Fóshuō Chúgàizhàng púsà suǒwèn jīng 佛說除蓋障菩薩所問經
Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Hindrance-Eliminator’s Questions translated by 法護 Fǎhù / Dharmapāla et al. (等譯)
About the work
The Fóshuō Chúgàizhàng púsà suǒwèn jīng (T489) is a substantial twenty-fascicle Mahāyāna sūtra translated by the Sòng Indian monk 法護 Fǎhù — Dharmapāla / Dharmarakṣa II of the Sòng Yìjīng yuàn (not to be confused with the great Western Jìn Dharmarakṣa 竺法護 Zhú Fǎhù). The protagonist Chúgàizhàng 除蓋障 (“Hindrance-Eliminator”; Sanskrit Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin) is one of the eight major bodhisattvas in the Mahāyāna pantheon. The Sanskrit Vorlage corresponds to the Sarvanīvaraṇa-viṣkambhī-bodhisattva-paripṛcchā.
Prefaces
The text opens with rúshì wǒwén. The colophon attributes the translation to the Sòng Yìjīng yuàn team led by Fǎhù.
Abstract
This is one of the longest sūtras translated by the Sòng imperial translation institute. Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin is a major bodhisattva in the Tantric and late-Mahāyāna pantheon, often paired with Vajrapāṇi and the other aṣṭabodhisattva (eight great bodhisattvas) of the Sarvabuddhāṅga-sūtra tradition. The twenty-fascicle scale permits an extensive doctrinal exposition covering the bodhisattva’s various activities — protection of beings, removal of nīvaraṇa (mental hindrances), and the cultivation of the perfections.
The Sòng monk Fǎhù was active 1004–1058 CE under the second-generation Sòng translation team (after 天息災 Tiānxīzāi/法賢 Fǎxián and 施護 Shīhù). He should be distinguished carefully from the famous Western Jìn Dharmarakṣa (竺法護 Zhú Fǎhù) — the two share the Chinese name but lived seven centuries apart.
Translations and research
- Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade. Honolulu, 2003.
- Bowring, Richard. “Brief Note: Buddhist Translations in the Northern Sung.” Asia Major 5 (1992): 79–93.