Dàyì jīng 大意經
Sūtra of Mahāmati (Great-Mind) by 求那跋陀羅 (Guṇabhadra, 譯)
About the work
A short single-fascicle jātaka recounting the past life of the Buddha as the merchant-traveller Dàyì 大意 (*Mahāmati — distinct from the Mahāmati of the Laṅkāvatāra), narrated as a Buddha-discourse at Jetavana. Translated by 求那跋陀羅 Guṇabhadra (394–468) in the Liú-Sòng. Signature: 「宋天竺三藏求那跋陀羅譯」. The Taishō header cross-references T152(9) — 康僧會 Kāng Sēnghuì’s parallel narrative.
Prefaces
No preface or postface; only the canonical translator-signature.
Abstract
T177 falls within Guṇabhadra’s documented Liú-Sòng translation period at Jiànkāng (435–468 CE); the more specific bracket 435–443 corresponds to his earliest productive period at the Wǎguānsì 瓦官寺 before his move to the Xīnsì 新寺. The Indic source is uncertain; the narrative parallels the Mahāmati-avadāna tradition, but the precise Indic recension is unidentified.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
Links
- CBETA online text
- Guṇabhadra (求那跋陀羅) DILA
- Kanseki DB
- Dazangthings date evidence (440): Fei Changfang 費長房. Lidai sanbao ji (LDSBJ) 歷代三寶紀 (KR6r0011) T2034 (XLIX) 91c18 — dazangthings.nz