiyù jīng 百喻經 (T209, the celebrated Hundred Parables Sūtra, attributed to Saṅghasena), one of the most popular Buddhist parable-collections in East Asian Buddhism. His translation career spans the Xiāo-Qí period (479–502); T73 was produced during this period, with that bracket recorded in the frontmatter.
The Indic source is presumed lost. T73’s diction is in the polished Southern-Qí register, lexically transparent and with standardised proper-name transcriptions consistent with the post-Saṃghadeva tradition.
Translations and research
- See KR6a0072 for the comparative Velāma-sūtra literature.
- Mair, Victor H. “The Linguistic and Textual Antecedents of The Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish.” Sino-Platonic Papers 38 (1993). — Background on the parable-tradition associated with Guṇavṛddhi’s translation milieu.
Links
- CBETA online text
- Guṇavṛddhi DILA
- Kanseki DB
- Dazangthings date evidence (390, 495): Mizuno Kōgen 水野弘元, “Chū agon kyō kaidai 中阿含経解題,” in Kokuyaku issaikyō 国訳一切経, Agon bu 阿含部 6, revised edition (1969): 403–411 — dazangthings.nz