Fó shuō dàshèng sēngjiāzhā fǎyì jīng 佛說大乘僧伽吒法義經
The Mahāyāna Saṃghāṭa Doctrinal-Sense Sūtra by 金總持 (Jīn Zǒngchí, 等譯) — with the Translation Bureau of the Northern Sòng
About the work
The Fó shuō dàshèng sēngjiāzhā fǎyì jīng in 3 fascicles is a Northern-Sòng-period translation of a fǎyì 法義 “doctrinal-sense” — i.e., extracted doctrinal exposition — of the [[KR6h0032|Saṃghāṭa-sūtra]], by 金總持 Jīn Zǒngchí of the imperial Translation Institute (Yìjīng yuàn 譯經院). The work is preserved in the Jīn (金) edition of the canon (the Jīn-dynasty 1149–1173 woodblock canon) but not in the Taishō; the Taishō reproduces the Sòng Sēngjiāzhā jīng in T0423 but does not include this fǎyì. The signature reads “西天譯經三藏寶輪大師賜紫沙門臣金揔持等奉詔譯” (using the variant 揔 for 總).
Prefaces
No separate preface is preserved in the Jīn-edition print, only the imperial signature.
Abstract
The fǎyì genre is the Chinese counterpart to the Sanskrit artha-saṃgraha / upadeśa — an extracted doctrinal exposition of a sūtra, used as an exegetical and devotional guide. 金總持 Jīn Zǒngchí’s Sēngjiāzhā fǎyì jīng is a 3-fascicle systematisation of the doctrines of the [[KR6h0032|Saṃghāṭa-sūtra]], cast in Mahāyāna doctrinal idiom and likely intended for ritual or devotional use rather than as a fresh translation of the sūtra itself. The opening is a fragment beginning at fascicle 2 (the only fascicles preserved are 2, 6, and 7); the surviving body shows the Buddha confronting eighteen koṭi of “ignorant heretics” who challenge his preeminence, and the Buddha’s reply expounding the deeply profound dharma-meaning (甚深法義) of the Saṃghāṭa doctrine.
The dating window 1037–1100 reflects the bracket of the imperial Yìjīngyuàn’s mid- and late-Sòng activity, after 惟淨 Wéijìng’s tenure had closed (1037 marks the closing of the Tiānshèng shìjiào zǒnglù 天聖釋教總錄 under his direction); precise dating depends on Jīn Zǒngchí’s biographical bracket, which is not securely documented. The canonical record of the work is in the Jīn-edition catalogue and subsequent Korean and Yuan canonical recensions; the Taishō does not reproduce it, possibly because the Sòng print of T0423 was felt to render it redundant.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.