Fó shuō póluómén bìsǐ jīng 佛說婆羅門避死經
Sūtra of the Brahmins Who Tried to Escape Death (parallel to Ekottara-āgama 31.4) by 安世高 (Ān Shìgāo, 譯)
About the work
A single-fascicle Eastern Hàn translation of a discourse on the canonical narrative of four brahmin sages who, foreseeing their imminent deaths, attempt various methods of escape — hiding in caves, in the air, in the ocean, in the marketplace — and yet die nonetheless, illustrating the inescapability of death. The Chinese parallel is T125[31.4].
Prefaces
The text bears no preface or postface. The only paratext is the canonical translator’s signature at the head: 「後漢安息沙門安世高譯」.
Abstract
T133 was produced during Ān Shìgāo’s Luòyáng period (148–170 CE), recorded in the frontmatter. The Indic source is presumed lost.
Links
- CBETA T02n0131 CBETA online text
- Kanseki DB
- 安世高 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (160, 390): Fei Changfang 費長房. Lidai sanbao ji (LDSBJ) 歷代三寶紀 T2034. T2034 (XLIX) 51b24 dazangthings entry