Fóshuō dàshèng dàfāngguǎng fóguān jīng 佛說大乘大方廣佛冠經
Sūtra of the Great Vehicle, the Vast and Expansive Crown of the Buddha by 法護 Fǎhù (Dharmapāla, 等譯)
About the work
The Dàfāngguǎng fóguān jīng is a two-fascicle Mahāyāna sūtra describing the symbolic significance and spiritual efficacy of the Buddha’s crown (fóguān 佛冠). The translator colophon reads: 西天譯經三藏朝散大夫試鴻臚卿傳梵大師賜紫沙門臣法護等奉詔譯 (“Translated by the Tripiṭaka master 法護, Transmission-of-Sanskrit Grand Master, Crimson-Robe Bestowed Śramaṇa, Acting Grand Master of the Court of State Ceremonial, and others, by imperial command”). This is the Northern Sòng 法護 — a distinct figure from the Western Jìn 竺法護 (Dharmarakṣa) — who worked at the Sòng Translation Academy with 施護 Dānapāla and others. The particle děng 等 (“and others”) in the colophon indicates a collaborative translation with unnamed colleagues.
Prefaces
No separate preface survives in the received text; the first fascicle follows the standard Evaṃ mayā śrutam opening.
Abstract
The Northern Sòng 法護 (Dharmapāla or Dharmagupta, fl. ca. 990–1020 CE) was an Indian monk who joined the translation enterprise at Biànjīng during the reign of 宋太宗 Sòng Tàizōng (r. 976–997) and continued under 宋真宗 Sòng Zhēnzōng (r. 997–1022). He worked alongside 施護 (Dānapāla) and 天息災 (Dharmabhūti/Tiānxīzāi) at the Translation Academy, and is sometimes listed as co-translator on texts attributed to his colleagues. His translations typically bear the same elaborate Sòng-court honorific titles as those of 施護. The Dàfāngguǎng fóguān jīng appears to be a Mahāyāna sūtra focused on the symbolism of the Buddha’s head-ornament and the merit of making and reverencing such ornaments — a theme related to the broader corpus of ratnāvalī-type texts celebrating the thirty-two marks of the Buddha. Its Sanskrit original is not identified among surviving manuscripts.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.