Fóshuō miè shífāng míng jīng 佛說滅十方冥經
Sūtra of Extinguishing the Darkness of the Ten Directions by 竺法護 Zhú Fǎhù (Dharmarakṣa, 譯)
About the work
The Miè shífāng míng jīng is a brief single-fascicle Mahāyāna sūtra in which the Buddha illuminates the darkness of the ten directions and teaches a bodhisattva assembly about the qualities of the Tathāgata and the path to liberation. The title — “extinguishing the darkness of the ten directions” (miè shífāng míng 滅十方冥) — emphasizes the Buddha’s radiant wisdom dispelling ignorance throughout the cosmos. The translator colophon reads: 西晉月氏國三藏竺法護譯 (“Translated by the Yuèzhī Tripiṭaka master 竺法護 of the Western Jìn”). The text is one of the many short Mahāyāna sūtras he produced during the Western Jìn period.
Prefaces
No separate preface survives. The body begins: 聞如是，一時佛遊…
Abstract
This brief sūtra belongs to the cluster of early Mahāyāna texts translated by 竺法護 (ca. 239–316 CE) that emphasize the luminous, all-pervading wisdom of the Buddha and the methods by which bodhisattvas can emulate it. The “ten directions” (shífāng 十方) framework is characteristic of Mahāyāna spatialization of the Buddha’s field of activity. The Chū sānzàng jì jí 出三藏記集 records this text among his translations; its exact date within his active period (265–313 CE) is not specified.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.