Pǔfǎyì jīng 普法義經

Sūtra of the Universal-Doctrine Meaning (parallel to Guǎngyì fǎmén jīng 廣義法門經 (KR6a0097)) by 安世高 (Ān Shìgāo, 譯)

About the work

The Pǔfǎyì jīng is a single-fascicle Eastern Hàn 後漢 translation of a doctrinal-summary discourse, parallel to T97 (Paramārtha). It is one of An Shigao’s Madhyama-āgama extractions; the doctrinal categories listed are largely the same as in T97 but rendered in An Shigao’s archaic translation idiom.

Prefaces

The text bears no preface or postface. The only paratext is the canonical translator’s signature at the head: 「後漢安息國三藏安世高譯」.

Abstract

T98 was produced during Ān Shìgāo’s Luòyáng period (148–170 CE), recorded in the frontmatter. The Indic source is presumed lost.

Translations and research

  • See KR6a0097 for the comparative literature.
  • Nattier, Jan. A Guide to the Earliest Chinese Buddhist Translations. Tokyo: IRIAB, 2008.