Dìzàng běnyuàn jīng lúnguàn 地藏本願經綸貫
General Synthesis on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha by 靈椉 (Língshèng / “Blue Lotus Master”, 撰)
About the work
The Dìzàng běnyuàn jīng lúnguàn in 1 fascicle is the introductory synthesis (綸貫 lúnguàn, lit. “thread that strings together”) to [[KR6h0016|the Dìzàng púsà běnyuàn jīng]], composed by the early-Qīng scholar-monk 靈椉 Língshèng. Together with [[KR6h0017|the Kēwén]] (structural outline) and [[KR6h0019|the Kēzhù]] (running commentary with sub-divisions), it constitutes one panel of his three-part commentarial apparatus on the Běnyuàn jīng.
Prefaces
The Xuzangjing print preserves at its head the Dìzàng púsà běnyuàn jīng kēzhù xù 地藏菩薩本願經科註序 — the master preface to the entire trilogy — which opens with the famous Tiāntái dictum “yī yuè pǔ xiàn yīqiè shuǐ; yīqiè shuǐyuè yī yuè shè” (“a single moon manifests in all waters; the moons of all waters are gathered into a single moon”) and develops thence the doctrinal framework of Kṣitigarbha’s one-and-many manifestation across countless worlds. This is the principal preface to the entire Qīng commentarial apparatus.
Abstract
The lúnguàn genre is the Chinese-Buddhist scholastic counterpart to the yuánqǐ 緣起 / “occasioning circumstances” preface, but more synthetic: it provides the doctrinal frame within which the sūtra is to be read, articulating themes, harmonising apparent contradictions, and establishing the work’s place in the overall canon. Língshèng’s Lúnguàn opens by characterising 地藏 Kṣitigarbha as the bodhisattva of dàcí dàbēi dàxiào dàyuàn “great compassion, great mercy, great filiality, great vow”, framing the Běnyuàn jīng as the foundational text of the Kṣitigarbha cult and explaining the bodhisattva’s vow to redeem beings in the hells as the apotheosis of bodhisattva xiào 孝 (filial piety) — a notably Confucianised reading characteristic of late-Míng and early-Qīng Buddhist exegesis. The synthesis emphasises the Pǔmén 普門 doctrine of universal manifestation by which Kṣitigarbha appears in countless forms across the world-systems.
The Lúnguàn exemplifies the synthesis-driven reading style of Tiāntái-influenced late-Míng/early-Qīng Buddhist scholasticism, which sought to integrate Pure Land, Chán, and Tiāntái themes within a single exegetical frame.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.