Fó shuō zhuǎn fǎlún jīng 佛說轉法輪經
Sūtra of the Turning of the Dharma-Wheel (the Dhammacakkappavattana-sūtra / First Sermon; parallel to Saṃyukta-āgama sūtra 379, and to T110) by 安世高 (Ān Shìgāo, 譯)
About the work
The Fó shuō zhuǎn fǎ-lún jīng is a single-fascicle Eastern Hàn 後漢 translation of the Dhammacakkappavattana-sūtra — the celebrated First Sermon of the Buddha at the Deer Park outside Vārāṇasī, on the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path. The Pāli parallel is SN 56.11 Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta (= the Vinaya Mahāvagga’s opening); the Chinese parallels are T99[379] (the Saṃyukta-āgama sūtra 379) and T110 (Yìjìng).
The text opens at the Deer Park “under the tree” at Vārāṇasī (波羅㮈國鹿野樹下), with a thousand monks and a host of devas crowding the sky. A “self-arising Dharma-wheel” descends and rotates before the Buddha; the Buddha touches it and begins his sermon.
Prefaces
The text bears no preface or postface. The only paratext is the canonical translator’s signature at the head: 「後漢安息三藏安世高譯」.
Abstract
T109 was produced during Ān Shìgāo’s Luòyáng period (148–170 CE), recorded in the frontmatter. The Indic source is presumed lost. T109 is one of the foundational early-Chinese sources for the Dhammacakkappavattana — the canonical First Sermon — and one of the most important texts in any Buddhist tradition.
Translations and research
- Bodhi, Bhikkhu, tr. The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000. — SN 56.11 with notes.
- Anālayo, Bhikkhu. “The First Sermon of the Buddha.” Sri Lanka International Journal of Buddhist Studies 1 (2011): 1–18.
- Nattier, Jan. A Guide to the Earliest Chinese Buddhist Translations. Tokyo: IRIAB, 2008.
Links
- CBETA T02n0109 CBETA online text
- Kanseki DB
- 安世高 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (160): Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014. dazangthings entry