Dōudiào jīng 兜調經
Sūtra of Tudika (the Cūḷa-kammavibhaṅga-sūtra; parallel to Madhyama-āgama sūtra 170, the Yīngwǔ jīng 鸚鵡經, and to Yīngwǔ jīng 鸚鵡經 (KR6a0079) / Fó wèi Shǒujiā zhǎngzhě shuō yèbào chābié jīng 佛為首迦長者說業報差別經 (KR6a0080) / Fēnbié shànè bàoyìng jīng 分別善惡報應經 (KR6a0081)) Anonymous (失譯), conventionally attached to the Eastern Jìn 東晉 catalogue
About the work
The Dōudiào jīng is a single-fascicle anonymous Chinese translation of the Cūḷa-kammavibhaṅga-sūtra, the canonical discourse on the karmic causes of difference among beings — why some are short-lived, others long-lived; some sickly, others healthy; some ugly, others beautiful; some poor, others wealthy; etc. The Pāli parallel is MN 135 Cūḷa-kammavibhaṅga-sutta; the Chinese parallels are T26[170] (the Yīngwǔ jīng 鸚鵡經 of the Madhyama-āgama), T79 (Guṇabhadra), T80 (Gautama Dharmajñāna) and T81 (Tiānxīzāi). The Chinese title 兜調 Dōudiào is a phonetic transcription of the brahmin proper name Tudika (Pāli) / Toḍeyya — the chief addressee of the discourse.
The text opens at Śrāvasti, where the brahmin Tudika has died and been reborn as the dog Gǔ 谷 in his own son’s household. The body of the discourse follows the standard Cūḷa-kammavibhaṅga analysis.
Prefaces
The text bears no preface or postface. The only paratext is the catalogue rubric printed at the head: 「失譯人名今附東晉錄」.
Abstract
The Eastern Jìn (317–420) ascription is a catalog-tradition assignment. The defensible bracket for the Chinese version is therefore 317–420 CE, recorded in the frontmatter. The Indic source is presumed lost.
The four-fold cluster T78 / T79 / T80 / T81 (with the Madhyama parallel T26[170]) provides exceptional comparative material for the Cūḷa-kammavibhaṅga tradition, with each rendering choosing different aspects of the discourse for emphasis.
Translations and research
- Ñāṇamoli and Bodhi, tr. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995. — MN 135 with notes.
- Anālayo, Bhikkhu. A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya, vol. 2. Taipei: Dharma Drum, 2011.
- McDermott, James P. Development in the Early Buddhist Concept of Kamma/Karma. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1984. — Background on the Cūḷa-kammavibhaṅga and its successor literature.
Links
- CBETA online text
- Kanseki DB
- Dazangthings date evidence (420): 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