Xūkōngzàng púsà shénzhòu jīng 虛空藏菩薩神呪經
The Spirit-Spell Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha (Liú-Sòng recension) by 曇摩蜜多 (Dharmamitra, 譯)
About the work
The Xūkōngzàng púsà shénzhòu jīng in 1 fascicle is 曇摩蜜多 Dharmamitra’s Liú-Sòng-period translation of the Ākāśagarbha spell-sūtra. The catalog meta gives the dynasty as 宋, but the Taishō print signs the entry “宋罽賓國三藏曇摩蜜多譯” — the Liú-Sòng (劉宋), not the Northern Sòng (北宋) — and the Taishō header explicitly cross-references the parallel translations Nos. 405, 406, 407 (a circular reference; the canonical group is more accurately 405, 406, 408). The title is identical to that of the anonymous KR6h0010 (T0406) and the Indic source overlaps substantially.
Prefaces
No separate preface is preserved in the canonical print.
Abstract
The opening narrative places the assembly at Khalāṭika mountain (佉羅山, also written 佉羅帝 / 佉羅底翅) in the residence of the Zhèngjuéxiān 正覺仙 “Saint of Right Awakening”, with the Buddha expounding the Tathāgata-merit sūtra. From the western world-system the cintāmaṇi “wish-fulfilling jewel” appears with its retinue of Śakrābhilagna gems; the bodhisattva 虛空藏 Ākāśagarbha is then introduced and the body of the sūtra elaborates the protective dhāraṇī associated with him. The work is so closely parallel to KR6h0010 (T0406) that medieval and modern scholars have debated whether the two represent independent translations or recensional variants of a single Chinese text — for which see Kāiyuán shìjiào lù j. 11.
The dating window 424–442 follows the bracket of 曇摩蜜多 Dharmamitra’s translation activity at Jiànkāng, which began with his arrival in southern China in Yuánjiā 1 (424) and ended with his death in Yuánjiā 19 (442).
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located beyond reference works on the Ākāśagarbha cult and on Dharmamitra’s translation enterprise.
Links
- CBETA online text
- DDB entry
- Kanseki DB
- Dazangthings date evidence (430): [ 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. dazangthings.nz/cbc/source/1