Shuō wúgòuchēng jīng 說無垢稱經
Sūtra Spoken by Vimalakīrti (Spotless Renown) translated by 玄奘 Xuánzàng (譯)
About the work
The Shuō wúgòuchēng jīng (T476) is Xuánzàng’s 玄奘 (玄奘) six-fascicle translation of the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra, produced in 650 CE shortly after his return from India. Xuánzàng renames the protagonist Wúgòuchēng 無垢稱 (“Spotless Renown”) — a more literal Chinese rendering of Vimalakīrti (Sanskrit vimala = pure, kīrti = renown) — replacing the older transliteration Wéimójié used by Zhī Qiān (KR6i0075) and Kumārajīva (KR6i0076). The Taishō header cross-references Nos. 474 and 475.
Prefaces
The text opens with the standard Tang colophon attributing translation to “大唐三藏法師玄奘奉詔譯” (Tripiṭaka master Xuánzàng of the Great Tang, translating by imperial decree). The translation was conducted at the imperial Dàcí’ēn sì 大慈恩寺 translation institute.
Abstract
Xuánzàng’s translation represents the third and most literal Chinese rendering of the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra. Working from a Sanskrit Vorlage he had brought back from India, Xuánzàng produced a longer (six-fascicle) and more philosophically precise text than Kumārajīva’s polished three-fascicle classical version. Xuánzàng’s renderings of technical terms reflect his Yogācāra training — upāya, bodhi, nirvāṇa, etc. are translated according to the Cí’ēn 慈恩 school’s standardized terminology. The translation date of 650 CE places it among Xuánzàng’s earliest post-return translations (he returned in 645 CE).
Despite Xuánzàng’s translation being more accurate to the Sanskrit, Kumārajīva’s KR6i0076 version retained its cultural primacy in East Asian Buddhism. Xuánzàng’s version was studied primarily within the Cí’ēn (Yogācāra) school. 窺基 Kuījī’s Shuō wúgòuchēng jīng shū (KR6i0085 = T1782) is the principal Yogācāra commentary on this version.
Translations and research
- Lamotte, Étienne. L’enseignement de Vimalakīrti. Louvain, 1962 — uses T476 in the comparative apparatus.
- Watson, Burton. The Vimalakirti Sutra. Columbia University Press, 1997 — comparison with T476.
- Study Group on Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, Taisho University. Vimalakīrtinirdeśa: Transliterated Sanskrit Text. Tokyo: Taisho University Press, 2004.