Wéimó jīng yì shū 維摩經義疏
Commentary on the Meaning of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra by 吉藏 Jízàng (撰)
About the work
The Wéimó jīng yì shū (T1781) is 吉藏 Jízàng’s six-fascicle verse-by-verse commentary on Kumārajīva’s Vimalakīrti (KR6i0076 = T475). It is the practical companion to his Jìngmíng xuán lùn (KR6i0083 = T1780), which provides the doctrinal architecture; the present Yìshū provides the line-by-line exegesis. Together they form Jízàng’s complete Sānlùn-school Vimalakīrti commentary.
Prefaces
The text opens directly with the commentary’s analytical framework, organized chapter-by-chapter (品).
Abstract
The Wéimó jīng yì shū applies Jízàng’s liángbiǎn 兩遣 (twofold refutation) hermeneutic systematically to the Vimalakīrti. Each doctrinal proposition is examined against both extreme positions (substance / nihilism, eternalism / annihilationism, etc.) and shown to require the Madhyamaka èdì 二諦 (two-truths) framework for proper understanding. The commentary is one of the densest and most demanding in classical Chinese Buddhist exegesis, requiring familiarity with the entire Sānlùn dialectical apparatus.
Together with KR6i0083, this text provides the complete Sānlùn-school engagement with the Vimalakīrti. Jízàng’s commentaries dominated Sānlùn studies through the early Tang and were cited extensively in Tiantai (智顗, 湛然) and Cí’ēn (窺基) responses. Composition is dated to Jízàng’s late Yángzhōu / early Cháng’ān period (ca. 605–615 CE).
Translations and research
- Liu Ming-Wood. Madhyamaka Thought in China. Brill, 1994.
- Robinson, Richard H. Early Mādhyamika in India and China. Wisconsin, 1967.