Dìzàng běnyuàn jīng kēzhù 地藏本願經科註
Sectioned Commentary on the Sūtra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha by 靈椉 (Língshèng / “Blue Lotus Master”, 輯)
About the work
The Dìzàng běnyuàn jīng kēzhù in 6 fascicles is 靈椉 Língshèng’s principal running commentary on [[KR6h0016|the Dìzàng púsà běnyuàn jīng]], the largest and most substantive panel of his three-part commentarial apparatus (cf. [[KR6h0017|Kēwén]] and [[KR6h0018|Lúnguàn]]). The Xuzangjing print signs the entry “古鹽匡菴青蓮苾芻靈椉父輯” — “compiled by the bhikṣu Língshèng of the Blue Lotus, of the Kuāng’ān at Gǔyán”. The work proceeds chapter-by-chapter through the 13 chapters of the sūtra, breaking each into the structural sub-divisions established in the Kēwén and providing line-by-line commentary; readings are anchored in citations from the Hànshū, the Tángcháo míngrén lù, and earlier Táng-period Buddhist commentarial sources, with particular attention to the precise meanings of dynastic and geographical names that appear in the sūtra’s narratives.
Prefaces
The Xuzangjing print of the Kēzhù opens directly with the body of the commentary on chapter 1; the master preface for the full apparatus is at the head of [[KR6h0018|the Lúnguàn]].
Abstract
The kēzhù is the principal Qīng-period exegetical work on the Dìzàng běnyuàn jīng, and the standard Chinese-language commentary on the sūtra in the modern Buddhist tradition. It is structured as a sub-divisional running commentary: each kē (structural division established in the Kēwén) is introduced, the corresponding sūtra-text quoted, and a zhù (annotation) appended explaining individual terms, citing parallels and decisions of earlier commentators, and developing the doctrinal points raised. Língshèng’s exegetical idiom is that of late-Míng and early-Qīng Tiāntái-influenced scholasticism: he combines narrow philological attention to Chinese vocabulary (e.g., the long etymological note at the head of fascicle 1 explaining 唐 as the dynasty-name and 于闐 as Khotan, with the legend of the king’s prayer to Vaiśravaṇa) with broader Mahāyāna doctrinal synthesis. The dating window 1644–1722 corresponds to the Shùnzhì 順治 – Kāngxī 康熙 reign-periods of Língshèng’s activity.
The Kēzhù is the principal scholastic treatment of the Běnyuàn jīng in the East Asian tradition and continues to be cited as the standard reference in modern Buddhist scholarship and ritual practice.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.