Fó shuō xū lài jīng 佛說須賴經 (Báiyán)

The Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha on Surata (Surata-paripṛcchā) by 白延 (Bái Yán, 譯)

About the work

This 1-fascicle text by 白延 Bái Yán is the earliest Chinese version of the Surata-paripṛcchā — the Mahāyāna sūtra on the inquiry of the layman Surata. A parallel translation by 支施崙 Zhī Shīlún (T0329) was produced shortly afterwards in the Former-Liáng state. Together with [[KR6f0014|Ān Xuán’s Fǎ jìng jīng / Ugra-paripṛcchā]], the Surata-paripṛcchā is one of the foundational paripṛcchā-genre Mahāyāna sūtras.

Prefaces

No formal preface.

Abstract

The translation belongs to 白延 Bái Yán’s CáoWèi period activity, c. 252 – 256 CE. The bracket adopted here reflects this window. The Taishō text (T0328) is established on the standard apparatus.

Translations and research

  • No substantial Western-language translation located.
  • Nattier, Jan. A Few Good Men (2003) — for paripṛcchā-genre context.