Fóshuō zuìshàng gēnběn dàlè jīngāng bùkōng sānmèi dà jiàowáng jīng 佛說最上根本大樂金剛不空三昧大教王經
The Buddha-spoken Supreme-Foundational Great-Bliss Vajra-Indestructible Samādhi Great-Teaching-King Sūtra translated by 法賢 (譯)
About the work
A seven-juan early Northern-Sòng translation of the expanded Tantric recension of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā / Naya-pāramitā by Dharma-bhadra 法賢 (Fǎxián, fl. 980s–999), one of the major Sòng-court Indian-pilgrim translators alongside Tiānxīzāi (Devaśāntika) and Shīhù (Dānapāla, KR6c0119). Unlike the earlier four short translations in the family (KR6c0117 Bodhiruci II, KR6c0118 Vajrabodhi, KR6c0119 Dānapāla, KR6c0120 Amoghavajra), the present text is the substantially-expanded ritual-Tantric recension (dà jiàowáng jīng 大教王經 — “great-teaching-king sūtra”), much longer than the others, integrating the prajñāpāramitā core with extensive ritual-Tantric apparatus characteristic of the late-Indian Yoga-tantra phase. The cross-reference field cites Nos. 240-243 — the four-translation cluster of the earlier short recensions. Preserved as T8 no. 244. notBefore set to 989 (Fǎxián’s mature Sòng translation period); notAfter = 999 (latest plausible date of the translation). Catalog dynasty 宋.
Abstract
The text represents the late-Indian Yoga-tantra expansion of the Adhyardhaśatikā root-text into a substantial ritual-Tantric scripture. Where the earlier short translations had presented the core 150 gāthā exposition of prajñā under sixteen names, the present text incorporates additional Tantric apparatus: extensive maṇḍala descriptions, mudrā and mantra sequences, ritual-Tantric ceremonies, and elaborated narrative frame. The seven-juan length contrasts dramatically with the one-juan length of T240-T243. The translation is one of the most substantial Sòng-period Buddhist-Tantric productions, comparable in scale to the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi or the Sarvatathāgata-tattvasaṃgraha recensions.
Translations and research
- For the late-Indian Yoga-tantra expansion of the Adhyardhaśatikā see modern Sino-Indian Tantric studies, esp. Ronald M. Davidson, Indian Esoteric Buddhism (Columbia UP, 2002).
- For the Sòng-period imperial translation bureau and Fǎxián’s role, see Tansen Sen, Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade (Hawaii, 2003).
Other points of interest
The text is the last in the cluster of five surviving Chinese translations of the Adhyardhaśatikā family, and the only one preserving the late-Indian Yoga-tantra expanded recension. Together with T243 (KR6c0120), it is a primary witness to the East-Asian Tantric-Buddhist textual tradition.
Links
- 法賢 DILA
- CBETA online
- Translator: Dharma-bhadra 法賢 (fl. 980s–999) — see person note 法賢
- Sanskrit: expanded recension of Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā / Naya-pāramitā
- Cross-references: T240 (KR6c0117), T241 (KR6c0118), T242 (KR6c0119), T243 (KR6c0120)
- Dazangthings date evidence (1001): [ T ] T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. 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. https://dazangthings.nz/cbc/source/1/
- Kanseki DB