Chíshì jīng 持世經
Sūtra of the World-Holder translated by 鳩摩羅什 Kumārajīva (譯)
About the work
The Chíshì jīng (T482) is 鳩摩羅什 Kumārajīva’s four-fascicle translation of the Lokadhara-paripṛcchā-sūtra, parallel to 竺法護 Dharmarakṣa’s Chírén púsà jīng KR6i0110 (T481). Kumārajīva’s translation is the more polished of the two and was preferred in later Chinese exegesis. The protagonist’s name Chíshì 持世 (“World-Holder”) is Kumārajīva’s alternate rendering of Lokadhara. The Taishō header cross-references No. 481.
Prefaces
The text opens with rúshì wǒwén. The colophon attributes the translation to Kumārajīva.
Abstract
The sūtra concerns the bodhisattva Lokadhara’s questions about the practice of bodhisattvas in supporting (literally “holding,” dhāra) the world. The doctrinal content addresses topics including the trīṇi vimokṣa-mukhāni (three gates of liberation), the perfections (pāramitā), and the metaphysics of the dharmadhātu. Kumārajīva’s translation idiom is characteristic of his Cháng’ān productivity (402–413 CE); this work falls in the middle period (ca. 405–412 CE).
Translations and research
- Lamotte, Étienne. Le traité de la grande vertu de sagesse. Louvain — uses Kumārajīva’s translations.
- Robinson, Richard H. Early Mādhyamika in India and China. Wisconsin, 1967.